Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Wednesday January 1, 2025 at 1:40 p.m.
After returning to Ushuaia to join his team and repair his monohull Maître Coq V, Yannick Bestaven opened the door to the idea of returning to sea towards Les Sables-d'Olonne even though he is now out of the race.
Yannick Bestaven had to lower his flag. Title holder in the Vendée Globe, the native of Saint-Nazaire had to abandon due to damage to the helm of his monohull Maître Coq V, whose hull also began to delaminate. Arriving in Ushuaia this Monday, he met his technical team to decide if a repair is possible. “It’s fate, I can’t do anything about it,” said the navigator in comments collected by the daily The Team shortly after arriving at the southern tip of Argentina. Yannick Bestaven makes no secret of the fact that this tenth edition of the solo, non-stop and unassisted round the world trip was not easy. “The Vendée really spoiled me four years ago, this time the story is different,” he declared. Now that the race is over for him, the Nazairian admits to having “gone to another world” after having “wondered how to make this shitty situation positive”, he who retained hope of doing well while there “could still be surprises in the ascent of the Atlantic and the possibility of finishing in the five”. “I dreamed of going to Ushuaïa and sailing the canals, but I never thought I would do it during this Vendée Globe,” added Yannick Bestaven during this interview. I'm trying to be positive about that, except that in my misfortune, for the moment, it's gray, it's raining, I can't even see the glaciers. »
Bestaven: “There was no point in persisting”
Returning to the technical problems which affected his boat, the winner of the last Vendée Globe confided that giving up was the wisest solution to take. “Half of the carbon skin tissue is gone. If it breaks and water gets into the sandwich, it can get complicated and cause a leak, he summarized. It affects the structure, reason makes it better to stop, there is no point in persisting. » Having affirmed his wish to set out again to complete the course, Yannick Bestaven must first have the verdict of his team regarding the state of the monohull and the approval of the insurance companies. “We have to take action, there is no question that I will leave after the last ones,” said the Nazairian. Then there is the worry of insurance, will they let us repair it before sending an expert? If that were to be the case, I hope he's already on the plane! » Admitting that this is his “last solo race”, the sailor said he “really wants to go to Les Sables-d’Olonne”. “I want to continue writing this beautiful story, even if it is outside the race and twenty days after the first ones,” he concluded. But today, I'm not sure of anything, I hope it's not too serious and that we can repair it with some tissue. » A last page which could therefore be tarnished by a broken boat.
