Transat Québec Saint-Malo - FenêtréA Cardinal 3 overall winner
by Transat Québec Saint-Malo on 1 Aug 2012
FenêtréA Cardinal 3 crossing the line in Saint Malo - Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2012 Pierre Bouras
Transat Québec Saint-Malo skipper Erwan Le Roux on trimaran FenêtréA Cardinal 3 won the eighth edition of the classic West to East transatlantic race, crossing the line under the imposing walls of the old city of Saint Malo today, August 1st 2012, at 07:56:05 local time.
FenêtréA Cardinal 3 total elapsed time is nine days,14 hours, 21 minutes and 5 seconds for an average speed of 14,27 knots to cover 3,288 miles. The 50' trimaran also smashed the previous reference time, established by Escoffier in 2008, by 1 day, 12 hours, and 58 minutes. This is the first major offshore win for Erwan Le Roux, after his success in the 2009 double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre with Franck Yves Escoffier. The Multi50 FenêtréA Cardinal is the former Crêpes Whaou 3, the winning crew was composed by Erwan Le Roux, Antoine Carpentier, Mathieu Souben and Yvon Cardinal.
Just moments after his arrival in Saint Malo, an happy Erwan Le Roux, skipper of FenêtréA Cardinal 3 declared: 'The race was a two-stages thing. First the fantastic start in Québec, the descent of the St Lawrence, with all those marks to round. It was a real show, with so many spectators waiting and cheering for us. Later it was harder, with some upwind sailing and the boat slamming and suffering in that choppy, confused sea. It was hard. We really had to wait for the right moment to attack and get 100% out of the boat, but in the end we managed to do that for four full days and we were able to choose our course across the Atlantic. It was amazing, and we will all remember that forever. From the Fastnet Rock to Perros and here to Saint Malo it was a bit crazy... we rounded the Fastnet in the morning and got to Sept Iles in the afternoon, mad. The boat is incredible because she lets you reach high speeds while feeling always safe. We needed to take a reef sometimes and there was someone at the mainsail trim all the time, but we never nosedived or crashed heavily. The boat is extraordinary. I'm convinced that a 7 days record is still possible with a Multi50, we made a lot of extra miles, especially towards the finish, but if one can make some gain all over the course, the record is feasible.'
Transat Québec Saint-Malo website
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