Young skipper beats veterans in trans-Atlantic race

Francois Gabart aboard the high-tech Macif has seized victory among the four trimarans that were racing across the Atlantic from the French coast.

The Bridge 2017 Centennial race of the huge sailing ships commemorates the first landing in France of US troops during World War I in June 1917.

Gabart made the crossing from the French port of Saint-Nazaire in eight days and 31 minutes -- a full 11 hours and 18 minutes ahead of around-the-world record holder Francis Joyon, at the helm of the Idec.

The 34-year-old Gabart sailed his Macif under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into New York on Monday at 1:31 pm local time (1730 GMT), while Joyon arrived just after midnight (0400 GMT Tuesday).

Gabart, Joyon and two other French skippers -- Thomas Coville, the around-the-world solo record holder aboard the Sodebo, and Yves Le Blevec skippering the Actual -- departed Saint-Nazaire on June 25 along with the Queen Mary 2, the flagship of the Cunard line.

The multi-hulled crafts measure 32 meters (105 feet) long, and each has a crew of six.

The race with the giant QM2 oceanliner was only symbolic, as the cruise ship easily bested the yachts by steaming into New York at sunrise on Saturday.

"The goal of the game was not to set a record between Saint-Nazaire and New York, but to arrive before the second," Gabart quipped upon arrival.

- Hit by a wave -

The route from Europe to the Americas does not favor sailboats, since the prevailing winds blow against them, and the racers reported especially weak winds in their trip across the Atlantic.

The Macif, which was launched in mid-2015, was the sleekest and most modern of the trimarans in the race.

"It's great to have these magic boats but against the wind it's a tough trip: You need wind to launch the machine, but there were lots of times when the wind wasn't there," Gabart said.

He said he remains especially intent on beating Coville's solo round-the-world record.

"I'm ready but there is still a lot of work to be done!" Gabart said.

"I've seen manuevers that need to be done that I wouldn't dare do alone. I'll need to handle the boat alone as well as I did it with the crew," he said.

Coville, aboard the Sodebo, arrived Tuesday at 5:18 am (0918 GMT) after eight days and 16 hours at sea.

He was forced to slow down after one of his crew members, identified as Thierry Briend, was struck by a wave and suffered a head injury when he was at the ship's helm on Sunday.

The injury was not severe enough to require Briend's evacuation by helicopter. Instead he was immobilized aboard the vessel, and rushed to a hospital as soon as the yacht docked in New York.

Bringing up the rear will be Le Blevec and the Actual, expected to arrive on Wednesday.

source: AFP