He crossed the line 22 hours after Dalin (Macif), beaten after a fierce duel during the journey up the Atlantic. Escorted by around thirty boats, the Varois, dressed in a red raincoat, gray cap on his head, let his joy burst forth, brandishing his arms in the air several times upon his arrival in the bay.
“I tried to do what I know how to do, I don’t think I know how to do otherwise, but I came across someone stronger than me. Charlie was unbeatable, I’m delighted for him,” Richomme declared to the organizers , saying he was “proud” of his race.
He had to go straight back up the channel and moor his monohull around 8:30 a.m. Norman Charlie Dalin won the race on Tuesday in 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes, 9 days and 8 hours less than the previous record, established in 2016/2017 by Armel Le Cléac’h.
Richomme also did better than the previous reference time. He had a good start on November 10 and then led the race for several days just after the Cape of Good Hope.
In particular, coming back from an impressive delay of 500 miles in a few days in the Indian Ocean, the Varois even overtook his rival and friend Charlie Dalin as he passed Cape Horn.
But a few days later, near Brazil, Dalin took the reins until the finish.
Always fascinated by boats and a trained naval architect, Richomme nevertheless established the new Les Sables-d’Olonne – Cape Horn reference time on his route, thanks to a particularly resistant sailboat in rough conditions.
The Frenchman, double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro (2016 and 2019) and the Route du Rhum (2018 and 2022) in Class40, won this second place for his first participation in the Vendée Globe. He had never seen the southern seas before.
“It was an incredible match with him, it’s his first Vendée and it seems like he’s been doing this all his life. It’s thanks to him that we did this world tour in such a short time” , greeted Charlie Dalin after arriving ashore on Tuesday.
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