PORTLAND’S Rich Mason has docked in Cherbourg, France after finishing the 2,000 mile Solitaire du Figaro 2014.

The race was made up of four legs with the fourth being a gruelling 440-mile course.

It started from Les Sables d’Olonne and headed north towards the Manacles buoy off Lizard Point.

Mason finished leg four in 28th overall and fourth Rookie.

Initially feeling frustrated and disappointed with his result, his mood changed on finding out he had finished third Rookie overall.

He said: “I was gutted when I got in because I thought I’d lost my Rookie standing in the leg and overall, but then I was told I’m third which is brilliant and cheered me up a lot.

“It feels good to have finished my first Solitaire du Figaro.

“Leg four was hard and definitely the most physical of the four.”

The wind prior to leg four was super light so the fleet were hoping for a windy finale.

The day arrived with 30 knots of wind and the 36 strong fleet sailed along the north western coast of France under spinnaker.

Mason added: “I am physically broken after very little sleep.”

The 2014 Solitaire du Figaro was won overall by now triple race winner Jérémie Beyou (Solo Maître Coq) with a total elapsed time of 12 days, 19 hours, 39 minutes and 22 seconds at sea.

Corentin Horeau (Bretagne Crédit Mutuel Performance) was runner-up, 17 minutes behind Jérémie and Charlie Dalin (Normandy Elite Team) was third overall, just eight minutes behind Corentin.

For more on the academy, and the latest video and images from the race, visit the Artemis Off-shore Academy website, Face-book and Twitter.