“We are lucky, with the three other doctors, to be able to follow them, to live this adventure with them by proxy”. The doctor Laura Jacolotsports doctor at Quimper hospital, is this year the chief doctor of the Vendée Globe. She succeeds the emblematic Jean-Yves Chauve who had officiated during the nine previous editions of the solo sailing round the world race. An essential link for the forty skippers who will leave this Sunday, November 10. “We are going to stay at home, we hope to be as undemanding as possible and that they get to the end in the best conditions. But we are ready for anything.”
All skippers have a compulsory pharmacy on hand
For this solo round-the-world race of approximately three months, “there is a medical supply which is obligatory, consisting of emergency medicines which they can even use without calling us. And a whole larger supply of antibiotics, infusion kits, something to attach staples, a little more technical glue… Gestures for which we will be there alongside them, from a distance” explains Laure Jacolot, assistant to Jean-Yves Chauve during the last edition.
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One more, dermatological problems are common :“The skin suffers a lot in offshore racing with humidity, cold, climatic variations, hygiene which is not the same as on land and sleep and diet which are not the same either. The skin will suffer a lot.
“Overall, antibiotics are almost systematic”
The other danger is concussion with more and more violent shocks in these boats which go faster and faster: “There have always been head injuries. It is a well-known pathology (…) Now, we have a pathology that we encounter in almost all races, these are concussions which can be generated by an impact, a significant deceleration. On boats, helmets are strongly recommended and on the WhatsApp line, skippers can always call for help.” Doctors are available 24 hours a day throughout the race for telemedicine or more psychological support.
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Yves-René Tapon
Senegal
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