RORC Transatlantic Race - Pogo 40, Bingo completes the race

Yves and Isabelle Haudiquet's French Pogo 40, Bingo crossed the finish line of the 2014 RORC Transatlantic Race, off Quarantine Point, Grenada at 17:35:31 UTC on Wednesday 17th December 2014 with an elapsed time of 17 days, 07 hours, 35 minutes and 31 seconds.

Isabelle Haudiquet was on the helm as the bright yellow hull blasted through the finish line. Having safely moored Bingo after 17 days at sea, the French crew enjoyed a cold beer dockside at Camper & Nicholsons Port Louis Marina:

"For me to sail with three men in a boat is normal. We have sailed together so many times, so the atmosphere on board is no different, even when we cross an ocean. We are an agreeable crew; we eat together, sail together and laugh together. This is my second transatlantic with Bingo, but the first time from east to west, and it was very different. Sailing from Lanzarote to Grenada is far easier than the other way!"

At 1800 UTC Wednesday 17th December, the last yacht still racing is Denis Villotte's JNP 12, Sérénade. The French team of three is 211 miles from the finish and expected to arrive on Friday morning.

The inaugural RORC Transatlantic Race, in association with the International Maxi Association (IMA), started on Sunday 30 November 1000 UTC from Puerto Calero, Lanzarote, Canary Islands bound for Grenada, West Indies, 2,995 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

Louay Habib, Race Reports