Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Sunday January 5, 2025 at 11:38 a.m.
Runner-up to Charlie Dalin in the Vendée Globe, Yoann Richomme offers a new, refreshing look at sailing.
After holding the lead in the Vendée Globe, Yoann Richomme is losing more and more ground on Charlie Dalin, leader of the race with more than 121 miles at the last score of 7:00 a.m. Competing in his first Vendée Globe, the double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro in 2016 and 2019, and double winner of the Route du Rhum in 2018 and 2022 in Class40, would obviously like to win the famous event, but seeing the lead go moving away doesn't make him lose his good mood. If Dalin is more introverted, Richomme lets loose more and ensures a good atmosphere by offering a new perspective on sailing.
Richomme: “With Charlie (Dalin), we have completely different characters”
The skipper of Paprec Arkéa stands out and that is frankly appreciable. Talkative, Yoann Richomme shares his race with the general public with delightful freshness. On December 30, the 41-year-old sailor gave us a magnificent sunrise from the South Atlantic with a smile, shirtless, his smartphone trained on him. “With Charlie (Dalin), we have completely different characters,” explains Richomme. There is therefore a difference in feeling and certainly a way of living that is different. » The experienced skipper experiences his world tour differently. We also saw him offer a geography lesson by explaining what Point Nemo was, “the farthest point from all land”, offering crazy images of Cape Horn, talking about depression, wind speed, etc. .
“I want to share these stories”
During the last edition of the Vendée Globe, he followed the race from land. This time, he recounts his maneuvers and his racing strategy aboard his Imoca through simple words. With a very pleasant tone. “We are privileged, we are lucky to do what we do, we might as well show it with good humor and enthusiasm,” says Yoann Richomme who is obviously not the only one to share his race with the public (Benjamin Ferré , Guirec Soudée or Violette Dorange also do it) but he is at the forefront aiming for victory. “I'm also having fun in this Vendée Globe, much more than I had imagined and I want to share these stories,” he says. The tone is dictated by my personality, it is also me who set the level of transparency. »
