Class 40 Artemis Transat win for Soldini
'Giovanni Soldini - Telecom Italia'
Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/
The Artemis Transat ©
At 07:11:27 local time (11:11:27 GMT), Italian solo sailor, Giovanni Soldini, crossed the finish line of The Artemis Transat race in Marblehead, USA. On a crisp, clear early morning with a biting 18-20 knot north-westerly breeze, Soldini and his one year-old Proto Class40, Telecom Italia, completed the North Atlantic crossing in 16 days 22 hours and 11 minutes, having lead the 11 boats in the fleet since passing Lizard Point on the south coast of England during the first night of the race.
Since crossing the start line on Sunday 11th May off Plymouth, Devon, Giovanni Soldini's enormous experience and tactical analysis kept him at the front of the pack: 'I'm feeling very good, obviously,' the 42 year-old said after stepping onto the pontoons after the finish. 'The race for me was pretty good.' One major feature that intensified tactics was the inclusion of an ice gate, installed by the Artemis Transat Race Direction team to keep the competing yachts clear of an area of icebergs drifting southwards off Newfoundland: 'The ice gate was difficult, making me go against the Gulf Stream and stay in the south. Normally, we would sail a much more northern route, so we were a bit limited in our tactical options.'
Soldini's tactical decisions ensured that Telecom Italia usually kept a good distance over the rest of the fleet: 'I think I was good in the race,' he admitted modestly. 'It was a good choice to stay in the north in the beginning and through the first high-pressure. Then, in the second high-pressure we went south and I put a lot of good miles on the others.'
However, the Italian yachtsman was quick to admit his own faults and also to praise the other competitors in the race: 'In the final days, I didn't do so well, so they caught me up. Beluga Racer [Boris Herrmann] especially, he was very good in the last two days.'
The Artemis Transat is the third victory for Soldini's one year-old, Guillaume Verdier-designed Class40, Telecom Italia, after first place in the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre in November 2007 and the Grand Prix Petit Navire in France earlier this year.
Nine Class40s continue racing in the North Atlanticand at 1400GMT today, Boris Herrmann and Beluga Racer were 74 miles from the finish. Herrmann is 28 years-old today and his birthday wish was for good breeze to drive him across the finish line and this afternoon the German yachtsman continues to maintain 9 knots boatspeed. While Beluga Racer has 69 miles of separation between Thierry Bouchard and Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd, the high probability of the breeze going light this afternoon and into the early evening, followed by 15 knot westerly or south-westerly headwinds forecast for the chasing pack off Marblehead, there is a possibility of a race 'restart' in the final stages for the main bulk of the Class40 fleet.
Alex Bennett in 5th place explains the likely conditions over the next 24 hours for the pack trailing Boris Herrmann: 'It's not bad for Fuji at the moment, we're sailing the rhumb line and it's a straight line to the finish,' he explained, before adding ominously, '..although that will change during the course of the day.' With 180 miles remaining, the weather scenario off the coast of America could dramatically affect the race: 'It could be light headwinds,' continues Bennett, 'and that'll be interesting. If it goes light and fickle, then it's anybody's game.' This afternoon the gap between Thierry Bouchard on Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR in 3rd and Halvard Mabire on Custo Pol in 6th is only 55 miles. 'It could become a 'restart' just a few miles from the finish. I really think, 3rd, 4th and 5th place are wide open.' For Bennett, Bouchard, Duc and Mabire, the next 24 hours will be among the toughest of the race: 'We're still locked in a fierce battle with Groupe Royer in front and Custo Pol a few miles behind and Mistral is not a million miles away. So, we're whipping the horses at the moment!'
Just 2 miles behind Bennett, Halvard Mabire is racing blind and receiving neither position polls nor weather at a time when this information is tactically crucial. Reporting shifty breeze and 2 knots of foul current, the sooner Custo Pol starts receiving this information, the better Mabire's performance will be for the final approach. Thierry Bouchard has also had a technical hiccup on board Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sante ELIOR: 'I had a really bad computer problem,' he explained earlier. With competition for the podium becoming increasingly intense, loss of position and weather data would have been catastrophic and severely limited his ability to defend 3rd place: 'It was fairly stressful, but after an hour I managed to fix it.' For Louis Duc, evaluating the weather is becoming increasingly crucial on board Groupe Royer: 'I'm sailing precisely to the weather files at the moment,' he admitted to the race office earlier. Reporting the presence of increasing amounts of commercial shipping, a rapid drop in temperature and thick fog, Duc's weather analysis has proved accurate so far: 'I've taken a few miles off Fujifilm overnight, so I'm pretty happy,' he says. Throughout the afternoon, both Bouchard and Duc have averaged 10 knots to Bennett's 8 knots and Duc on Groupe Royer has extended his lead over Fujifilm from 11 to 27 miles since dawn.
Despite dropping from 4th to 7th place yesterday, Miranda Merron was on excellent form this morning: 'I'm inside a fridge!' she told the race office earlier. 'I can now see my breath and the water temperature has dropped to 5.8 degrees.' The intense cold and fatigue meant drastic measures on board 40 Degrees: 'It's been an interesting night. For preservation purposes I was with 3 reefs and staysail because it was very gusty and to keep warm I draped my self over the engine cover.' Seeking warmth from the boat's motor after charging the batteries, Merron's slumber was deep and a slight change in wind direction and minimal canvas caused a rude awakening as 40 Degrees stalled: 'I woke up and the boat was very nearly in irons as the shift had started.' Since then, she has been busy shaking out reefs, changing headsails and getting back up to speed. Merron made one request this morning: 'I'd love everyone to park up if they wouldn't mind. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's someone else's turn!' Regardless of the freezing conditions on board, Merron has increased her lead over Benoit Parnaudeau in 8th place on Prevoir Vie from 17 miles to 31 miles throughout the day.
For the Class40 fleet, The Artemis Transat has been a close and deeply tactical race. With each skipper's energy reserve reaching the stages of complete depletion, the final hours of the race will require every scrap of endurance in tricky weather conditions through the busy coastal shipping lanes and fishing grounds. It really isn't over, until it's over, for the 9 boats still racing.
Class40 ranking and Distance to Leader figures at 1400GMT on Wednesday 28th May
1 Telecom Italia 0
2 Beluga Racer 0
3 Mistral Loisirs - Pole Sant? ELIOR 69.2
4 Groupe Royer 85.2
5 Fujifilm 112.8
6 Custo Pol 114.8
7 40 Degrees 182
8 Pr?voir Vie 213.8
9 Groupe Partouche 229.6
10 Clarke Offshore Racing 277.9
IMOCA Fleet news: Steve White completes The Artemis Transat
Steve White onboard Spirit of Weymouth crossed the Boston finish line of The Artemis Transat at 04:04:54 GMT (midnight local time) in 9th place in a time of 16 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes and 54 seconds, completing the IMOCA
results table. Nine of the 13 starters have completed the 2,982-mile solo course and White's achievement stands out for his sheer determination and obvious passion for the sport. 
Thirty-six year-old Steve White from Dorchester (UK) is a tribute to the fact that anybody can achieve their dream, provided they are bold enough. He and his wife laid every penny they own on the line, re-mortgaged their house to purchase the boat (Josh Hall's ex-Gartmore) so he can follow his dream of sailing non-stop around the world in the up and coming Vend?e Globe. He is proof that sailing is accessible to anybody with the skills, the dedication and a dream to keep alive.
During his race, White wrote many emails back to shore detailing the high and lows of his experiences: 'I thought we had done a good job avoiding the worst flashes [lightning], but inevitably all around there was one with my name on it - I couldn't get out of the way. There was sheet and then forked lightning very, very close to the boat, and you could smell it.' (go to the Boat Logs section in the Race Console to read in full). As did all the other skippers who went before him, White went through storms, windless zones, freezing cold and embraced it all, relishing the opportunity to race his older generation boat against the professional sailors on the IMOCA circuit to achieve his ambition of finishing The Artemis Transat and is now one stop closer to his long-held dream of competing in the solo Vend?e Globe.
Tonight at the Boston Harbour Hotel the official prizegiving for the IMOCA class, and on Thursday a full review of the race, along with photos from the prizegiving. Plus don't miss the full video round-up of the race, live on the website on Thursday. 
IMOCA Fleet Results:
Boat name / skipper name / finish time / date / elapsed time / time difference to 1st place
1 - Gitana Eighty (Loick Peyron) 03:15:35 GMT 24.5.08 12d 11h 45m 35s
2 - Brit Air (Armel Le Cleac'h) 08:28:40 GMT 24.5.08 12d 19h 28m 40s [difference to 1st place 7h 43m 05s]
3- Generali (Yann Elies) 04:00:22 GMT 25/05/08 / 13d 15h 00m 22s
[difference to 1st place 1d 3h 14m 47s]
4 - Safran (Marc Guillemot) 10:18:47 GMT 26/5/08 14d 21h 18m 47s
(average speed 8.32 knots / difference to 1st place 2d 9h 33m 12s)
5 - Roxy (Samantha Davies) 23:00:51 GMT 26/5/08 15d 10h 00m 51s (average speed 8.04 knots / difference to 1st place 2d 22h 15m 16s)
6 - Cervin ENR (Yannick Bestaven) 03:31:17 GMT 27/5/08 15d 14h 31m 17s (average speed 7.94 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 2h 45m 42s)
7 - Akena V?randas (Arnaud Boissieres) 05:00:03 GMT 27/5/08 15d 16h 00m 3s (average speed 7.91 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 4h 14m 28s)
8 - Aviva (Dee Caffari) 15:05:34 GMT 27/5/08 16d 2h 5m 34s (average speed 7.70 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 14h 19m 59s)
9 - Spirit of Weymouth (Steve White) 04:04:54 GMT 28/5/08 16d 15h 4m 54s (average speed 7.45 knots / difference to 1st place 4d 3h 19m 19s)
www.theartemistransat.com
by OC Events media 
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nedlands, WA
