Artemis Transat - Brits Sail into Boston - News and Videos

Samantha Davies and the battle-worn Roxy crossed the finish line of The Artemis Transat just before midnight last night, after 15 days and 10 hours. Roxy is the first British Yacht to finish this year's Transat.

For the last 24 hours of her sail, Sam battled a biting and gusty 25 to 35 knot headwind, but crossed the line with a huge smile - despite a having a damaged boat, a rough ride, and both skipper and boat enduring a frightening collision with a whale at sea.

Sam Davies in Boston: "My worst moment in this race was the night where I hit a whale, quite hard, doing 13 knots. Luckily the damage to my daggerboard was quite localised, but as a result I didn't do very well during the 24 hours following the incident. I was thinking: What if I hit something else? What if I damage the keel??? It makes you think back to reality and realise sometimes what we do is quite dangerous. It was the only night I didn't enjoy."

Davies has put in a terrific solo performance to bring her yacht Roxy home in 5th place. Compared to the other four Open 60 IMOCA boats that have already completed the 2982 mile Artemis Transat course, Davies was racing an older generation IMOCA boat. Roxy is the former PRB yacht that won the last two editions of the Vendée Globe.

"I'm really happy to be first of the old boats. It was a bit frustrating as we were stuck in high pressure (no wind) system for the last couple of days. The competition between the old boats was really intense but I was not going to let them go, they were not going to pass. And fortunately the conditions at this time suited Roxy more than the other 2 boats, so I managed to sail faster and past again", said Sam aboard Roxy in Boston.

Davies' performance in this year's Artemis Transat has reinforced her place as one of the top solo sailors in the world, where she can truly hold her own against the biggest names in offshore racing.

A few hours after Sam passed the gate in Boston, Yannick Bestaven on Cervin ENR and Arnaud Boissieres on Akena Vérandas finished in 6th and 7th respectively. The two yachts finished only 1.5 hours apart, after nearly 3,000 miles of racing on the Atlantic!

Next in was our YachtPal Dee Caffari onboard Aviva, who crossed the finish line of the Artemis Transat at 15:05:34 GMT (11:05 Boston time) today. Dee in Boston: "I'm over the moon to have arrived safely in America. Aviva and I are here in one piece and I'm feeling very proud. I'm exhausted and elated at the same time - racing just takes every last emotion out of you. I'll never forget this, it's the first solo race I've completed and Aviva and I have really bonded. As with any relationship there have been highs and lows but we're just so pleased to be here."

Only one IMOCA 60 competitor is still out on the racecourse. Steve White onboard the self funded Spirit of Weymouth is expected to reach the gate in Boston in about 9 hours. White and his wife laid every penny they own on the line, and re-mortgaged their house to purchase his boat for the Artemis Transat, and the upcoming Vendee Globe. Wonder if that makes him baby that boat a bit more than your average competitor?

Video - Sam Davies onboard Roxy Day 15 of the Artemis Transat

Video - Sam Davies & Dee Caffari - finish update

IMOCA FLEET RESULTS : THE ARTEMIS TRANSAT
Boat name / skipper name / finish time / date / elapsed time / time difference to 1st place

1. Gitana Eighty (Loick Peyron) 03:15:35 GMT 24.5.08 12d 11h 45m 35s
2. Brit Air (Armel Le Cleac’h) 08:28:40 GMT 24.5.08 12d 19h 28m 40s [difference to 1st place 7h 43m 05s]
3. Generali (Yann Elies) 04:00:22 GMT 25/05/08 / 13d 15h 00m 22s
4. [difference to 1st place 1d 3h 14m 47s]
5. Safran (Marc Guillemot) 10:18:47 GMT 26/5/08 14d 21h 18m 47s
6. (average speed 8.32 knots / difference to 1st place 2d 9h 33m 12s)
7. Roxy (Samantha Davies) 23:00:51 GMT 26/5/08 15d 10h 00m 51s (average speed 8.04 knots / difference to 1st place 2d 22h 15m 16s)
8. Cervin ENR (Yannick Bestaven) 03:31:17 GMT 27/5/08 15d 14h 31m 17s (average speed 7.94 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 2h 45m 42s)
9. Akena Vérandas (Arnaud Boissieres) 05:00:03 GMT 27/5/08 15d 16h 00m 3s (average speed 7.91 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 4h 14m 28s)
10. Aviva (Dee Caffari) 15:05:34 GMT 27/5/08 16d 2h 5m 34s (average speed 7.70 knots / difference to 1st place 3d 14h 19m 59s)

Photos of Samantha Davies and Dee Caffari by Matt Dickens onEdition/The Artemis Transat