Conrad Colman (Imagine) crossed the finish line of the twelfth edition of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe at 09:38:08 UTC on Wednesday 23rd November.

He finished eighteenth in the IMOCA class with a race time of 13 days, 20 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds. The Franco-New Zealander sailed the 3542 theoretical miles of the race course between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre at the speed of 10.66 knots on the Great Circle route. Out on the water, the skipper of Imagine actually sailed 4104.54 miles averaging 12.35 knots. He finished in Pointe-à-Pitre 2 days 2 hours 46 minutes and 43 seconds after the class winner, Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut).

“I was pleased to get to the start and even happier to finish. My goal was to get to Guadeloupe and gain points for the Vendée Globe. I enjoyed it, even if it wasn’t easy and I had several problems. I’m pleased to see Yannick Bestaven behind me. At the start, I wanted to finish ahead of Eric Bellion and Louis Duc and I’ve done that. I think that the two IMOCAs with straight daggerboards sailed by Tanguy Le Turquais and Benjamin Ferré are beyond my reach with the boat as she is. I’m where I should be given the time I had to prepare and my budget. I only got the boat in March. I’d like to congratulate Sébastien Marsset. He did really well. We were side by side at one point and he took off to the North, while I went south.
Physically, I’m worn out. I had to use my spare computer, my spare autopilot and I ended up working on my navigation by phone, as nothing was working. I’m pleased the race wasn’t any longer. The boat is a bit tired and it’s time she went into the yard. We became good friends, a real couple, which is promising for what comes next.”