Marie Tabarly rewrote history last night, surpassing her famous father’s record by taking line honours in the Ocean Globe Race, and in the days ahead could potentially win the OGR overall.
‘We did it…We have won in real time… No one can beat us…This was always our aim,” said Marie Tabarly, rejoicing with her crew aboard her father Eric Tabarly’s yacht Pen Duick VI.
The black-hulled 73-foot Bermudan Ketch crossed the Royal Yacht Squadron finishing line in Cowes (UK) late on Thursday evening, 11 April. It had a lead of almost two days and was 250 miles ahead its nearest rival, and former Whitbread champion L’Esprit d’équipe.
Tabarly (helming the 52-year-old yacht sailed by her father Éric in the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race) finished in 12 knots of wind and strong tidal currents, enduring a ‘difficult docking’ at Trinity Landing.
Eric Tabarly was unable to achieve victory in the epic around-the-world racing despite making three attempts.
The French legend Pen Duick FR (14), captained by the indomitable Marie Tabarly has won provisional line honours on the final leg of McIntyre Ocean Globe Race.
Credit: Aïda Valceanu/ OGR2023
Coveted prize in sight
Don McIntyre, the race organiser, drew more cheers, by telling her: ‘There may be more. Pen Duick You could also win the race by handicap. The French Swan is your nearest competitor. TrianaIt is stuck with no wind and 1,400 miles behind. If she doesn’t finish within four days you will have won both elapsed and handicap honours.’
Pen Duick VI Second place in the Overall Race IRC leaderboard is only 19 hours away. Triana But FR (66). But Triana She is racing against the clock as she still has 1,320 more miles to go before the finish. Light winds are predicted, which will reduce her average speed. To hold the IRC lead, she must maintain an average of 4.9kt throughout the race. Pen Duick VI. It could become dangerous if it moves too slowly. Pen Duick VI To win the OGR Overall IRC Prize.
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Marie Tabarly’s mixed crew of 10 and her fourth-place finish on Leg 1 Southampton-Cape Town and second place in Auckland saw them race closely to Cape Horn with the Italian Swan65 skippered by Marco Trombetti. They rounded the Cape only a couple hours apart. Translated 9 then suffered a leak, forcing her crew into the Falklands in order to repair it. Their race to win was over.
History-maker
Pen Duick The crew recovered from an incident where a man fell overboard at the beginning to dominate the final leg. They were able to pass the rest of the fleet. Marie and crew managed to avoid the worst of the Doldrums. They slipped past the Azores High, surfed at up to 23 knots in a south westerly wind, and completed a secession of over 200 miles across the Bay of Biscay. This gave them a two-day lead over their nearest competitor. L’Esprit d’EquipeLionel Regnier is the skipper.
Passing across the celebratory champagne, Don McIntyre was equally ecstatic: ‘Marie and her crew have achieved a dream and re-written history. Each entrant’s story is unique, but this one was simply WOW! Marie, Bravo! You have been so inspirational in so many ways.’
For the final leg Marie Tabarly’s strategy was “to go fast, fast, fast and we accelerate at the end”. A winning strategy, no doubt! Photo credit Tim Bishop/PPL
Tabarly spoke equally passionately. ‘There have been so many stand-out moments. I remember that we were speeding along in a 55 knot wind, and dolphins were jumping out of the water around us. In 55 kts. Crazy. I remember racing very closely. Translation 9 The following are some examples of how to get started: Maiden The ability to see your friends is a great thing. There were also the four buddy chats a day on the radio. I’m going to miss that. There have been way too many amazing moments.”
Watch the race live
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