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40 Degrees struggles toward the finish line of the Transat Quebec-St Malo

Boats are arriving thick and fast at the conclusion of the seventh Transat Quebec-Saint Malo. The latest arrivals have been the trio aboard Benoît Parnaudeau's Prévoir Vie taking fifth place in the Class 40. This afternoon saw the arrival finally of Cervin EnR, Yannick Bestaven's IMOCA Open 60 and his crew of three. Behind them were the mixed crew aboard Peter Harding's 40 Degrees, who were held up a short distance from the finish in light airs and an adverse current.

On his 16th day at sea, Benoît Parnaudeau's Prévoir Vie arrived at dawn. With his two crew, Laurent Nevo and Quentin Monegier, the skipper from La Rochelle, who is more used to solo ocean racing, could not hide his enjoyment at the end of this great adventure across the North Atlantic. At 06h28 GMT, Prévoir Vie crossed the finish after sailing some 3165 miles.

"It was a great finish - the colours of the sunrise in the Bay of Saint-Malo with all the rocks and just a little wind to push us along. A great sight," said Parnaudeau once his Class 40 was moored up alongside the previous arrivals. Coming from the Mini circuit via a solo round the world race in the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe, Parnaudeau has been a regular in Class 40 for two years. Known for his ability to combine sailing skills, a good sense of humour and a desire to share with others, 'Ben' is one of the friendliest faces in ocean racing. A campaigner for fair-trade and environmentally friendly issues, he sails for fun and to promote these values. The Prévoir Vie was welcomed home by the overall Class 40 winner Halvard Mabire.

As to his race: "We were in the leading group and the four frontrunners got away, while we were stuck on the ridge of high pressure. The race continued and we had to watch the boats behind, which may well have caught us up. Fortunately, we were in a relatively good position for the final run to the finish in Saint-Malo."

On the topic of his first race with a crew Parnaudeau said: "I had already sailed with others on delivery trips, but never in a race before. It's a different way of sailing, getting things just right on board the boat and advancing,. It's very enriching and of course, it gives you the urge to do it again. Our boats are well adapted to that."

Later, the British team on 40 Degrees completed their transatlantic. At 1500 GMT, Peter Harding and crew of Miranda Merron, Freddie Hall and Alex Sizer were just ten miles from the finish, but the wind refused to help towards the line. Sailing at two knots against the current, 40 Degrees will have to wait a few more hours before crossing the finish line to take 6th place.

This morning Miranda Merron wrote:

It is just past dawn on what should be 40 Degrees' last day at sea in the Quebec - St Malo Race, given that there are 82 miles to the finish line. We spent all day yesterday keeping the boat moving in light wind through the ridge, until the new breeze from the low filled in. Every position report that comes in has been studied in detail, for we have Beluga chasing us, and all boats west will have been benefiting from the strong wind long before it got to us. Last night we had a lead of 40 miles, and this morning's position report shows the same gap.

So the incentives to sail as fast as possible are twofold: beer (a subject getting a lot of airtime now!), and retaining our lead over Beluga. We have fought hard over the past few days to regain places. However, it looks like the wind will be very light for the last few miles, so the pressure is on until we cross the finish line.

Behind 40 Degrees, a group of other competitors are still in close contact after 3,000 miles of racing under their belts.

Early this morning, Alain Grinda gave us a picture of what was happening on Rêv' 86: "We are at the tip of Brittany with around 130 miles to go and Techneau is right here upwind of us! It's going to be tough for us, as we have been fending off his advances for some time with our old gennaker, which is much smaller. Because we're missing our main spinnaker, which exploded four days ago, that is likely to be a handicap (we didn't want them to know that, in case it gave them some encouragement). Today's programme involves tactics, speed and racing in the Bay. To keep it short, we'll see at the finish."

At the 1500 sched, four Class 40 had entered the English Channel: Beluga Shipping (Boris Herrmann), Rev'86 (Alain Grinda), Appart City (Yvan Noblet) and L'Esprit Large-Talmont Saint Hilaire (Jean-Edouard Criquioche), who continue to sail in a southwesterly flow, which is affected further east by a small low forming in the Bay of Biscay. The unfavourable winds are likely to slow them down towards the finish.

Meanwhile Yannick Bestaven and the crew of his IMOCA Open 60 Cervin EnR crossed the finish line at 13h 42'51'' GMT today, completing the voyage in 15d 22h 12' 51'' at an average speed of 7.47 knots. While this was in the middle of the Class 40 fleet, the Cervin had had to make a pit stop for 48 hours for repairs in Port aux Basques following a collision with a whale in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.