Vendée Globe

Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall won the first edition of the Barcelona World Race yesterday evening on board Paprec-Virbac 2 after 92d 8h 49m 49s of sailing. The Franco-Irish duo set out exactly three months ago on 11th November and has just completed their long and demanding non-stop round the world voyage.

For 67 days, Paprec-Virbac 2 held on to the lead in the event, after passing PRB on 7th December just before Vincent Riou’s monohull dismasted. The sail down the Atlantic was a genuine duel for the leaders, enabling them to reveal the true potential of the Farr design built in New Zealand by the Paprec-Virbac team. The Pacific offered the Frenchman and Irishman an icy welcome, forcing them to sail at high speed in a minefield at the start of January.
Once they had rounded the Horn, they faced a climb back up the Atlantic upwind, and suffered a blow that although remaining secret until the eve of their finish, almost brought their race to an end. Off Cape Frio (Brazil), in a strong headwind, the Solent stay on Paprec-Virbac 2 gave out, threatening to lead to a dismasting. The crew’s determination and Damian Foxall’s technical skills fortunately allowed them to carry out repairs, which were clearly successful, as we saw when they dealt with tough conditions in the Straits of Gibraltar.
Jean-Pierre Dick’s reaction: "It is, of course, very pleasing to see the results of such a long period of work. Both Damian and myself really wanted to win and refused to ease off... Between us, we continually discussed our plans. We have the same vision of ocean racing, believing in the need to look after the boat and equipment, and that is of course, one of the main reasons behind our success. I think I learnt a lot about this aspect, and I shall certainly be even more attentive to that in the forthcoming Vendée Globe."

Previous news items :