Valkyrie skipper Will Apold says he had good weather and a great crew.Valkyrie skipper Will Apold says he had good weather and a great crew. CBC

A Halifax yacht has won the top class of the prestigious Marblehead-to-Halifax ocean race.

Valkyrie, skippered by Will Apold, completed the race in 31 hours, 50 minutes and 18 seconds, beating the old record and setting a new one for fastest Canadian-owned boat.

"It's just been a great race," he said Tuesday morning. "It's nice to play, but it's nice to win."

Eighty-nine boats left Marblehead, near Boston, on Sunday. Apold and his crew sailed into Halifax harbour Monday night.

"We were doing 22½ knots. The boat was just flying. It was wonderful," he said.

Valkyrie, a 78-foot Swan, was the second yacht to cross the finish line, but it won the top racing class based on corrected time — a handicap formula that takes into account hull design and other factors.

The Bella PITA, a 75-foot yacht out of Oxford, Maryland, came in at 30 hours, 46 minutes and 52 seconds.

The Marblehead competition began in 1905, making it the oldest ocean yacht race in North America. It was held off and on until 1939, when it became a biennial event.

Big win for Canadian

Paula Minnikin, a race organizer, said Apold is the first Canadian to win the modern race.

"This is a very coveted, treasured race, and to see a Canadian boat win it — and one from Halifax and Bedford — is just huge," she said.

Apold was a winner 10 years ago, but with a different boat and crew, and in a different class.

He said the main challenge for Marblehead racers is the weather. This year, it was on his side.

"Yesterday afternoon a little bank of fog came in for half an hour, and that was it," he said.

Bella PITA skipper Jim Grundy said sailing conditions were perfect.

"The wind was behind us, the seas were behind us," he said Monday night. "The weather was perfect for very fast sailing."

Aurora, from Larchmont, N.Y., was the third boat across the finish line. At 33 hours, 28 minutes and 38 seconds, it also beat the old record from 1989.

Many vessels were still arriving in Halifax harbour on Tuesday morning.