Even on the eve of a Monday, at 2 a.m., in the wind and cold, he wouldn't have missed it. It's been 77 days since Nathan followed Benjamin Dutreux's journey around the world, from his class at the elementary school in Portets, in Gironde. The student got his wish on January 27: to witness the arrival of tenth in the Vendée Globe rankings.
To do this, his dad had to travel a little further, from Sables-d'Olonne to La Rochelle. “We were well settled, but the storm changed everything,” confided Benjamin Laquebe, in the chilly anticipation of the hero of the night.
Benjamin Laquebe and his son Nathan, who came from Portets (Gironde) to witness the arrival of Benjamin Dutreux.
Frédéric Zabalza/SO
The gusts from Herminia and the strong swell forced the Vendée organizer to divert two competitors, Benjamin Dutreux and Clarisse Crémer. The sheltered city of La Rochelle gladly agreed to welcome them. “We had three possibilities,” explained Mayor Jean-François Fountaine, present at the edge of the channel. The port of La Pallice, Chef-de-Baie or the Chalutiers basin. It was the teams who made the choice. »
“I thought I was sinking”
-
A good choice. One channel is worth another. The one leading to the Old Port has gradually filled up with around a hundred people. Relatives, parents, sponsors, a few curious people. A large delegation from Guyot Environnement traveled from Brest (Finistère). The “Maître CoQ” team of La Rochelle skipper Yannick Bestaven has kindly opened its hangar to the Breton stable. This is the Vendée Globe “spirit”.
“A great match”
Around 2:30 a.m., an hour late, the hull with two large foils of the Imoca sailboat appeared in the darkness, announced by the traditional smoke bombs, as if by a concert of foghorns and a sound system blaring an old hit of Celine Dion. Fair play, the technical team from Occitane en Provence, partner of Clarisse Crémer, also came to greet the sailor, visibly tested after more than three months of “struggle”.
Moved to tears while kissing his companion Mathilde, Benjamin Dutreux told his supporters of the anguish of seeing his boat fill up. “I thought I was sinking,” he testified, sobbing.
But the sailboat held on and the skipper from the North (34 years old) “pulled away” to complete his round-the-world trip. “It was a great match. I felt like I was enjoying the suffering. » “The crazy story” ends in La Rochelle, where Clarisse Crémer is expected, Monday January 27, between 3 and 4 p.m.
