TICKET. The adventurers of the seas do not only entrust their destiny to the whims of the Vendée, they push the boundaries of the unknown on a map that is “Googled” to the centimeter, the last refuge of the imagination
Nobody leads far. Sucked into a relentless competition defying the wrath of the heavens, the vanguard of the Vendée Globe has come straight out of a terrible storm in the Indian Ocean, and it is a small miracle that the leader Charlie Dalin and his pursuer Sébastien Simon is still in the race, boat unscathed and mental homeric in the cockpit.
Although we may temper the feat with electronic and satellite assistance, we must try to imagine: ten-meter waves, the deafening noise of the wind in the sails, wicked gusts of up to 100 km/h, the cold cold stuck to clothes, a “happy shift” sleep, the night which revives existential fears and this continuous stress of competition, even stronger than that of survival. Nightmarish.
Between land and sea, feelings differ. This is how the legend is nourished, the evocative power of which is unrivaled: while the “land-spectators” are gripped between fascination and fear, the navigators remain champions like the others, obsessed with the final victory in Les Sables-d. 'Olonnes. If Dalin and Simon found themselves pursued by a meteorological “monster”, it is because they chose it, knowingly heading east to increase their lead. Alone in the world, heroized throughout the damage.
A definition of courage
The adventurers of the seas do not only entrust their destiny to the whims of the Vendée, they push back the boundaries of the unknown on a map that is “Googled” to the centimeter, the last refuge of the imagination, like a call to travel. Ulysses of modern times, they are not at the end of their troubles. Because after Cape Horn, as Christmas approaches, we will have to tackle the immensity of the Pacific Ocean, the legacy of Magellan, Hillary and Gagarin, pioneers of exploration, a window open to the romantic in a cosmos ( sports) scientificized and scrutinized to the limit.
Except that a sailor doesn't dream of hitting land first. He suffers, doubts, is afraid. But he clings to the bar, waiting to pop the champagne during a moving family reunion. A definition of courage. What madness pushes him to set sail again every four years? The Eternal Return.
