Three years after kicking off his solo racing career with a disastrous attempt on the Mini Transat, Nick Moloney has tasted success with a class win in the Route du Rhum.

The Cowes based yachtsman took the Open 50 monohull title on Ashfield Healthcare, arriving in Guadeloupe a week behind his Offshore Challenge partner Ellen MacArthur who triumphed in the bigger Open 60 class.

Moloney, 34, also set a new transatlantic record for the Open 50 course of 18 days, 16 hours, 23 minutes and 04 seconds, beating MacArthur's 1998 record of 20 days, 11 hours, 44 minutes and 49 seconds.