Groupama claims Volvo win despite Camper stage victory

New Zealand yacht Camper on Tuesday won the the ninth and final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, but it was the boat finishing second, France's Groupama 4, which claimed the overall around-the-world title. Camper, skippered by Australian Chris Nicholson, crossed the finishing line in Galway at 00:42 GMT, seven minutes ahead of Groupama 4, skippered by Franck Cammas. The race, which was fought by six 70-foot monohull yachts with 11-man crews, left Lorient in France on Sunday on its final 550-nautical-mile (990km) leg. Cammas, 39, is the first Frenchman to win the competition -- considered the pinnacle of ocean racing -- since Lionel Pean led Team Spirit to victory in the 1985-1986 edition. He succeeds Brazilian Torben Grael, who won in 2008-2009 with the Swedish yacht Ericsson 4. Camper's stage win was its first since the race began in Alicante, Spain, on October 29. The fleet has since completed a 39,270-nautical mile, nine-month journey visiting five continents including stops in South Africa, Abu Dhabi, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the US, Portugal, and France before finishing in Ireland. Groupama 4 was designed by Franco-Argentinian architect Juan Kouyoumdjian, who also designed the US yacht Puma, skippered by Ken Read, and Spain's Telefonica, skippered by Iker Martinez. The next Volvo Ocean Race will take place in 2014-2015. It will be raced on 65ft monohulls with nine-man crews.