Half of the fleet has officially crossed the line in Pointe-a-Pitre after an incredibly busy night on the pontoons welcoming tired sailors.
A little before midnight Pip Hare (Medallia) finished the Route du Rhum with a time of 13 days, 8 hours and 38 minutes, taking the crown of first Brit. Speaking afterwards, she seemed incredibly happy with how her race had panned out and her highest-ever finish in an IMOCA event. For a while, it looked like she might be able to slip into tenth place, but her mainsail damage reduced her speed in the lighter winds towards the end.
Not far ahead of Pip was Sebastien Marsset (Mon Courtier Energie – Cap Agir Ensemble) who took the title of first non-foiling boat. This is a very impressive result on an old (16 years!) boat, and he finished a decent amount of time ahead of boats that should – on paper – be much faster.
James Harayda (Gentoo Sailing Team) also finished last night, in 14th place. James has had an incredible race, and considering at the start he stated he had no goals other than to finish, both he and his team should be incredibly proud of a fantastic first solo race. This performance will have put a lot of confidence into James and his project.
Ollie Heer (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing) is slowly closing the gap to the boat in front. Ollie had to stop for several days after a collision with Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori Global One) and so when he restarted, was a considerable distance behind the next boat. He’s now less than 350nm from Nicolas Rouger (Demain C’est Loin).