A crushing victory over the Transpacific
Pen Duick V reached San-Francisco by cargo ship, ready to sail the 6,000 mile route to Tokyo Bay. The start was given on 15th March 1969 and as planned the skipper followed a southerly route with downwind conditions. He arrived first in Tokyo in 39 days 15 h and 44 minutes with 10 days advance on the second, Jean-Yves Terlain on an Arpège. Once again it's a feat!
The crossing was so fast that when Eric Tabarly arrived in Tokyo, no one was waiting for him on the finish line. He arrived alone at the port and spent the night at the quayside before deciding the next day to leave in search of the jury through the city. Thanks to the indication of the inhabitants, he ends up finding the small museum of the headlights indicated in the instructions of race. It is from here that he will contact by phone the secretary of the Nippon Ocean Racing Club.
From cruising yachts to school boats
The sailboat financed by the Port of Saint-Raphaël returns by cargo ship to France before being sold to an owner who modifies it to make it more pleasant to live on. The stern is lengthened, the ballast tanks removed to free up space inside, the keel is modified in this direction and the ballast increased. It is used for cruising for about twenty years. In 1990, he passes into the hands of a new owner - Serge Legars - for a family navigation around South America, which will finally never take place.
In 1992, it became the property of the Musée national de la Marine and became part of the national collection. From December 1999 to June 2000, the winner of the Transpacific was restored in Cherbourg and Vannes, in the spirit defined with Eric Tabarly, so that he could sail again. Thanks to the support of the Fondation Le Roc'h les Mousquetaires and AFPA, Pen Duick V joins the Ecole Nationale de Voile in Quiberont (ENVSN) and participates in numerous"showcase" events: Festival de la Mer in Saint-Malo, Tall Ship Race in Cherbourg, 25th anniversary of Nioulargue in Saint Tropez, Régates Royale de Cannes and Gulf Week.
Since 2017, it belongs to the Éric Tabarly association which maintains it and makes it sail.
