British skipper Sam Goodchild (For The Planet) finished third in his first ever solo IMOCA race, the 3,500 nautical miles inaugural Retour à La Base from Martinique to Lorient.
Goodchild finished third in the Retour à La Base behind winner Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) and second placed Jéremie Beyou on Charal.
In taking his fourth consecutive third position, his fifth of the year, Goodchild wins the 2023 IMOCA Globe Series championship and is the first British skipper ever to do so.
Goodchild’s arrival at the dock at Lorient La Base at around 01:45hrs local time Sunday (elapsed time 9d 07h 43min 21s) was relaxed and personable.
He was quick to get off his IMOCA For The Planet and see his young family on the pontoon but share hugs and moments with his friends, peers, sponsors and supporters, past and present and race management.
French based Briton Sam Davies (Initiatives Coeur) finished in sixth place Sunday afternoon, and fourth overall on the IMOCA Globe Series championship.
Her elapsed time for the course was 10d 36m 29s.
Another British finisher Monday was Pip Hare (Medallia) in 11th place.
Pip Hare confirmed she is ‘back in a happy place’ as she heads home solo to Poole on England’s south coast where she is expected Tuesday evening.
Her 3,500 miles singlehanded race across the Atlantic came down to a final dogfight with her longstanding French rival Romain Attanasio (Fortinet-Best Western).
Attanasio moved clear on the final straight and denied Hare a place in the top 10 by only 21 minutes despite having sustained a head injury during his last night racing.
Eleventh is her best finish in the IMOCA class yet. She finished 13th in last summer’s Vendée Arctic, 12th in the Route du Rhum and 12th in the recent Transat Jacques Vabre.
