TRANSAT TACTICS

THE TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE SAW SOME REMARKABLE VICTORIES – RUPERT HOLMES FINDS OUT WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FOR ANYONE WHO SAILS LONG DISTANCES

- RUPERT HOLMES

‘LinkedOut’s success came as a surprise to some’

Two boats achieved stunning victories in the latest edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre, establishing leads before the halfway mark that they extended to the finish: the 30-metre Ultim trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and the IMOCA 60 LinkedOut. LinkedOut eventually finished a full 20 hours ahead of their nearest rivals (by comparison, in the Vendée Globe, the leaders finished within a single evening).

Both were remarkable wins in the famous doublehanded transatlantic race, in which many of the biggest stars of offshore racing were competing, including Charles Caudrelier, Amel le Cleac’h, Yannick Bestaven, Thomas Colville, Kevin Escoffier and Brian Thompson.

LinkedOut’s success, and that of co-skippers Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière, came as a surprise to some, as the 2019 foiling design had not appeared to reach her likely potential in previous races. Yet she held a lead of almost 200 miles at the finish in Martinique.

So what factors lay behind their success? The starting point was a change of mode to better suit two-handed racing after the 2020 solo Vendée Globe, in which Ruyant finished less than 12 hours behind winner Bestaven.