29.05.2008
Day 19: Duc, Mabire and Bennett cross the line
- Groupe Royer in 4th and Custo Pol in 5th finish within 14 minutes
- Alex Bennett and Fujifilm charge across the line in 6th
The Class40 is all about close, evenly matched racing and yesterday afternoon this became a reality with three boats crossing the finish line within four hours and the first two yachts in the group finishing within 14 minutes of each other after 18 days and over 2,700 miles of gruelling North Atlantic racing.
Louis Duc, the youngest skipper in the race at 24 years was first to cross the line in 4th place off Marblehead, USA, with his Groupe Finot-designed Pogo 40, Groupe Royer, at 1515GMT. Next across was Halvard Mabire, the oldest competitor at 52 years, on Custo Pol - another Groupe Finot Pogo - just 14 minutes later at 1605GMT. Chasing the pair in 6th place, Alex Bennett crossed the line under three hours after Malbire on his Owen Clarke LLP-designed Proto, Fujifilm, at 1853GMT.
The trio have reindexed in a pack since Day 16 (Monday 26th May) when Louis Duc propelled himself north-west having passed through the ice gate south of Newfoundland at 40°N, carrying as much sail as he dared, climbing the leader board from 7th to 4th place overnight. "For the boat's debut race, it hasn't been too bad," he told the race office via satellite phone shortly before crossing the finish line. "I think I did OK after the ice gate though." His one mistake, he believes, was over-planning: "My big error was looking to far ahead at the weather and tactics. It is really important to look at the shorter-term."
During the fleet's close racing, when just a handful of miles often separated five boats, Halvard Mabire and Custo Pol have held almost every position ranking on the leaderboard. "I've made a bunch of mistakes throughout the race," he confessed just before the finish. However, his bleakest moment occurred on Sunday 25th May (Day 15) when his boat hit an object - possibly a whale - throwing him around the interior and causing real concern: "Without doubt, the worst moment was hitting that animal," he explained. This experience seemed to energise Mabire and throughout the following day he climbed from 8th to 4th place, reindexing in the top six until he overtook Alex Bennett and Fujifilm overnight, claiming 5th place on Wednesday morning (Day 18). "It has been a really enjoyable race," he believes, "with really close racing, really heated competition and - in my opinion - much better than the IMOCA Open 60s."
The final member of the threesome, Alex Bennett on Fujifilm, refused to give up the chase until crossing the finish line at 18:53 in 6th place. Despite losing the use of his genoa on Day 12 (Thursday 22nd May) due to shattered furling gear, Bennett clung onto 6th place, dropping to 7th briefly, climbing to 5th on Day 14 (Saturday 14th May) where he reindexed for four days until Mabire dislodged him on the evening of Day 18 (Wednesday 28th May).
Ranking and times for Groupe Royer, Custo Pol and Fujifilm
4th Groupe Royer at 15:51:15 GMT after 18d 02h 51min 15s at an average speed of 6.76 knots (1d 04h 39m behind Telecom Italia)
5th Custo Pol at 16h 05min 07s after 18d 03h 05min 07s at an average speed of 6.75 knots (1d 04h 53 minutes behind Telecom Italia
6th Fujifilm at 18:53:02 after 18d 05h 53min 02s at an average speed of 6.71 knots (1d 07h 41m 05s after Telecom Italia)
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