Six IMOCA boats lined up for the start of the Artemis Challenge in Cowes this morning (Thursday) including five boats that competed in the last Vendée Globe with the sixth, Artemis Ocean Racing, skippered by another well-known name, Brian Thompson. At the end of a closely fought contest, it was Macif skippered by François Gabart, which won the race in the IMOCA category, finishing just two minutes ahead of Hugo Boss.
The conditions were so light in the Solent that the Race Director decided to send the fleet out on a course to the east instead of getting them to sail the traditional course all the way around the island. Marc Guillemot on Safran got off to the best start, but all of the competitors had to fight hard to find their way out of the Solent. Helped by the current, Hugo Boss, skippered by Alex Thomson and Macif grabbed the advantage. Aboard Macif, the winner of the last edition of the Vendée Globe, François Gabart, was accompanied by the twice winner of the round the world race, Michel Desjoyeaux. After an hour and a half of racing, the wind finally started to build making the race that bit more exciting. Thomson, Gabart, Guillemot kept the lead until the end of the final downwind leg. With just a few miles to go to the finish, Vincent Riou (PRB), after a slightly disappointing start to the race took third place from Marc Guillemot.
François Gabart finished just two minutes ahead of Alex Thomson. At the rear of the fleet, Brian Thompson, sixth in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe and Bernard Stamm
Final rankings in the IMOCA fleet in the 2013 Artemis Challenge
1 Macif Francois Gabart
2 Hugo Boss Alex Thomson
3 PRB Vincent Riou
4 Safran Marc Guillemot
5 Artemis Ocean Racing Brian Thompson
6 Cheminées Poujoulat Bernard Stamm