With her usual quiet, understated efficiency British skipper Miranda Merron completed the Vendée Globe solo round the world race quest Wednesday night.
Merron becomes just the ninth woman ever to finish the Vendee Globe, five of them are British.
The five are Ellen MacArthur, Sam Davies, Dee Caffari, Pip Hare and now Miranda Merron.
Merron finished at Les Sables d’Olonne, France at 22:16:51hrs UTC after 101 days 8hrs 56mins 51secs at sea to take 22nd place in the race on her IMOCA 60 Campagne de France.
Distance actually covered on the water: 27,656 miles at an average of 11.37 knots.
She finishes 21d 5hrs 12mins after winner Yannick Bestaven and 1d 12hrs 48mins after 21st placed French skipper Clement Giraud.
Her result fulfils the simple target she set herself, to finish the course bringing her boat and herself back to Les Sables d’Olonne in good shape, having fully embraced and enjoyed all of the challenges that came her way.
A race she considered she was peaking for at ‘just the right time for me’, 51 years old.
Backed by a leading French dairy and farming cooperative – Campagne de France – Merron achieved her Vendée Globe success on a modest budget thanks to a carefully executed preparation period working long days and evenings alongside her hugely experienced life partner Halvard Mabire with only occasional outside help.
Still racing are:
Manuel Cousin on GROUPE SÉTIN, Alexia Barrier on TSE – 4MYPLANET, and Ari Huusela on STARK.
Full rankings available here . . .
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