Samantha Davies heading for finish Monday night
by Event media on 27 May 2008
Sam Davies SW
Marc Guillemot on Safran crossed the finish line in Boston at 10:18:47 GMT (06:18:47 local time Boston), securing fourth place in The Artemis Transat 2008.
He was forced to put a couple of final tacks in to enter and the harbour before crossing the finish line and completing The Artemis Transat.
This now leaves six IMOCA 60s, out of the 13 starters, to finish and leading this second pack is Samantha Davies on board Roxy. Davies represents Britain’s first finisher in the race and is expected to arrive at midnight tonight.
She will finish ahead of her fellow Briton and rival Dee Caffari on Aviva, who still has around 330 miles to the finish and expected to arrive at 14:00 GMT tomorrow (Tuesday, 27 May).
Meanwhile in the Class 40 event the competition within the ten boats still racing the fleet is becoming increasingly tight with the Marblehead finish line approaching. With the leading trio closing up and the four boats place 4th to 7th clustered together, a photo-finish is a distinct possibility.
Despite using the 40°N ice gate south of Newfoundland as a launch pad for a rocket propelled ascent north-west, the race leader, Giovanni Soldini, has a championship fight ahead to maintain his lead. This morning, Soldini spoke frankly via a patchy satellite link 440 miles off the coast of North America: 'I have very **** conditions,' he reported. 'Really, really ******,' the Italian continued, finishing his weather update with a wry laugh.
The race organisation had unusual difficulty in contacting skippers this morning and the reason soon became clear: 'I've just been doing a sail change and could hear the phone going earlier,' said Miranda Merron at 11:00GMT. Swapping over gennakers on 40 Degrees, she had just run out of breeze: 'There's not much wind as we're in the ridge and the Gulf Stream current is making us really slow,'
Class40 ranking at 14:00GMT on Monday 26 May
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Beluga Racer 43
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Santé ELIOR 106
4 Groupe Royer 123.9
5 Fujifilm 125.6
6 Custo Pol 132
7 40 Degrees 143.3
8 Prévoir Vie 155.1
9 Groupe Partouche 218.5
10 Clarke Offshore Racing 250.3
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