It was his first solo race… and first win ahead of some of the favourites for the next Vendée Globe. François Gabart magnificently won the Transat BtoB during the night. At 2311 hrs GMT, his monohull Macif passed through the safety gate, which had become the finishing line between the Azores and Portugal. He came in ahead of Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) and Vincent Riou (PRB).
The Race Directors took the wise decision to reduce the length of the course, because of the arrival of the storm, Joachim, which is due to hit the Bay of Biscay and reach the Atlantic coast of France this evening.
Finishing four hours ahead of Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire), the runner-up in the last Vendée Globe, and six hours ahead of Vincent Riou (PRB), the winner of the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe… the least we can say is that this win by François Gabart is an amazing achievement. Following in the footsteps of Loïck Peyron on the list of winners of the Transat B to B is no mean feat for the young skipper, who has achieved this great victory in his first solo race. On top of that, François Gabart has successfully completed his qualification for the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe.
A course shortened to deal with the storm
It does not really matter that this victory was rather odd, as it happened in the middle of nowhere to the east of the Azores, some 700 miles from the finishing line that was initially planned in Lorient. As, in order to reduce the risks for the fleet of eight boats to a minimum, the Race Director, Jacques Caraës decided yesterday to shorten the course and finish at the safety gate. The objective of this decision was clear and welcomed by the whole of the fleet: enabling the sailors to avoid as much as they can the violent winds and mountainous seas stirred up by the storm, Joachim which is due to hit the Breton coast this evening, with winds forecast in excess of 65 knots and mountainous seas with 6-8 metre high waves.
This decision to shorten the transatlantic race was clearly a good idea, as it means the skippers no longer have to take too many risks and it therefore ensures that the IMOCA fleet does not suffer with under a year to go to the Vendée Globe.
An ideal route
This shortened course does not change anything as far as François Gabart’s win is concerned. He led the race throughout and followed a perfect route from St. Barts. This rather strange first victory is likely not to be the last. Here is a young sailor we certainly need to watch as he is one of the very serious contenders in the next Vendée Globe. François Gabart at the finish: “It’s great. I dreamt of this win, as any competitor would, but I didn’t really think it would happen. I managed to keep up the pace facing the seven other boats, almost all of which are up there among then favourites for the next Vendée Globe. I was ready to do battle all the way to the end in some extreme conditions all the way to Lorient. I made clear decisions without asking too many questions about what my rivals were up to. As the days passed, my confidence grew as did my ability to get Macif making fast headway by taking a good route. Victory gradually took shape.This was my first solo race, so I’ve discovered a lot of things: the first change of tack, gybe, spinnaker drop… The conditions in this Transat B to B were difficult with some downwind conditions in very strong, shifty winds, big and very short seas. It was a good way to prepare for the Vendée Globe coming up and I’m going to capitalise on it to do more work and improve my preparation. 2011 has been very rich as we built a boat and we fine tuned it. Everything went very quickly after that with two successive transatlantic crossings. I’ve learnt so much during the past six months and that will continue right up to the Vendée Globe. Before that though, I’ll be heading for Lorient, which I should reach on Saturday morning.”
The next three skippers to cross the finishing line from Thursday morning onwards are likely to be Mike Golding (Gamesa), Marc Guillemot (Safran) and Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss). There will then be just two boats left racing: Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac-Paprec and Louis Burton’s Bureau Vallée. The latter is also due to qualify for the Vendée Globe, while the seven others taking part in this Transat B to B have already qualified.
The podium of the 2011 Transat B to B:
1. François Gabart (Macif) in 9 days 9 hours 11 minutes and 30 seconds, at an average speed of 11.63 knots.
2. Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire) in 9 days 13 hours 8 minutes and 10 seconds, at an average speed of 11.43 knots.
3. Vincent Riou (PRB) in 9 days 15 hours 30 minutes and 20 seconds, at an average speed of 11.31 knots.
