Sailing: At the Vendée Glode, it’s time for departure and tears

“Compressed by emotion”, 40 skippers of the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe will leave on Sunday for a new solo journey around the world, cheered by hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Les Sables-d’Olonne to say goodbye .

The last hours spent on land by these heroes of the sea have, at each edition since 1989, attracted a much wider audience than simple sailing enthusiasts, allowing the event to acquire an almost mystical aura.

The ritual has not changed in more than 30 years: in the morning fog of Port Olona, ​​the aspiring world tourers will descend the pontoon of honor towards their boat one by one, joining a handful of hand-picked technicians in the midst of preparations.

For the sailors, setting off will take place a few minutes later after final hugs, often wet with tears, with their loved ones, whom they will all hope to find three months later in the same place.

Charlie Dalin (Macif) was the first to cross the finish line three years ago after a grueling world tour, received soberly in the middle of the Covid epidemic on the night of Vendée.

Finally reclassified second due to a time bonus granted to Yannick Bestaven for having participated in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier, the Norman navigator will be the first to leave the pontoons at 8 a.m., as a symbol.

“I’ve been waiting for this Vendée Globe for quite some time,” said this young father of a six-year-old child, who this year once again wears the favorite costume with Thomas Ruyant (Vulnerable) and Yoann Richomme ( Paprec Arkea).

Before reaching the open sea, where the start will be given at 1:02 p.m., the competitors will all go down the legendary Sables-d’Olonne channel, whose quays should be completely crowded.

From the deck of their 18-meter monohulls, rookies Violette Dorange (Devenir), Benjamin Ferret (Monnoyeur-Duo For a Job) and Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) will then discover foghorns and support banners as far as the eye can see.

“We all find ourselves very small in the middle of the crowd. Everyone on board the boat is crying, people on the docks are crying, you can’t hold back, you are compressed everywhere by emotion,” says the Swiss Alan Roura (Hublot), who is leaving for the third time.

Four minutes before the gun goes off, the last crew member on the sailboats will jump into the sea to leave their skipper alone to get to the starting line. “It can be quite a brutal moment to go from this emotion to the great emptiness all of a sudden,” says the British Samantha Davies (Initiatives Coeur), on the eve of her 4th participation.

“You tell yourself that you have three months ahead of you, alone, and at the same time you have to quickly refocus on the race,” adds the 50-year-old sailor. In front of the bows, 24,300 theoretical miles, or 45,000 km, to be covered without outside help.

The fastest to have ever completed the exercise is Armel Le Cléac’h in 2016/2017 (74 days and 3 hours). “There is no miracle recipe, but on a course of this duration, what can make the difference is the mind,” explains the sailor.

“During a Vendée Globe, we are confronted with ourselves a lot, pushed to our limits as human beings. This victory changed my life,” he added, estimating that a “ten boats” could win this year.

He, like the sailor François Gabart, winner in 2012/2013, think that the record could fall in this 10th edition. “These new foil boats have the potential to go very quickly around the planet,” judges the Charente sailor.

The weather forecast for the first days of the race, however, will not work in their favor. The light weather – 3 to 10 knots in the afternoon – should limit the risk of breakage, but also slow down the fleet significantly up to Cape Finisterre.

The fastest are expected to return to Les Sables-d’Olonne in mid-January.