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British sailor Davies completes Vendee after 80 days at sea / Photo: © AFP
British sailor Davies completes Vendee after 80 days at sea
British sailor Samantha Davies on Thursday crossed the finish line of the gruelling, round-the-world Vendee Globe yacht race in 13th position after just over 80 days at sea.
The 50-year-old crossed the finish line off France's west coast 16 days after French winner Charlie Dalin.
She had spent 80 days, 22 hours, 13 minutes at sea aboard Initiatives-Coeur.
Davies finished fourth in 95 days in her first Vendee Globe in 2008-2009 but had been forced to abandon her last two attempts 2012 and 2020.
This year her last days of navigation were particularly gruelling. Tossed around by storms off the French coast, she admitted to having "put on the handbrake" to spare her boat in the home stretch.
Swiss sailor Justine Mettraux became the fastest-ever woman finisher when she finished eighth after 76 days, 1 hour and 36 minutes.
She broke the women's record of 87 days, 2 hours, 24 minutes set by Frenchwoman Clarisse Cremer in 2020-21
There are now 21 skippers still at sea with the final racer expected at the end of February.
A. Bogdanow--BTZ
