"I was able to take a shower after 23 days at sea! Thanks to the fresh water collected in the second reef of the mainsail... I'd forgotten the scent of shampoo."
25.05.2016
The Japanese sailor completed his North Atlantic crossing in just under 23 days, compared with Eric Tabarly's 27 days in 1964...
The Transat bakerly comes to a close this Wednesday, May 25, after less than 23 days of racing: Japan's Hiroshi Kitada arrived in New York at 03h 33' 45'' (or 9h 33' 45'' French time) after 22 days 18 hours 03 minutes and 45 seconds at sea, covering 3,933 miles at an average speed of 7.20 knots. The skipper thus finished 5d 5h 20' 49'' behind the winner in the Class40 category.
The Japanese skipper, the first sailor from the land of the rising sun to take part in the English transatlantic race, will have faced six lows since leaving Plymouth! The Kiho skipper's performance is all the more remarkable given that he discovered his boat only a few months before the starting gun went off. That leaves Loïck Peyron at sea, en route to La Baule. The skipper of Pen Duick II is facing easterly headwinds, and the 150 miles he still has to cover could drag on with the light breezes expected as he approaches Brittany on Thursday...
"It's been tough, but I know I've had a great race: I'm super happy. I'm tired and happy to have arrived. It's no mean feat to cross the Atlantic on a boat like this: I'm glad I did it!" François Gabart
The Transat bakerly brought together 25 skippers at the start from Plymouth on May 2, and the favorable conditions in the English Channel encouraged the whole fleet to head south to take advantage of the downwind conditions. And while the Ultime trimarans then managed to slip under the anticyclone on a very southerly course, the vast majority of the solo sailors had to refocus on the great circle to get above a nasty low off the Azores.
In the end, six sailors had to give up due to major damage (collision, torn float, torn sails, water ingress), and while the Ultime winner, François Gabart, took just 8 days 9 hours to cross the North Atlantic, the last Class40 of Japan's Hiroshi Kitada completed this 3,050-mile journey on the direct route, in just under 23 days...
"This crossing wasn't easy, but it was also testing and interesting. We never got bored. These twelve days have gone by very quickly aboard Banque Populaire VIII." Armel Le Cléac'h
ARRIVALS IN NEW YORK
Final
1. François Gabart (Macif): 8d 8h 54 min and 39 sec
2. Thomas Coville (Sodebo) : 8d 18h 32 min and 02 sec
3. Yves Le Blevec (Actual) : 10d 12h 15min 59 sec
IMOCA
1. Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII) : 12d 2h 28m 39 sec
2. Vincent Riou (PRB): 12d 4h 50min 11sec
3. Jean-Pierre Dick (St-Michel Virbac): 12d 17h 28m 07sec
4. Paul Meilhat (SMA): 14d 05h 05m 14sec
Abn. Sébastien Josse (Edmond de Rothschild) torn mainsail
Abn. Richard Tolkien (44) injury
Multi50
1. Gilles Lamiré (French Tech - Rennes St Malo) : 12d 7h 51min 17 sec
2. Lalou Roucayrol (Arkema) : 14d 7h 13min 20 sec
3. Pierre Antoine (Olmix) : 16d 14h 29min 23 sec
4. Erik Nigon (Vers un monde sans Sida) : 16d 18h 32min 33sec
Abn. Erwan Le Roux (FenêtréA-Cardinal) float torn off
Class40
1. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires en Peloton - ARSEP): 17d 12h 42min 56sec
2. Louis Duc (Carac): 17d 23h 54m 40sec
3. Phil Sharp (Imerys): 19d 0h 31mn 5sec
4. Edouard Golbery (Région Normandie): 19d 18h 03min 30sec
5. Robin Marais (Esprit Scout): 19d 19h 33min 00sec
6. Anna Maria Renken (Nivea): 21d 13h 19min 25sec
7. Iroshi Kitada (Kiho): 22d 18h 3min 45sec
Abn. Maxime Sorel (VandB) boarding
Abn. Armel Tripon (Black Pepper) torn sails
Abn. Isabelle Joschke (Generali-Horizon Mixité) inland waterway
