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We couldn’t have done the same thing on the southern route. We coped with what we had. We took the decision at the last moment. Looking at the weather, we decided to take that route. We saw the leaders were fast. We took the shortest route. It was them that took the risk to take a longer route. We looked at the routing and saw we would get ahead, but when we saw the speeds of the newest boats, we understood they would be up there.  They were just so fast. We had a problem with the hook and then an area of calms.Julien had to climb the mast to free the halyard. 
 

I’m pleased about this race with Jack. We gave it our all and worked well together. We set off in rough conditions and never stopped. We trusted the boat. 20-25 knots all the time. It was hard to sleep. We prepared the strategy before setting off. We didn’t want to leave the fleet and go our own way.  We wanted to stay with the others. It was stressful but we crossed the Atlantic. We found some problems and had to deal with them immediately. Otherwise they would have got worse.

 
Jack Boutell: It was hard to stay for a week at home before the start. It worked well with Sam. We trusted each other. The standard of the fleet is mindboggling. It is really an incredible race and it is a relief to finish. It is intense all the time and I didn’t manage to sleep because of the heat.

Boris Herrmann and Will Harris finished in seventh place aboard Malizia – Seaexplorer. Their race time was 12d 9hrs 1min 3s. They finished 11h 28mn 32sec behind the winner. Their average speed on the theoretical race course was 12.66 knots. Out on the water they actually sailed 5319.88 miles averaging 17.91 knots. 

Justine Mettraux and Julien Villion finished sixth aboard Teamwork after 12 days 8 hours 59 minutes and 58 seconds, 11hrs 27 mins and 27 secs behind the winner. They averaged 12.66 on the theoretical route. They actually sailed 4401.52 miles averaging 14.82 knots. 

French duo Jérémie Beyou and Frank Cammas (Charal), who were tipped as one of the outstanding favourites pre-race, crossed the finish line off Fort-de-France, Martinique at 12:56:34hrs (16:56:34 UTC) to take fourth place in the IMOCA race on the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre.

The pair set the early pace on the 3,750 nautical miles course, showing great speed and stability exiting the Channel after the start and was more than 25 miles ahead in the Bay of Biscay. But they were trapped in light airs on the edge of the Azores high and lost most of that lead.

As they passed through the Canaries they reported they had ripped a key sail, the masthead Code Zero on a foil. Downwind in the trade winds as they headed west, they were pacing race winners For People (Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière) and second placed finishers Paprec Arkéa (Yoann Richomme and Yann Eliès). But the lost power clearly compromised their attack on the long, fast downwind stretch in the trade winds across the Atlantic and they lost touch with the leaders. 

Victory with his own programme on this IMOCA race continues to elude the Charal skipper who finished third with Chris Pratt in 2019 after leading before the Doldrums where they lost out badly, and third again in 2021 with Pratt. 

Charal’s elapsed time is 12d 08h 26m 34s. 

First reactions from Cammas and Beyou: 

We lost our biggest downwind sail. We couldn’t get the same speeds. It happened just after the Canaries. In the Canaries we started to repair the sail, but after that it was a real problem.

Thomas and Morgan had a perfect race. Brilliant in the second half. We know what we have to aim for now. Just before the ridge, Justine went north. It was a bit worrying as we were in front. Justine was an outsider and did well to go for that option. It wasn’t easy.

Three-quarters of the race, we were handicapped. We did what we had to. No big mistakes. There’s nothing you can do about simple damage that just happens. I accept that. It’s part of our sport. There are other races. I was pleased to sail with Franck and advanced with him. It’s promising for when I sail solo. 

When you are so fast, the weather patterns keep changing. It’s wet, and sometimes difficult. You have to keep at it to get the boat to fly.

This was the first really nice night of the race. The bumpy seas have eased and the boat sails quickly. That’s great after the day yesterday, which we spent doing little odd jobs, discovering problems and talking things over with the shore team to try to solve them. A solent got torn when the batten came out. It’s really frustrating to see the same sort of situation we have already experienced happening again. In this transatlantic race, it’s been like that. If there wasn’t the race back, it probably wouldn’t worry me as much, but I can feel it is taking its toll. For the moment, with Pierre, I am taking advantage of some pleasant winds, a nice change after what we went through at the start of the race. 

The day before yesterday we didn’t have any comms. The satellite was not working. I was glad you got through to Alister (Richardson) yesterday. We have got four days to go, or four and a half days. So arrival on 23rd at about nine in the evening Martinique time, maybe early 24th UTC time. So we’re going for the last push now, driving as fast as we can during the day with the pilots on at night. 

The wind should be about 17 knots now. It drops a little during the day and is back up again at night. We’re heading south west, trying to clear the light winds to get stronger winds further to the South. That should take us most of the way to Martinique and then the last few days are going to be light as well. 

It’s still unclear who is going to come out on top, the boats in the north or south. That’s nothing to do with us. Down here, we have got our own little race. We’re trying to shake off Everial and see if we can get closer to the Italians, who are suddenly going very fast. 

All good on board. I’ve had my porridge and Al is having his French cooked breakfast, a boil-in-the-bag. The normal sails are up, A2 spinnaker and main. All stacked on the high side for max speed. Trying to catch every wave we can. 

It’s a beautiful starry night. Unbelievable last night. So clear. You can really see the boats with this starlight. There are very few rainclouds, but a bit of drizzle last night in a couple of small clouds. Otherwise, really exceptional conditions for crossing the Atlantic. A dream trip for anyone crossing over, whether Canaries cruising or us racing.

The duo formed by Achille Nebout and Gildas Mahé have been continuing with their northern option in very strong winds and heavy seas. Gildas was sitting in the companionway when he was suddenly thrown violently 4 metres inside the boat, when she slammed violently into a wave.

“I had the scare of my life,” explained Achille Nebout this morning showing a photo of the co-skipper knocked out. Mahé soon came around, but has a sore arm, back and hip. Nebout will be taking care of the boat alone on the way to Martinique.

In terms of the weather, nothing is simple, with the route ahead getting blocked. They had been attempting “the option of a more direct route to the East of Martinique, but that is no longer open, as there is a large area of calms ahead. The option now looks like going around the whole area via the West to arrive due north of Martinique.” To crown it all, the wind instruments giving all the data about the wind are no longer functioning, so they have to sail in compass mode.