On 19th July, after six days of intense sailing, Dona Bertareli, Yann Guichard and the entire crew of the world's largest racing trimaran, Spindrift 2, beat the record for the Transat Québec – Saint-Malo that had been held for 20 years by Loïck Peyron.
Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift 2: “We are delighted to have won this race. At the start we were imagining that we might make it in less than seven days but to complete it in six is a really great time. The entire team did a great job. I had taken part in the Transat in 2004, but unfortunately had to give up in the middle of the Atlantic, so to move on by both completing it and also beating the record is wonderful.”
Dona Bertarelli, helmsman-trimmer: “It was fantastic on both sporting and personal levels. I had been wanting to do the Transat Québec – Saint-Malo for several years already. The race is magnificent, the start in Quebec, the St. Lawrence river, passing all the legendary historical landmarks such as the Rocher Percé (Pierced Rock), Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Fastnet, and then the arrival here in Saint-Malo: there are several races within the race.”
Aldo Magada, President and CEO Zenith: “We wish to congratulate the entire Spindrift team and especially Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard for this fantastic record. We are proud of you all! This is a well-deserved reward for the excellence and precision of their performance.”
Transat Spindrift 2:
Wednesday, July 13 at 16:00 (local) Quebec
Arriving in Saint Malo Tuesday, July 19 at 11:17 p.m. minutes and 41 seconds to Saint Malo
Running time: 6 days, 1 hour, 17 minutes and 41 seconds
2897000 road on the theoretical average of 20.99 knots
3212 miles of actual distance average of 22.1 knots
Improved record of 1 day, 19 hours, 6 minutes and 19 seconds.
