Record SNSM

Saint Nazaire, France - With a narrow margin of only 6 minutes, Franck Cammas and the crew of Groupama 2 won the ORMA class over Pascal Bidégorry and the crew of Banque Populaire in the Record SNSM. The 560 mile course took 2 days 1 hour 58 minutes and 14 seconds to complete - not the times usually seen in multihulls. But the course, with its light winds and strong currents, was a favorite of the competitors, as it allowed tactics to shine in a variety of conditions.

The racing fleet of IMOCA Open 60's made it back into the Loire Estuary this morning for the finish of the Record SNSM sailing race. The fleet was led by Gitana 80, which crossed the line at 0544:07GMT with an overall time of 1 day 12 hours 9 minutes and 7 seconds. YachtPal Loïck Peyron and his four crew – Cyril Dardashti, Antoine Mermod, Didier Le Vourc’h and Sébastien Thétiot – now add the Record SNSM to Gitana Eighty’s growing list of victories.

Brittany, France - The fourth edition of the Record SNSM started yesterday off the eastern jetty in the port of Saint Nazaire, on France’s Brittany coast in the Atlantic. A crewed yacht race from St. Nazaire to St. Malo and back, this sailing race is providing a fantastic spectacle, with a mix of amateur and professional sailors competing on high speed monohulls and multihulls. The fleet of Imoca monohulls include seven of the yachts which will be competing in the upcoming Vendée Globe this fall.