You had a problem with your headsail this Friday morning: to what extent will this handicap you for the end of the race?
I shot myself in the foot last night. It’s more annoying to have wasted an hour and a half trying to get it back than for the rest itself. It’s not a big deal not to have it. I wasn’t far from the sail change either. But the two hours wasted won’t help me at all. That could be 40 miles lost. That’s how it is! Breakage happens to everyone from time to time. I was rather spared until then. We knew that this sail was a bit limited, there had been other breakages in the fleet in the past. Perhaps the mistake was not to put a model above in terms of resistance. The fault may not have occurred today but it may have occurred several months ago. It’s not very serious.
Four days from the finish and 200 miles behind Charlie Dalin, what feeling prevails?
The satisfaction of the beautiful Vendée Globe that we are currently achieving. And at the same time, it’s also nice to see the weather scenario that we have until the end which seems quite pleasant. A long downwind leg to the entrance to the Bay of Biscay and a little upwind in South Brittany at the end. But we’re both pretty well taken care of by the weather ahead. In the most unpleasant moments, we fell between the drops. I’m happy, it won’t be too violent at the end. The routing this morning (Friday) was five days and one hour: that’s Wednesday morning. And if we go quickly, Tuesday evening…
I rather want to spread. Afterwards, you must not do anything stupid. Now is not the time to break everything either.
How are you approaching these last days of racing?
On the attack anyway! Technical glitches can also happen. We’re going to tackle a long downwind leg, it’s a pace that I like and I have a boat that is rather suited to that. I rather want to spread. Afterwards, you must not do anything stupid. Now is not the time to break everything either.
Do you still believe in it?
Yes, on a random basis. Without any hazards, it still seems complicated. To have. I don’t really know. It’s hard to describe. The ending isn’t very clear yet. With the anticyclone, he will be forced to realign himself at some point. Is it really going to cost him or not. It’s complicated to say.
What can you do?
Apart from doing my best, I can’t do anything. Today there is no opening to attack. Maybe towards the end at the entrance to the Bay of Biscay but before that, there is nothing. It’s a straight edge along the Azores. Apart from doing it straight, quickly and well… I have no other levers.
-Is this duel to the end exhausting or does it stimulate you?
It’s stimulating. It’s not exhausting. Being second anyway, I don’t have much to lose. It’s still a fight against Charlie Dalin, he is almost unbeatable in Imoca. I have no regrets about this result. I’m happy with what we’ve done so far. We are going to take an exceptional world tour. We are going to break the record in a stratospheric way. It’s great. Everything is good.
Do you already feel the finish getting closer?
I’m looking forward to the finish. We planned a bit of all this with the team. This afternoon, we’re going to start doing the technical debrief of the world tour because we’re too afraid of not having enough time afterwards. We are almost in the sequel. Normally, Emmanuel Macron will come, the French patrol, fireworks, the cheerleaders… (laughs) No, but I can’t wait.
Before leaving you said that you liked solitaire, average, how have you experienced it over the last 60 days?
I had a pretty good experience but I’m happy to arrive quickly and not to have spent too many days at sea. But I think I had prepared my subject quite well. I had a good level of mental preparation and then with the internet connection we have today, it’s quite pleasant to be able to exchange ideas. It matches my profile on that. I’m happy to have enjoyed this world tour. I thought it would be a lot harder. The scenario and my ranking also made it largely viable and within my reach. It’s a real satisfaction that things are going well. We had prepared him well at all levels. It was intense. For a more favorable scenario, it would have been necessary for me not to be behind in the Indian, for me to be able to outrun it in the Pacific. I knew that going up the Atlantic would be his hobby. He had a bit of success but even without success, I wouldn’t have held the tide, his boat is going too fast in these conditions.
Do you think about your loved ones or do you stay focused on the race?
Yes, absolutely. We try to plan all of this so that it goes as smoothly as possible because obviously there are a lot of people to satisfy in terms of availability: the media, the team, family, sponsors, friends. I think I have a lot of friends coming to welcome me. It’s going to be dense, that’s for sure. And a little rest. We know that it will continue for ten days… We must manage this moment well, it must not become too much of a constraint. I’m eager to. I never had too much trouble dealing with these moments.
