The relatively unknown French sailor Gilles Lamire, stormed across the finish line of the Transat bakerly off New York this evening at 16:50 local time, to complete his first big win in professional sailing aboard French Tech Rennes St Malo.
The 45-year-old, who hails from the small Breton town of Cancale, ran away with the competitive Multi50 class, completing the 3,050-nautical mile course from Plymouth to New York in 12 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes and 17 seconds. The final time includes a 31-minute time penalty for accidental breakage of the boats engine sea.
He sailed 4,090 miles through the water at an average speed of 13.85 knots.
This was a resounding win for the French skipper whose nearest and better-known rival, Lalou Roucayrol on Arkema was still 350 miles out to sea, when the celebrations started on Lamire’s boat.
