Peyron Closing in on a Record Third Win

LoÏck Peyron is closing in on an unprecented third win in The Artemis Transat. The Frenchman, sailing his Farr designed Gitana 80, is one of only two people to have won the race twice. If he can finish, and continue holding off the charge of fellow countryman Armel Le Cléac’h on Brit Air, he will cement his place in the canon of his country’s offshore sailing heroes. The two are in the home stretch toward Boston. As of noon eastern time, Gitana 80 is 100 miles from the finish and 30 miles ahead of Brit Air, with both sailing at about 10 knots. Peyron is expected to finish late this evening and Le Cléac’h sometime early tommorrow morning.

"This is our last day in the Transat, which is always a bit sad, because it’s the last day at sea," Peyron said. "At the moment it’s not very nice, everything is grey, humid and cold, but in a few hours, I hope we’ll arrive in Boston."

In the Class 40 division, Giovanni Soldini’s strategy through the ice gate has more than doubled his lead to over 120 miles as he powers Telecom Italia away from the gate with a 2-knot boatspeed advantage over second place Boris Hermann on Beluga Racer. Stay tuned at www.theartemistransat.com.