The Artemis Transat

In brief

- Benoit Parnaudeau and Christophe Coatnoan cross the line

In detail 

At 10:21:02GMT, Benoit Parnaudeau and his Proto Class40, Prevoir Vie, crossed the Marblehead finish line in 8th, a fraction over two hours behind 40 Degrees. Summing up the race soon after finishing, Parnaudeau was on excellent form: “It was a very good race and I’m happy with my performance.” An early setback put Prevoir Vie off the pace: “During the first night I lost 50 miles because of some broken ropes,” he explained. “I knew they were worn out, but I didn’t have enough money to buy replacements. After that, I raced with Miranda Merron, Halvard Mabire and Fujufilm and it was a very good battle.” Tactical setbacks south of Newfoundland were a key part of Parnaudeau’s race: “After the ice gate, I went to the north but it wasn’t a good idea because of the high-pressure. I stayed there while the others in the south got away.” As usual, the race had high points and drastic low points: “The best moment was sailing upwind because the boat is very well designed for that angle of sail. The worst moment…when the top of the mainsail came away from the track. It took 7 hours to put it right.”

Just over 3 hours later, Groupe Partouche, the JPK 40 of Christophe Coatnoan finished racing at 13:28:20GMT after a transatlantic race filled with technical setbacks and now one Class40 remains; Simon Clarke and Clarke Offshore Racing who are expected to cross the finish line at 1945GMT tonight.

Ranking, finish times, average speed for the Class40s

1. Telecom Italia 28/05/08 at 11:11:57GMT after 16d 22h 11min 57s at an average speed of 7.23 knots
2. Beluga Racer 29/05/08 at 01:09:47GMT after 17d 12h 09min 47s at an average speed of 6.99 knots (13h 57min 50s behind Telecom Italia) 3. Mistral Loisirs – Pole Sante ELIOR 29/05/08 at 10:42:57GMT after  17d 21h 42min 57s at an average speed of 6.84 knots (23h  31min 00s behind Telecom Italia)4th Groupe Royer 29/05/08 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 29/05/08 at 16:05:07GMT after 18d 03h 05min 07s at an average speed of 6.75 knots (1d 04h 53 minutes behind Telecom Italia) 6th Fujifilm 29/05/08 at 18:53:02GMT after 18d 05h 53min 02s at an average speed of 6.71 knots (1d 07h 41m 05s after Telecom Italia) 7th 40 Degrees 30/05/08 at 08:19:34sGMT after 18d 19h 19min 34s at sea averaging 6.51 knots (1d  21h 07min 37s behind Telecom Italia) 8th Prevoir Vie 30/05/08 at 10:21:02GMT after 18d 21h 21min 02s at an average speed of 6.48 knots (1d 23h 09min 05 s behind Telecom Italia) 9th Groupe Partouche 30/05/08 at 13:28:20GMT after 19d 00h 28min 20s at an average speed of 6.44 knots (2d 2h 16min 23s after Telecom Italia)