Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race 2018-Finish
map of RBIR race 2018
Imerys Clean Energy crossed the finish line at 16.14 BST Monday for line honours and winners of Class40.
Concise 8, lying 2nd is only some forty miles and a few hours behind.
Lying 3rd both in Class40 and line honours is Colombre XL who have yet to reach the Dover Strait with some way to go to finishing between The Royal Yacht Squadron’s flagstaff and leaving ODM south Bramble Buoy to starboard.
The 1,800 nautical mile race comes to a close with competitors spread out over the course determined to finish this gruelling test of endurance which is fast becoming a tribute to British seamanship.
While Phil Sharp’s Imerys Clean Energy was fighting the wind and tides along the English Channel on the last stretch to home and victory others had many miles still left to go.
Charlene Howard’s AJ Wonderlust, a Sun Odyssey 45.2, off the west coast of Scotland still had 1,100 miles distance to finish.
Since starting on Sunday 12th August, the fleet have embraced weather conditions from calms to storm force gusts of over 50 knots.
The Class 40 have made a name for themselves as the racing yacht of today.
When they first appeared in 2006 the aim was to keep these offshore racing yachts affordable to enable amateurs to race alongside professionals.
Prices of second hand Class40s start from as little as £75,000 with a nearly new one asking just £250,000.
When compared with the high cost of IMOCA 60s it makes ocean racing suddenly very affordable and the compact 12 metre length keeps the mooring costs down.
Paralympic champion Hannah Stodel, 32, lying fifth on Monday morning at 7am, chartered Region Normandie for the race and a brief fitting out period in Hamble Marina.
British yachts have performed well in this iconic race as not only are Imerys Clean Energy proudly flying the flag but they are joined in this honour by many others including second placed Tony Lawson’s Concise 8, another Class40.
Other British yachts include Giles Redpath’s Pata Negra, a Lombard 46 which is lying first in IRC class 1, and of course, Region Normandie.
Further back is Ross Appleby’s Scarlet Oyster 48, lying close to the Army Sailing Association’s, British Soldier, an X41 with around 400 miles left.
