Early on Sunday morning, Willy Bissainte and Benoit Reefe sailed Pogo Class40, Tradition Guadeloupe, across the finish line of the RORC Caribbean 600 after almost a week at sea in an event that saw 64 percent of the 22-boat fleet retire due to lack of breeze. Bissainte and Reefe’s perseverance and determination nets the sailors from Guadeloupe two prizes: the Concise Trophy for Class40s and overall winner of IRC Zero.

In total, three Class40s raced in the event alongside Tradition Guadeloupe: Ocean Warrior of Joe Harris, Josh Hall, Michel Kleinjans and Peter Van der Wel and Peter Harding’s 40 Degrees with Michael Boyd, Niall Dowling, John Patrick Cunningham and Miranda Merron. The first section of the 600 mile race provided stunning condition with the three Class40s racing in close formation around Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Barts and St. Maarten separated by a handful of miles with 40 Degrees leading and Ocean Warrior and Tradition Guadeloupe often only metres apart.

Rounding the northern mark in the course off St. Maarten, the fleet faced a beat all the way south to Guadeloupe and as the GRIB files arrived on board Ocean Warrior indicating the prospect of headwinds followed by 36 hours of sub-eight knots of breeze, hard decisions had to be made. With no provision in the event’s NOR to shorten the course and no time limit to complete the race, Harris and his crew were forced to retire due to commitments ashore. “The dilemma arrived aboard Ocean Warrior some 30 miles south of Antigua,” Josh Hall recalls. “After some hours of denial and theorising, the tough decision had to be made to retire from the race and head back in.” At 17:00 GMT on Wednesday (24/02), Ocean Warrior turned downwind and headed for Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.

By Oliver Dewar