“You have to believe in yourself and not necessarily follow the troop,” advises Jean Le Cam, new leader

The oldest of the race broke away from the fleet after passing the island of Madeira. A profitable strategy.

“You have to believe in yourself and not necessarily follow the crowd”underlined Saturday November 16 on franceinfo Jean Le Cam. Aboard his monohull sailboat “Everything begins in Finistère – Armor-Lux”, the French skipper took the lead in the Vendée Globe on the night of Friday to Saturday, the solo non-stop and unassisted round-the-world sailing trip.

The oldest of the race, aged 65, jumped from the tenth place he occupied on Friday to first place at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning. He chose to leave the fleet after passing the island of Madeira, sailing further east than his competitors. “to pass between the Cape Verde Islands and Africa”he clarified.

“We couldn’t dream of better (…), I’m very happy to be where I am,” welcomed the navigator, before qualifying: “Whoever lives will see, we’re not going to be smart either”. “For the moment we are in the most favorable part, there we are falling back into ‘sluggishness’, we should find more favorable winds perhaps tomorrow”estimated Jean Le Cam.

Since his departure on Sunday from Les Sables-d’Olonne, “King Jean” has so far not had “no problem” on his new Imoca, he confessed. But anyone taking part in their 6th Vendée Globe knows that the race is “always full of twists and turns and uncertainties”.