The 100-foot trimaran Macif was the first to cross the finish line in the Transat Jacques Vabre race , covering 5,400 nautical miles in 12 days, 17 hours and 29 minutes. Macif's closest rivals, Sodebo Ultim, were 88 miles from the finish line at the time.
Macif skippers François Gabard and Pascal Bidegorry failed to break the Transat Jacques Vabre record set by Sébastien Joss and Charles Codrellier on Multi 70 in 2013 (11 days, 5 hours), mainly due to a slower passage through the equatorial slack zone.
The giant multihull class was represented for the first time this year by Transat Jacques Vabre. Of the four boats, only two made it to the finish line ( Prince de Bretagne overturned in particular), but the battle between these two was exciting.
Sobedo Utim was widely regarded as the favourite, given that Macif's two year build had only been completed two months earlier. Sobedo Utim (ex Geronimo) skipper Thomas Covill has far more experience in running his boat than the Macif crew: he has made two transatlantic crossings on her this year. In addition, the Sodebo Ultim is slightly longer, wider, heavier and more powerful than its rival.
From the start of the race, Sodebo Ultim was indeed ahead but Macif was never more than 70 nautical miles behind the leaders. The equatorial slack zone was better handled by Macif. The team overtook their rivals and snatched victory.
