Victory for Soldini

Telecom Italia takes first place in the Class40s in the Artemis Transat

At 07:11:27 local time (11:11:27 GMT), Italian solo sailor, Giovanni Soldini's Telecom Italia, crossed the finish line of The Artemis Transat race in Marblehead.

On a crisp, clear early morning with a biting 18-20 knot northwesterly breeze, Soldini and his one year-old Verdier-designed Class40 completed the North Atlantic crossing in 16 days 22 hours and 11 minutes, having led the 11 boats in the fleet since passing Lizard Point on the south coast of England during the first night of the race.

Since crossing the start line on Sunday 11 May off Plymouth, Devon, Soldini's enormous experience and tactical analysis kept him at the front of the pack:

"I'm feeling very good, obviously," the 42 year-old said after stepping onto the pontoons after the finish. "The race for me was pretty good."

One major feature that intensified tactics was the inclusion of an ice gate, installed by the Artemis Transat Race Direction team to keep the competing yachts clear of an area of icebergs drifting southwards off Newfoundland: However Soldini was not happy about the new route imposed by the addition of the ice gate. "The ice gate was difficult, making me go against the Gulf Stream and stay in the south. Normally, we would sail a much more northern route, so we were a bit limited in our tactical options," he said.



Soldini's tactical decisions ensured that Telecom Italia usually kept a good distance ahead of the fleet: "I think I was good in the race," he admitted modestly. "It was a good choice to stay in the north in the beginning and through the first high-pressure. Then, in the second high-pressure we went south and I put a lot of good miles on the others."

However, the Italian yachtsman was quick to admit his own faults and also to praise the other competitors in the race: "In the final days, I didn't do so well, so they caught me up. Beluga Racer [Boris Herrmann] especially, he was very good in the last two days."

The Artemis Transat is the third victory for Soldini's Telecom Italia, after taking first place in last year's Transat Jacques Vabre and the Grand Prix Petit Navire in France earlier this year.