Less than 300 miles, that’s the distance White Dolphin had left to run today, French time, before she crosses the finishing line of the Panerai Transat Classique 2012. Despite a series of incidents following a serious broaching the night before (staysail lost, kite blown out, boom track ripped off), the crew of the big yawl built in 1967 managed to patch things up and keep the momentum going in order to maintain the gap with her nearest rival The Blue Peter. Aboard the elegant doyenne from 1930 the estimated time of arrival is the subject of furious betting with a round of drinks to be paid… by the winner. There may be a duel for first place, but the lowest position on the podium is also hotly disputed between Corto and Persephone with barely an hour separating them in corrected time. Aboard these two racing thoroughbreds, crewed by formidable competitors, not a second is wasted. The helmsmen are concentrating on the compass, the trimmers are tweaking the sheets and the navigators are analysing the weather files in order to optimize the final approach to Barbados. Valteam has finally made telephone contact and the news is not good: they’ve run out of red wine!The skipper, Jacques Levasseur, the only sailor to have run the 2008 edition of the race and won it can be relied upon to push his yacht and crew to the limit all the way to Barbados. A breathtaking finish.
