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Charlie Dalin at the finish line in Les Sables-D'Olonne
Photo:
STEPHANE MAHE / REUTERS
The French sailor Charlie Dalin on his sailor »Apivia« was the first to cross the finish line of the Vendée Globe in Les Sables-d'Olonne in France.
The 36-year-old professional sailor and yacht designer completed his solo circumnavigation of the world over 28,267.88 nautical miles in 80 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds.
At the finish line, Dalin had beacon in his hands.
But he wasn't allowed to feel like the winner of the Vendée Globe yet.
Two other skippers could still dispute his success.
Third-placed Boris Herrmann with his “Seaexplorer - Yacht Club de Monaco” and the fifth-placed Frenchman Yannick Bestaven with “Maître Coq IV” sail towards the goal with time credits.
Rescue mission for Escoffier affects race end
After participating in the rescue mission for the shipwrecked Kevin Escoffier on the night of November 30th to December 1st, the Hamburg Herrmann had received compensation from the race committee for six hours and ten hours and 15 minutes for the time lost.
Herrmann is expected shortly after midnight in the destination of the French coastal town, Bestavens is expected to be early Thursday morning.
Track the position of the sailors in live tracking:
Both skippers can still get Dalin at the helm after deducting the credits from their total sailing time.
"These are probably the most exciting hours of my life," said Herrmann on Wednesday.
On November 8th, the sailors set out on the 50,000-kilometer journey around the world, defying severe weather conditions.
The fact that five sailors are so close together shortly before the finish and are still fighting for the podium has not happened since the first event in 1989.
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hba / dpa / sid