LES SABLES D’OLONNE, France: Frenchman Francois Gabart won the seventh Vendee Globe round-the-world race yesterday after a two-and-a-half month epic journey which saw him set a new record for the course.
Gabart, at 29 the youngest skipper in the race, sailed back into the port at Les Sables d’Olonne in western France in mid-afternoon to a rousing welcome home from thousands of spectators gathered along the shoreline.
In all, he covered 24,000 nautical miles (44,450 kilometers) in just over 78 days, smashing the previous record of 84 days 3 hours and 9 minutes set by another Frenchman, Michel Desjoyeaux, the last time the race was held in 2009.
The second boat home, expected later Sunday evening, was set to be another Frenchman, Armel Le Cleac’h, with whom Gabart had dueled for the lead for most of the race.
In third place was Welshman Alex Thomson and he looked sure to be the first non-Frenchman to come home on Tuesday evening.
Of the 20 boats that set off on Nov. 10, only 12 remained yesterday after a course that rounded the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, New Zealand and Cape Horn before navigating back up the Atlantic Ocean to France.
The win for Gabart means that French sailors have won every Vendee Globe since the first edition in 1989/90 when Titouan Lamazou was the victor. Gabart though at 29 is the youngest winner in what was his first participation.
Gabart wins Vendee Globe in record time
