Vendée Globe

Open to every class, the Round the Island Race (around the Isle of Wight) has over the years become one of the most popular events of the season in England. No record this year for the multihulls, but among the monohulls, the maxi ICAP Leopard has achieved another victory and a new round the island record. As for the IMOCA monohulls, Mike Golding (Ecover 3) has won the 2008 edition, following Alex Thomson’s disqualification on Hugo Boss.

Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) had on board Ben Ainslie and the Formula 1 racing driver, Lewis Hamilton. In spite of losing his bowsprit following a collision with another competitor in the pre-start phase, Hugo Boss went on to finish first with a time of 4h 23m and 29s, just ahead of Ecover 3. However, late on Saturday afternoon, the jury was to change the rankings by disqualifying Hugo Boss, because of the collision that arose just before the start of the Round the Island race. Thomson appealed and the Race Committee had to take a decision, but said they had no reason to examine the reopen the case, so officially it is Mike Golding, who was declared the winner in the Open 60s on his Ecover 3.
A long way behind, a battle was taking place between Artemis, Pindar and Aviva. In the end, it was Artemis, who came off best, finishing in third place in the Open 60s, some thirty minutes behind Hugo Boss.

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