Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Chateau have sealed one of the closest Class40 finishes in recent TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR history, winning the biennial double handed race from Le Havre to Fort de France after a tense two stage battle across the Atlantic. The Normandy pair crossed the line in Martinique at 15:57:43 local time after 19 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 46 seconds of combined racing.
This edition came with an added twist. A severe weather system forced organisers to halt the Class40 race a few days out of Le Havre and divert the fleet into La Coruña. After a three day stop the fleet relaunched into a fresh northerly breeze, turning the race into a true two leg contest with times from both legs merged for the final standings.
Pirouelle and Chateau arrived in La Coruña second, 21 minutes and 38 seconds behind SNSM Faites un Don !, sailed by Corentin Douguet and Axel Tréhin. That small gap ended up defining the entire transatlantic duel. When Seafrigo–Sogestran hit the finish line first in Fort de France, the clock immediately started counting. Douguet and Tréhin had just over twenty one minutes to finish if they wanted to defend their overall lead.
The wait was agonising. SNSM had led much of the first leg and also large portions of the Atlantic crossing. Their choice was a punchy one: stay north, ride the shorter route, and battle through three aggressive low pressure systems. It meant shorter mileage but punishing upwind work in big seas.
Pirouelle and Chateau hedged the opposite way. They dropped south early, sailing a longer arc towards steadier trade winds with the bulk of the fleet. At one point the two lead groups were nearly 900 miles apart on the chart, with Seafrigo–Sogestran down in 13th and more than 230 miles behind the northern pacesetters.
But patience and boat speed proved decisive. Their southern option clicked, the breeze steadied, and the Norman crew rose through the fleet. Four days from Martinique they moved into the lead and never let it go. Even so, the final hours were far from comfortable. The separation on the water at one stage was only 4.5 miles with both boats making ten knots towards the finish.
When SNSM Faites un Don ! finally appeared off Fort de France they crossed 28 minutes and 59 seconds after Seafrigo–Sogestran. On corrected time the Norman duo took victory by just 7 minutes and 21 seconds over nearly 5,000 nautical miles of combined racing. The southerly option had won, covering 4,869 miles compared with the SNSM crew’s 4,185.
For Pirouelle and Chateau the win carries extra meaning. Born in Rouen and long based in Le Havre, they have been part of Normandy’s powerhouse production line that has delivered champions such as Charlie Dalin and Alexis Loison. Chateau, a long time coach at the Le Havre league, recently steered Paprec to second at the TP52 world championship. Pirouelle, 31, is a former 470 European Champion, Junior Worlds winner and runner up in the 2022 La Solitaire du Figaro.
It also closes a painful chapter. In the 2023 edition their campaign was derailed within minutes of the start when their Class40 suffered major damage in a collision at the first mark. Their patched up comeback was admirable, but victory was out of reach. This time, the boat remained intact and the crew delivered a polished, patient and tactically bold race when it mattered most.
Comments from the winners and full photo galleries will be released shortly by race organisers.
