Hungarian sailor Nándor Fa and New Zealander Conrad Colman crossed the finish line of the Barcelona World Race round-the-world sailing tour in the early hours of Tuesday, the Hungarian state news agency MTI has reported.
Their boat crossed the line in seventh position at 0:59 am, taking it 110 days, 10 hours, 59 minutes and 40 seconds to sail around the world. 61-year-old Mr. Fa was the field’s oldest and 31-year-old Mr. Colman its youngest member; their ship, the Spirit of Hungary, travelled a total of 27 600 nautical miles (51 143 kilometres). Their journey was interrupted by several injuries and accidents caused by the bad weather.
The competition was won by the boat Cheminées Poujoulat, with Bernard Stamm of Switzerland and Frenchman Jean Le Cammar on board, arriving in Barcelona on 25 March and setting a world record of 84 days, 5 hours, 50 minutes and 25 seconds. Neutrogena, with Spaniard Guillermo Altadill and Chilean José Munoz on board, came second, and GAES, navigated by Catalans Anna Corbella and Gerard Marín, third.
The eight-boat ship set out from Barcelona on 31 December, but only seven ships completed the race after the leading “Hugo Boss” was forced to quit in mid-January due to an accident. The round-the-world race took place for the third time this year.
Mr. Fa gained fame after sailing around the world, heading by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn from the south – the route known to be the most difficult – in 1986-87 after building the 31-foot tour yacht named St. Jupát with his friend József Gál between 1980 and 1985.
via index.hu
photo: BWR/Gilles Martin-Raget