Forced to stay at the dock while waiting for storms Ciaran and Domingos to allow them to take off, the Imoca – the class of Vendée Globe boats – were impatient. And they did not delay in making the transatlantic crossing once the departure was given. Already winners in 2021, the duo Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière (For People) won the 16th edition of the Transat Jacques-Vabre on Sunday November 19 aboard their latest generation Imoca.
“A few days after leaving, we were pretty burnt out and found ourselves in the middle of the Canaries. There, we looked at each other and said to ourselves that we were on the fastest monohull in the world. It was pure delight, a magical moment,” reveled Thomas Ruyant after the nocturnal arrival, in comments reported by Le Figaro, praising the “exceptional boat” which took them across the Atlantic in 11 days 21 hours and 32 minutes of racing.
For the 42-year-old northern sailor, this victory is synonymous with a double on the “Route du Café”, but he also signs an unprecedented hat-trick in offshore racing: Thomas Ruyant won the 2021 Transat Jacques-Vabre (already with Morgan Lagravière) , and the Route du Rhum solo in 2022. A discreet and charismatic sailor, he won this new victory aboard an 18-meter monohull launched last March, and designed for the Vendée Globe 2024, the prestigious racing around the world in the Imoca category, and his main objective – he finished 6th in the last edition. “I know that I have won the last three transats and that makes me one of the favorites for the race but it’s another playing field,” commented Thomas Ruyant.
Behind the sailboat For People, second place in the Imoca was decided between For The Planet and Paprec Arkéa (Yoann Richomme and Yann Éliès), who finally crossed the line in second in the bay of Fort-de-France. Completing the podium, For The Planet, helmed by Briton Sam Goodchild and Antoine Koch, is the former mount of Thomas Ruyant (then LinkedOut), and is part of the northern skipper’s stable. “Two sailboats from the same team on the podium, it’s great,” greeted Morgan Lagravière in anticipation after crossing the line. We are in the desired dynamic at the start of the year, with this entire two-boat collective. »
In the Ultim category, 32-meter multihulls, the Maxi Banque Populaire XI won the Transat Jacques Vabre on Monday, and Solidaires en Peloton won on Thursday in the Ocean Fifty (15-meter multihull). If many Imocas are still at sea, only the Class 40s remain to constitute their podium. These 12 meter monohulls, the last category entered, should cross the line mid-next week in Martinique.
