The seventy foot MOD70 trimaran ‘Edmond de Rothschild’, sailed by French duo Sebastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier broke the finish line of the 5450 miles Transat Jacques Vabre race this afternoon at 15hrs 03mins 57s local time (17h 03m 57h UTC GMT) to take overall line honours and win the MOD70 class.
After starting from Le Havre on Thursday 7th November at 13hrs local time, Edmond de Rothschild took just 11 days, 5hours, 3 minutes and 54 second to cover the course. They sailed at a real average speed of 22.12kts for their actual distance that they sailed of 5952miles.
When Edmond de Rothschild crossed the line to secure their victory under cloudy skies and in a light Easterly breeze second placed Oman Air Musandam, skippered by the Franco Irish duo Sidney Gavignet and Damian Foxall were approximately 60 miles behind them, having kept the pressure on the winning duo all the way to the final hours of the race.
The course is the longest yet raced by the MOD70s which are near identical, strict one design ocean racing trimarans which are normally raced offshore by a crew of six, and eight on inshore regattas. This Transat Jacques Vabre is the first time they have been raced by a crew of just two.
Before they left Le Havre, well informed predictions – including teams themselves – were anticipating a passage of between 12 and 14 days. Josse and Caudrelier maintained their lead throughout the course, taking control since leaving the coast of Brittany.