Team breaks new ground in Transquadra

ANKARA

A Turkish two-man team on Aug. 23 finished second in the first stage of Transquadra, considered one of the most challenging sailing races in the world.

Tolga Ekrem Pamir and Sinan Sümer of Alize Ocean Racing, the first-ever Turkish team to compete in Transquadra, reached the Portuguese island of Madeira, off Northwestern Africa, to finish Stage 1 of the race in nine days, 15 hours and 34 minutes flat.

The Shamrock V team came in first, about 10 hours ahead of Alize.

The triennial race is the only trans-Atlantic solo or double-handed race for amateurs 40 years and over.

Starting from Marseille or Lorient, France, Transquadra proceeds to Madeira, with its final destination across the

Atlantic at the town of Le Marin on the Caribbean island of Martinique.