For the first time, a Quebec crew crossed the finish line of the Transat Québec Saint-Malo in the lead position. After a transatlantic crossing of more than two weeks, the sailing team Atlas Ocean Racing won the race by less than an hour ahead of second place.
The competition lasted twice as long as expected. “It’s a physical, mental and human challenge,” he told Duty Gilles Barbot, the skipper of the winning crew. He and his colleagues form the first Canadian and Quebec team to win this regatta. “We proved that a lot of collaboration, enthusiasm and preparation can allow an amateur team to go faster than a professional team,” he rejoices.
For the athlete, in addition to fatigue, the biggest challenge was avoiding animal life on the race route. “There were a lot of whales in the St. Lawrence.” Despite everything, he is very happy with his team’s performance. “Everyone is very proud right now.”
“We’re glad they’ve arrived, it’s been a long time,” says Transat Québec Saint-Malo general manager Richard Samson, who is relieved to see the crews starting to reach Saint-Malo. The regatta kicked off on June 30, and several crews had planned to complete the crossing in just over a week. But the weather conditions messed up their plans and the first crews arrived after just over 14 days. “There was simply no wind,” he explains.
According to him, the race could not have ended better: “I don’t know anyone who would have bet on one boat or another, it was close until the end.”
Gilles Barbot also appeared surprised in a video published Sunday on his team’s Facebook page. “It’s possible that we’re the first boat to have crossed the Atlantic!” he announced.
The teams will continue to arrive on the coast of Brittany until Wednesday. Among them is that of Quebec skipper Georges Leblanc, who is completing his last Atlantic crossing at the age of 72 aboard theThe Unicornioas well as the all-female Quebec team of theEquinox (Femina Ocean Challenge), with skipper Julia Virat.
Two abandonments
Of the 30 boats that left Quebec at the end of June, only 28 were due to complete the crossing in Saint-Malo: two of them had to give up along the way.
The boat Acrobatica had launched a distress call on July 9. “It took two hours before we had any details, it seemed like an eternity,” recalls the event director. The crew members, who had taken refuge in their lifeboat, were rescued by an oil tanker, but the sailboat itself sank. For its part, the boat Alla Grande Pirelli experienced problems that forced his crew to abandon the race.
All in all, Mr. Samson is pleased with the event, which he describes as a “total success.” “Everyone is safe, everyone had fun,” he rejoices.