Amazon a graceful second in Martinique in the Panerai Transat Classique
by Panerai Transat Classique 2015 23 Jan 2015 20:31 NZDT
22 January 2015
It was a long night. Amazon maintained the suspense right up to the last moment, revising her ETA by an hour... every hour! But above all it was a long night for those aboard because when she finally crossed the finishing line of the Panerai Transat Classique 2015 it was 05:45:56 Martinique time.
Tacking into Fort-de-France Bay under the starry canopy of the West Indian night was a wonderful experience for the crew of this big Stephens yawl, and a perfect way to bring to an end their transatlantic adventure after so many days at sea. But the welcome as she came alongside, the applause from the crew of Altair, the organizers and the local partners of the race, produced tremendous smiles from Olivier Pécoux and his crew of six.
The cohesion of the crew, all dressed in red for the occasion, was evident: "Our crew was brilliant and the atmosphere aboard was perfect. Never was there a raised word. We broke nothing of any importance and whenever we did have a setback the more technically-minded members of the crew did a marvellous job. We split into three watches of two people, and I didn't keep a watch. This Transat Classique went very quickly and, in particular, the sea was very rough. The waves weren't really very big but we had to put up with crossed seas." At 14 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes and 56 seconds, Amazon has put in a remarkable performance.
However nothing has as yet been decided in corrected times, so the first two yachts to arrive will have to sit back and cross their fingers until the rest of the fleet fetches the Martinique finishing line. Anything can happen. This afternoon at around 3 p.m. Martinique time, Argyll, the pretty Stephens design from 1948, will be the next contender to tie up after making an excellent run. Tomorrow looks set to be a veritable harvest of finishers with the expected arrivals of Adventuress, Faïaoahé and Corto, all sailing within 9 miles of each other. Everything's hanging in the balance.
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