Conrad Colman has sailed into Martinique, finishing 17th in the Transat Café L'Or Le Havre Normandie aboard MSIG Europe after 19 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds on the water. Alongside him was co-skipper Mathieu Blanchard, a French ultramarathon runner who had never sailed before this race.
For Colman, the crossing added yet another chapter to what he has called "the life of the crazy Kiwi". Speaking at the dock, he was candid about how punishing the opening stages had been.
“The first night in the Channel with autopilots on the fritz… I felt very by myself,” he said, recalling moments when he questioned what he was doing out there with a novice sailor on a boat he had already taken around the world.
The pair battled repeated technical problems throughout the passage, autopilots failing at various points while conditions swung between near-gale blasts and long, frustrating calms. Those setbacks did little to dent the growing bond between the seasoned Kiwi skipper and his ocean-novice crew-mate, and the two grew closer as the miles accumulated.
"As we progressed down the race course, we stayed on top of the challenges and we grew together as a team," Colman said. "I was in coaching mode for three weeks… but sometimes I'd turn around and he'd already done it. My heart just grew with joy."
Stepping ashore in Martinique represented a steep personal milestone for Blanchard, who had only boarded an IMOCA for the first time weeks before the start. For Colman, the result carries a satisfaction that reaches well beyond the finishing position.
“We’re here, we’re smiling, we’re happy to have arrived… and happy to have done the race in this way,” he said.
With MSIG Europe secured at the dock and the sails finally down, this Atlantic campaign will be remembered not for where the pair sat on the leaderboard, but for something harder to measure: the grit, patience, and quiet achievement of bringing a complete newcomer safely across an ocean.
