Quintin and Rigal, who are based in overseas French territory New Caledonia, have been sailing together for five years and spent the past two preparing physically for the Sydney to Hobart.
“We came here to test [ourselves] … and we didn’t really know what results we’ll have,” Quintin said, after being greeted by family in Hobart.
They were greeted by family and now get the chance to spend New Years together.
The duo, along with the rest of the fleet, battled sea sickness in rugged early upwind sailing which forced 34 of the starting 128-strong fleet to retire.
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They had a smorgasbord on board including spaghetti, lasagne and chicken curry but a lot went untouched.
“I’m never seasick but the first six hours I couldn’t eat,” Rigal said. “We didn’t sleep much, it was very busy. The waves and the seas were crazy. I don’t think we’re special, we just found something.”
Quintin, who represented France at the 1988 Olympics, said some electronic equipment had failed in Bass Strait meaning they had no indication of the true wind direction.
“When you have to steer nearly all day and all night long, you’re tired,” he said.
Sam Haynes-skippered Celestial V70, last year’s overall winner, was knocked out of contention on Tuesday when their time was beaten by a flurry of other yachts.
Haynes, a veterinarian by day, finished the race on Monday morning but was cruelled by a glassy, almost-windless River Derwent.
More than 60 yachts had completed the race at 6pm on Tuesday including Bacchanal, which is skippered by American attorney Ronald Epstein and named after a Roman god.
Epstein declared his crew had made amends for unfinished business after being forced to retire in their maiden Sydney to Hobart last year when their boom broke.
“To get it done with such a group of guys you’ve been through the wars with. It’s something worthy to get emotional about,” he said.
Comanche claimed her fifth line honours on Sunday after outgunning fellow supermaxis LawConnect and Hong Kong’s SHK Scallywag 100 in a dogfight off Tasmania.
