Eärendil finishes ninth in Transat Jacques Vabre Class40

Catherine Pourre and Benoit Hochart on Eärendil have finished ninth in the Class40 of the 13^th edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre after crossing the finish line in the Bay of All Saints in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on Sunday, November 26, 2017 at 05:16:18 (UTC), 20 days, 16 hours 41 minutes and 18 seconds after leaving Le Havre, Normandy, France.

Eärendil covered the theoretical course of 4,350 nautical miles at an average speed of 8.77 knots but actually sailed 4,584 nautical miles at an average speed of 9.26 knots. It finished 03 days, 05 hours, 57 minutes and 03 seconds behind the winner, V and B. 

She, the amateur who has accumulated a good number of racing miles, including two previous Transat Jacques Vabre. He, the offshore racing professional, but a rookie of this race. On Eärendil, a Manuard third-generation Mach 40, the most successful design in the fleet (the same design as the first two Class40 to finish), Catherine and Benoit had real sporting ambitions when leaving Le Havre. But right out of the Channel, the staysail cable anchor broke and the duo had to make a pit stop in Camaret-sur-Mer, Brittany, to make the repair. Having quickly restarted, Eärendil were 14^th, 150 miles from the leaders but drove hard to catch up. But on November 15, when they made a comeback to in eighth position, they suffered further damage. The top bracket of the starboard rudder broke. At low speed, they make their way to Cape Verde 250 miles away, ballasts filled to balance the boat and make it as controllable as possible in the crosswinds.

The stop at Mindelo, Cape Verde could have signaled the end of their race. But they quickly got things in hand on site and were able to leave after 5 hours of repairs. It was like a sequel for them wit another race in pursuit. They picked up one place and finished ninth in Salvador de Bahia. Pourre finished 18^th in 2013, but was forced to retire in 2015, but she and Hochart can take great satisfaction with ninth after two pit stops.