Starting from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, the fleet of 129 boats sailed towards Corsica, rounded Giraglia, and returned to Genoa. The first to cross the finish line was the Dutch maxi Black Jack 100 of Remon Vos that came close to the 2012 record
After 15 hours, 11 minutes and 43 seconds of sailing, at 3:23 last night, the maxi Black Jack 100 with her 19 crew members crossed the finish line in Genoa, unable to hide their disappointment as they missed the seemingly unbeatable record by just 15 minutes. However, the Black Jack crew secured their second consecutive line honours victory, with great satisfaction from the crew and the new owner, who commented upon the arrival: "It was an epic regatta. We bought the boat just over a month ago, and thanks to an extraordinary crew, we managed everything well in fairly challenging conditions. It must be admitted that this boat was born for these conditions; it has been constantly improved and updated and is still competitive despite being built in 2005. Last night, we had very high averages, around 20 knots, with wind peaks of 37 knots and steep, breaking waves near Giraglia. But what an emotion to round this mythical islet at sunset!"
A prototype designed for ocean navigation with a small crew is the winner of the windy 2024 Loro Piana Giraglia, historically awarded to the best overall result in corrected time in the most numerous group, in this case, the IRC.
This was a formidable achievement for Didier Gaudoux and his co-skipper Erwan Tabarly, who, on a boat just over 11 meters long, completed the 241-mile course from Saint-Tropez-Giraglia-Genoa in 24h49m17s, surfing the big waves of this memorable edition. Lann Ael 3 is a project of the Manuard-Nivelt duo; the NM 35 is specifically designed to be sailed double-handed. The boat incorporates some features of the Class40 and has consistently demonstrated excellent speed.
Added to this was the talent of the sailors on board: Parisian Gadoux, who, besides being an exceptional sailor, is also vice president of the Yacht Club de France, a founding club of the Giraglia, and who also won overall the Fastnet race in 2017. Erwan Tabarly, whose surname needs no further introduction: nephew of Eric Tabarly and a French ocean navigator with extensive experience on Figaro.
In the 2024 Loro Piana Giraglia conditions, they found the ideal situation to perform at their best, racing right behind much larger boats. Also noteworthy is the excellent seamanship, a sporting and technical achievement of great value, for having double-handed the boat in tough conditions.
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