The first competitors have set foot on dry land while the vast majority were still racing. The 63-foot Reichel / Pugh in the New York Yacht Club’s colors, Lucky, led by its American owner Bryon Ehrhart, crossed the finish line at 6:49 on Thursday morning (24 August, 2017) winning the Trofeo Giuseppe Tasca de Almerita.
“It was a very technical race especially between Sardinia and Corsica. But it was a formidable event,” said his skipper, delighted to be the first to tread on Monegasque soil.
He finished at the head of the race in real time, in 66 hours, 46 minutes and 03 seconds, far from the record held since 2015 by the 100-foot Esimit Europa 2 in 47 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds. The entire fleet had found itself becalmed on the outskirts of Corsica.
Malizia II, second in Monaco
At precisely 10:29 on Friday morning, the IMOCA 60′ Malizia II from Monaco’s Yacht Club dropped anchor, thus finishing second in real time in 3 days 22 hours, 29 minutes and 40 seconds. Skippered by German navigator Boris Herrmann, the Monegasque crew consisted of Valentin Zavadnikov and Matteo Marenghi Vaselli, two members of the Y.C.M., assisted by Milena Schoenahl.
“I’m very happy with the boat and that we had the opportunity to test it in all conditions,” explained the helmsman while analyzing the race. “We had many close behind us, up until Corsica, and very few reaching us thereafter. That allowed us to catch up to Lucky, faster the closer we got. But I am very pleased with this result and the crew that got along wonderfully.”
A satisfactory second place also for Pierre Casiraghi, who came to congratulate the Monegasque team on their arrival: “I am very happy with this result, in weather conditions which are hard on the nerves. They fought hard.”
The rest of the fleet still on course
Meanwhile, vessels are arriving one after another in the Hercules harbour, which, since Friday morning has been welcoming an incessant ballet of sailboats of all shapes and sizes. At 11:14 am, the Ker 46 Tonnerre de Glen led by Dominique Tian crossed the finish line.
Behind them, the battle raged for a place on the ORC podium. It was Grand Soleil Leaps & Bounds, led by Jean-Philippe Blanpain that clenched first place in this category in real time followed by Francesco de Nicolo’s Ottavo Peccato.
In order to rank, the rest of the competitors must arrived in the Principality today, on Saturday, before noon…. it was a true sprint for most of the fleet! Only today on Saturday, 26 August we will know the winner of this 13th edition, because the final classification will take into account the arrivals with compensated times. Each boat being very different, this calculation system is based on the gauge of each unit, and ensures true equality.
Source: Yacht Club de Monaco
