Phil Sharp sails into third place in the Route du Rhum

Jersey sailor Phil Sharp has crossed the finish line of the Route du Rhum in third place.

It took him 16 days, 13 hours and one minute to cross the Atlantic from St Malo to Guadeloupe.

He said he was ''pushed to his limits' and came in just one hour and 45 minutes after second place.

The skipper battled through several problems, some from day one including two ballast leaks, halyard failure, several electronics issues and more seriously, main auto pilot failure.

Combined with sailing through vicious squalls with gusts that ranged between 30 and 50 kts for two thirds of the race, the equipment problems made for a particularly gruelling race.