"It wasn’t very easy over the last few days with some rough conditions in the Bay of Biscay. The gear was beginning to suffer, but the main thing is we made it to the finish. It’s normal that conditions were difficult as we’re in February in the North Atlantic. I never really gave myself any real goals in terms of positions. With Brit Air in the beginning our aim was to complete the round the world voyage and sail well. If we managed to do both, looking at previous races I thought it would be possible to get a good place in the rankings. I’m proud to have finished second behind Michel Desjoyeaux. No one could beat him this year, so I’m very pleased with my place. There were times when it was difficult. There were moments of doubting and stress aboard the boat, when conditions were bad. And then, there were magical moments; Rounding the Horn was a great moment. Jean’s rescue was something I could never have imagined, as it was an incredible scenario. So the three months passed really quickly.
I think I have lost some weight, because at the end I didn’t have much left to eat. I had nothing left after yesterday’s lunch and I’d been rationing myself for a while. So I was pleased to have some crepes, fresh bread and butter this morning.

I was knocked down in the South Pacific with the mast over in the water and I lost my wind vane and didn’t have wind info for about a month and a half. So I sailed by intuition. It was only at the end of the race that the boat suffered any real damage apart from that. The protective cover was ripped off by a giant wave in the Bay of Biscay. There’s a piece of the mast track missing too, so I had to finish with three reefs.
I think the race was well prepared with the team. We had done quite a lot of racing. I wanted to set out on a boat that I knew perfectly and where I had gained a lot of experience. I was surprised in the southern ocean at the beginning, but you get used to those conditions, so I really learnt a lot."

Armel le Cléac'h's first words on the podium
 

You can view pictures of Armel le Cléac’h crossing the finishing line in the media section – photos.  Click here.  The skipper of Brit Air is currently making his way into the harbour and is being cheered by thousands of spectators.

“It was frustrating to have lost 300 miles in the Doldrums so it feels great to close the gap. I don’t really know how I have done it because I have just sailed the breeze and not really pushed the boat, but Aviva is definitely on a mission. I can’t slow her down! We have 2,000 miles to go so there is a chance of closing further. There are a couple of stopping areas where there are light airs and they might not let Brian through and I might be able to catch up more or we might both get stuck in it for a while so there is potential. It is very unusual to change places with this far to go but never say never. It is exciting to have these small battles going on with Roxy and Safran and me and Brian so there isn’t just a procession to the finish. But congratulations to Armel. He has sailed an awesome race. I am currently negotiating my way past the high pressure but I have had a good breeze all night which has allowed me to sail quickly in the right direction. I reckon I have another decent breeze before it gets light and I have to do my little wiggle through the light patch. As long as my routing is right and the weather does what the grib files say, I will be OK. The mainsail is still disintegrating and it will be tested further over the next few days. Whenever I put in a reef or take one out, I have to make sure the conditions are exactly right. I get a shower of confetti whenever I put in a reef or take one out but the main danger is the exposed fibres – if they get caught on anything, that will be it. Sail over.”

Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message

" It’s magical! Absolutely incredible seeing all these people here to meet me in the sunshine in Les Sables d'Olonne. I’m very pleased and I could feel the tears welling up, when I saw all those motor boats. I’m coming to terms with the fact that I’ve finished and can now rest, but finishing second is something I find hard to get my head around. I think there are several factors, which meant I was second. It was due to sailing the race my way. You need a bit of luck to be able to finish, as it’s a hard race. Not very many of us are completing the race. Coming in just behind Michel Desjoyeaux is wonderful! I could not have dreamed of anything better. The last few days were very difficult with very rough conditions in the Bay of Biscay. Huge waves were breaking over the deck. The protective cover was ripped off, the mainsail car broke off the mast and our mainsail was damaged, but we managed to finish.”

Due to the arrival of Armel Le Cléac'h today’s radio session is cancelled. Instead there will be the live broadcast of Armel Le Cléac'h’s press conference at around 12h00 GMT

200 metres and he holds his breath....ready to celebrate....he is on the helm steering Brit Air... punching the air for last 100 metres, sighting the line... and crosses two fists punched in the air....His shore team go aboard...  Great finish huge relief all round