Musandam-Oman Sail, skippered by Sidney Gavignet finished the Volvo Round Ireland Race inside the World Record time he and the crew set in May 2015 and was almost immediately followed over the finishing line by Lloyd Thornberg’s Phaedo3, co-skippered by Brian Thompson and Tony Lawson’s Concise 10, skippered by Ned Collier-Wakefield. After 704nm of offshore racing the 3 boats were just 6 minutes apart.
Musandam-Oman Sail skipper spoke to the Royal ocean Racing Club about the amazing race. “Phaedo3 did a really good job at the start and got a lead and then as we approached Tuskar Rock, we hit a sand bank. The chart showed 14 metres, so it came as a real shock and to be honest, we were a bit shaken by it. We fell behind quite a bit but we were making some time back. We really caught up on the northern part of the course, we played the shifts very well and we made up a lot of miles. It was very windy up there, one of the crew from Phaedo told me they were near capsize, with the mast horizontal. Then on the eastern coast, Phaedo and Concise were fighting each other for the lead, and slowing each other down. We came with lifting pressure and took our chance to just sneak past them both and steal the win. If you had told me we would win the race when we hit that sand bank at Tuskar Rock, I would have said you are crazy. To win the race and keep our world record is fantastic. However, there is no rest for the crew, tomorrow we leave for Quebec, 3000 miles across the Atlantic to race back to St. Malo. 6000 miles for the younger crew will be another great lesson.”
