The winner of the Mini Transat singles transatlantic regatta in the Série fleet was Ambrogio Beccaria of Italy.
The yachtsman finished on November 15.He completed the trip from the start line of the second leg in the CanaryIslands to the finish line in Martinique in 13 days, 1 hour, 58 minutes and 48 seconds. He became the third Mini Transat competitor to complete the race this year.
«It's a mixture of pain and pleasure. We've been watered down for a week. And we're not fish. The human body isn't built for that. Luckily, it was a little calmer from there, otherwise I don't know how I would have survived. I thought of the boat not as something inanimate, but as a human being. And not just as a human being but as a dictator»," says Beccaria laughing.
Following 19 hours after Beccaria, the Frenchman Nicolas d'Estais finished second in the Série fleet. To be precise, his result of 13 days, 21 hours, 5 minutes and 44 seconds.
D'Estais' compatriot Benjamin Ferré took third place on the podium of the second stage. He finished in Martinique in the evening of November 16 after 2 weeks, 7 hours, 34 minutes and 54 seconds since leaving the Canary Islands. He was 1 day and 5.5 hours behind Beccaria.
Third place in the Série overall ranking is still vacant: Ferret's result in the first leg (11th) does not yet allow him to be unconditionally named the bronze medallist of the regatta.
As for Proto fleet, the podium is already filled. Third in the Proto fleet is Germany's Morten Bogaki. He finished 2 hours before Ferret's arrival.
«I am surprised to have finished before Erwan (Le Mene;ErwanLe Mene) and Tanguy (Bouroullec; Tanguy Bouroullec). I didn't prepare very actively, this year I hardly sailed at all. The whole project was very short, so I'm very happy with what the result turned out to be. I wonder what I could have done with this boat if I had practiced more»," said Bogaki after the finish.
Le Men and Burulek themselves didn't finish until November 17. Their times are 2 weeks, 21 hours and 43 minutes (Le Men) and 2 weeks, 21 hours and 43 minutes.
Russian Fyodor Druzhinin, racing in Proto fleet, has less than 250 nautical miles left. He is still in 18th place.
As for Irina Gracheva, who was forced to retire from the race in the Série fleet after a mast breakage and failure of both auto-rudder units, she was finally able to personally report on what was going on aboard her Mini.
«Many thanks to the Ti Ble crew and captain Ronan for the fast and accurate rescue that took place at night and in high waves. I was 1170 miles out of Martinique when my mast fell. I was able to make a small mast and set some sails. But after a while the autopilot also failed. I was able to drift towards the finish at about three knots, and that was only possible in strong winds. But, as the organizing committee reported, there was a weakening of the wind ahead and progress would be considerably slower. On an optimistic forecast it would take me 18-20 days to reach the finish line if the wind would be of a constant strength and direction. Otherwise it could take up to 30 days with crash sails and no autopilot. I would have enough food for 10 days maximum. I made the decision to abandon the boat. It was dangerous to drift in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a boat with such damage and with such little speed. From the moment the mast fell, I did everything in my power. I performed all my actions in accordance with good sailing practice and taking into account the safety factor. The decision to withdraw from the race was not easy for me, I hope it was the right one»," she wrote in her Facebook group.
In total, nine competitors have already withdrawn for various reasons: two from the Proto fleet and seven from the Série fleet.
