Icap Leopard repeats Fastnet feat

Race record holder Icap Leopard was first over the line for the second straight running of the Fastnet Race.

The boat finished at 0109 BST on Wednesday, covering the 608-mile course of the infamous race in two days 11 hours nine minutes and 36 seconds.

Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom's 72ft Ran 2 won overall on corrected time after crossing the line fourth.

Leopard's record for the biennial race from Cowes to southern Ireland and back to Plymouth is 44 hours.

A total of 300 yachts took part in the race on the 30th anniversary of the 1979 disaster in which a severe storm claimed the loss of 15 lives.

Light winds meant that some boats were still arriving in Plymouth on Saturday, almost a week later.

Karl Kwok's Farr 80, Beau Geste was second home at 0325 BST on Wednesday.

The battle for third place developed in the last few hours between Ran 2 and the Open 60 BT, sailed by French pair Sebastien Josse and Jean-Francois Cuzon.

BT eventually won the scrap and finished third, winning the Open 60 class, at 0500 BST.

British yachtswoman, Dee Caffari, and her crew aboard the Open 60 Aviva crossed the finish line at 0758 BST to finish eighth overall in the race and fifth in class.

"We had really close racing all the way which was fantastic for us to keep the focus throughout," said Dee.

Brian Thompson, navigator and watch captain on Aviva added: "We had boats in our sight for every mile of the race and the whole team sailed well together."

BBC Sport's Rob Hodgetts was been twittering from on board Artemis the Profit Hunter which crossed the line at 1423 BST to finish eighth in its class.

ORDER OF ARRIVAL ON THE FINISH LINE

1) ICAP Leopard, Mike Slade (GBR)

2) Beau Geste, Karl Kwok (HK)

3) BT IMOCA 60, Sebastien Josse (FRA)

4) Ran 2, Niklas Zennström (SWE)

5) Artemis Ocean Racing, Sam Davies (UK) and Sidney Gavignet (FRA)

6) Safran, Marc Guillemot (FRA)

7) Team Pindar, Mike Sanderson (NZ)

8) Aviva, Dee Caffari (UK)

9) Luna Rossa, Flavio Flavini (ITA)

10) Rosebud Team DYT, Roger Sturgeon (USA)

11) Akena Verandas, Arnaud Boissières (FRA)

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Rob Hodgetts' Twitter page
Fastnet Race
Royal Ocean Racing Club
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