Italian skipper Andrea Fornaro on Influence took 21st position in Class40 on the 12th Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe when he crossed the finish line at 23:45:46hrs this Saturday, November 26. His race time is 17 days 10 hours 30 minutes 46 seconds. He covered the 3,542 miles of the course between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre at a speed of 8.46 knots on the great circle (direct route). He actually covered 4039.70 miles at an average speed of 9.65 knots. His elapsed time is 3 days 7 hours 22 minutes 06 seconds behind that of Class40 winner, Yoann Richomme.
The Italian racer who had to pitstop in the Azores with electrical problems said,
“I am really, really happy deep inside to have completed this race. I feel so good. It was such a great experience for me. I would like to thank every single person who makes this race possible, from the bosses to the last volunteer that makes this great Route du Rhum possible. And I feel so honoured to be part of this group of skippers who are so skilled as to sail across the Atlantic solo. I am very honoured to be part of this community. My Route du Rhum was not easy but I am so proud of myself that I managed to sort most of the problems that I had. One of my greatest moments was to leave the Azores again because I had to stop. I said to myself, ‘go, come on I know that we will finish this race. It was a great moment. And I established a relationship in one hour with some guys, it was true friendship and they told me go andrea, go ragazzi, finish the race, it was such an intense moment. That moment I had an electrical problem on board which was annoying me, it happens. I have done two Mini Transats and I know boats can fail. I was ready for that.”