Ireland's Pam Lee continues her determined bid to complete the 2026 Drheam Cup after rejoining the race following emergency repairs in Baltimore, Co Cork.
The Class40 skipper diverted into the West Cork harbour after flooding disabled the engine aboard her Pogo S4 #EmpowHer, leaving her without battery charging. Following repairs, she resumed racing to keep her Route du Rhum qualification campaign alive.
By Wednesday afternoon, Lee was lying 33rd in the Class40 fleet, making steady progress towards Lorient despite the time lost during her unscheduled stop. The latest race tracker showed #EmpowHer sailing at around 4.7 knots with approximately 360 nautical miles remaining to the finish. Three Class40 entries have retired.
Her progress comes as the first finishers reached Lorient and race organisers reported that most of the remaining fleets are expected to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday after light winds dramatically reshaped the closing stages of the race.
The standout performance of the day came in the Ocean Fifty class, where Anne-Claire Le Berre (Upwind by MerConcept) became the first woman to finish on the podium of a solo Ocean Fifty race, subject to confirmation by the race jury. She secured second place behind Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) after making a decisive move on the approach to the Brittany coast.
"It was a brilliant race, incredibly competitive," Le Berre said after finishing. "I'm very, very happy with the result for my first solo race; I never imagined I'd be here today."
Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) completed the provisional Ocean Fifty podium after a race in which the leading boats exchanged positions repeatedly before the final approach to Lorient.
In the IRC Crewed fleet, Ocean Breeze-Majorca, skippered by Alan Roura, was first to finish, followed by Le Cigare Rouge (Sidney Gavignet), while Maxitude was well placed to complete the podium.
Elsewhere, the race remains finely balanced. IMOCA skipper Arnaud Boissières (April Marine-Tahiti Déménage Tout) is expected into Lorient on Wednesday, while the Class40 fleet continues to be reshuffled after a prolonged light-wind transition off Brittany split competitors across multiple routing options.
The outcome also remains undecided in the Vintage Multi, Vintage Mono and IRC Double-handed classes, with the remaining competitors expected to reach Lorient through Wednesday and Thursday.
