Fantastic victory for 2nd Chance in the RORC Transat

The team carrying the colors of 2nd Chance won the RORC Transat in the IRC 1 Class. Pierre Quinodoz  and his team were ecstatic as they crossed the finish line, hugging each other and punching the sky with broad smiles. Most of the crew have ever crossed the Atlantic before and they are all medical professionals and race on Lake Geneva; a far cry from a tough RORC Transatlantic Race.

“That was hell, but our skipper Laurent was like a gladiator!” smiled Pierre Quinodoz. “When you wake up in the middle of the night and it is blowing 30 knots and you have to change sails, it was very tiring. In the beginning we knew that we were in a real race. The course made us go to the north of the Canary Islands and then you had to choose, whether to go north or south. If we had just left Lanzarote, everyone would have gone south. So it was a tactical race, right from the start and it was a challenge between all the teams.

“We are all surgeons in special fields but no one aboard was hurt, so our medical skills were useless. None of us except Laurent has ever sailed across the Atlantic before, let alone raced across. This was our Vendée Globe; it was like 33 Bol D’or races; just crazy! We are so impressed with the skipper, he showed amazing energy and Laurent hardly slept at all for the race. Now we have arrived in Port Louis to receive such a warm welcome from everybody and it is the best way to finish this human adventure. We ate well on board, but we were running out towards the end and we are so happy to be here.”