In March he set off on the “Road of Forgiveness”. A solo journey at sea which was for Benoît Tuduri a sort of path to redemption. A route that this skipper decided to take after being excluded from the Solitaire du Figaro for cheating. He arrived this Sunday, May 5 in Saint-Malo.
Benoît Tudury is a happy and peaceful skipper. After 44 days at sea alone, the 30-year-old sailor has Saint-Malo in sight, his port of departure: “I’m super happy to have done the whole tour and come back in good shape with a boat in good condition“.
The finish line at the foot of the ramparts of the corsair city is crossed. This is the end of theroad of forgiveness“. An atypical race with a unique rule. Before the start, the navigator sets a duration for the course. And must approach it as closely as possible. A memorial race too. It follows the journey of the boats from the slave trade to 18th century via Senegal and the Antilles A dark part of the history of Saint-Malo: “This brings us back to a somewhat hidden past that we may find difficult to come to terms with. We all have something to be forgiven for. And this Route of Forgiveness is a bit like the maritime route to Compostela“, explains Daniel Doizé, organizer of the “road of forgiveness“
We all have something to be forgiven for. And this Route of Forgiveness is a bit like the maritime route to Santiago de Compostela.
Daniel Doizeorganizer of the “Route of Forgiveness”
But for Benoit Tudury, this event has another meaning, much more personal for the skipper. Because last year, when he won the third stage of the Solitaire du Figaro, he was disqualified for cheating. He had downloaded weather files. This is prohibited by the regulations: “Clearly, I didn’t want to stay on something negative“, confides Benoît Tuduri.
The skipper and the boat returned to port six days early. The donations obtained by Benoît and the route of forgiveness will be offered to the Gabriel association, which helps a child suffering from a rare disease.
(With Romuald Bonnant and Thierry Bouilly)
