Even if he was programmed to perform, even if he had anticipated everything, anticipated everything, planned everything, it took time to adapt. Because even if we have won two Solitaire du Figaro, two Route du Rhum in the past and two transatlantic races in less than a year (Retour à la Base, The Transat CIC), it is impossible to remain indifferent to what a departure from Vendée Globe. Yoann lived it to the fullest, carried away like everyone else by the wave of emotions. “ When you see the public all along the channel, you realize the exceptional nature of what we are achieving. “, he confided then.
The record and the discovery of the South Seas
Then, he had to immerse himself in the race and quickly remove the damn algae caught in his keel which caused him a little scare after the start. Yoann entered the 'top 10' from the 2nd night then took control of the race on November 13 for one day, at the latitude of Morocco. It's already time to lengthen the stride and in this thoroughbred battle, the skipper of PAPREC ARKÉA has no shortage of arguments. On November 20, he signed the 24-hour speed record (551.84 miles) in racing and alone, beating that achieved by Nicolas Lunven (Holcim-PRB) a few days earlier and will be the holder a week (before Sébastien Simon doesn't pocket it).
Throughout the descent of the Atlantic, Yoann remains in contact with the favorites, never far from Charlie Dalin. He was among the first to benefit from the depression which propelled the entire head of the fleet from the Brazilian coast to the Cape of Good Hope. Next up are the South Seas, those which make and break so many legends in the Vendée Globe. This is confirmed at the beginning of December when a major depression deepens on the way to Kerguelen. 60 knots of wind and waves of 8 meters are expected. Charlie heads due East, Yoann is forced to position himself in the North-East. “ This allows me to have an escape route in the event of a problem, without being stuck by the ZEA “, he then confides. The sailor manages to resist the difficult conditions but at the same time he sees the Dalin-Simon duo widening the gap.
The “comeback” and the duel
Except that with Yoann, falling into fate is out of the question. When his direct competitors struggle to lengthen his stride after the depression has passed, he presses the accelerator. With method and a huge burst of energy, he works to distance himself from his current playmates but above all to get back on the leading men. A constant commitment that pays off: he achieves an incredible “remontada” of more than 500 miles in a handful of days. After passing Tasmania, Yoann overtakes Sébastien (December 14) then Charlie (December 17) even though the latter had been first for 15 days!
What follows is a high-level fight, a fierce struggle between fine sailors where the weather files are dissected and the settings refined with the most extreme precision. Sébastien Simon, who has to deal with one less foil, helplessly lets Yoann and Charlie escape at the end of the Pacific. At this moment, it is the rookie who slightly leads the debates: Yoann even offers himself the luxury, for 9 minutes and 30 seconds, of passing Cape Horn as leader and, in the process, of granting himself the record between the Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn (13 days, 9 hours and 13 minutes). And the battle begins again. For seven more days, Yoann remains in the lead. But Charlie is never far away. On December 31, the skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance took control off the coast of Brazil.
In Charlie's footsteps
Even being side by side, even optimizing everything that can be done, even being slightly faster downwind, Yoann is unable to regain first place. He admits it half-heartedly last Tuesday: “ I have the impression that Charlie will be a little stronger, I'm mainly trying to keep the rhythm “. Friday, things get a little more complicated. He, who had not experienced any major damage, saw his J0, one of his front sails, fall into the water. He tries to put her back on board, succeeds but recovers a torn and completely unusable sail. The J0 is precious, especially for light airs like those which await the skippers from the tip of Brittany until the finish.
But that’s not where victory will be played out. Charlie is as consistent as ever, he doesn't tremble and maintains a sufficient gap to win with confidence. Yoann continues, does not give up and, in the privacy of his cockpit, comes to terms with the idea that victory has eluded him. From his first speech, the winner congratulates him in his own way: “ It's thanks to Yoann if I was able to travel around the world in such a short time. It forced me to return the canvas, to be on the settings, to give everything… With Yoann, it was an incredible match “. The skipper of PAPREC ARKÉA therefore finished 2nd in his first Vendée Globe and it's a first step that means a lot: during the last edition, a rookie like him finished 2nd before doing so again four years later. His name is Charlie Dalin.
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