French skipper Yoann Richomme made it back-to-back solo Transatlantic wins when he brought PAPREC ARKÉA across the finish line Monday 6 May.
Richomme on his Finot Conq-Antoine Koch designed PAPREC ARKÉA crossed the finish line at 18:23:32 UTC (14:23:32hrs local time NYC) , to conclude a very close battle with German skipper Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer) who was less than 30 miles behind when he crossed for victory.
His elapsed time for the 2,950 nautical miles course since leaving Lorient on Sunday 28 April is 8d 6h 53mn 32sec.
Richomme’s elapsed time bears some comparison with Le Cléach’s 2016 time of 12 days 2 hours, at least in proving how much faster the latest generation of foiling IMOCAs are compared with Le Cléach’s Banque Populaire VIII which was one of the first ever IMOCAs with hydrofoils.
Now Yoann Richomme will have the opportunity relax, recover and savor the ten or so hours of sailing between the finish line – which is 110 miles offshore and his arrival in New York Bay, passing by the Statue of Liberty before celebrating tomorrow morning at Brooklyn’s One15 Marina.
It is the first time since 2016 that this historic Transatlantic race, which originated in England in 1960 as the Observer Transatlantic Race, has been contested.
