“I created this race to participate in it.” Philippe Jeantot, creator of the Vendée Globe, inaugurates a quay in his name

“We can't help but be proud to say that this story, which was born with three slightly drunk guys in a bar in Sydney, has become what it has become today.” A few moments before the inauguration of a quay in his name, near the Place du Vendée Globe in Les Sables d'Olonne, Philippe Jeantot invited by the mayor of the city, spoke at length about his memories and his idea of ​​a sailing trip around the world, this time non-stop, unlike the BOC Challenge. “There were thirteen of us in 1989, there are forty sailors who are going to live their dream and experience an exceptional adventure. And then there are thousands of spectators who are there, who will dream with them. So it’s nice, it’s a big part of my life.”

“There were thirteen of us in 1989, there are forty sailors who are going to live their dream.”

“I created this race because I wanted to participate in it and this race did not exist. If it had existed, I would have registered as a competitor and nothing else, says Jeantot, amazed by the evolution of the boats, in twenty years, there has been considerable progress. We did 260 miles in one day, today it's 500. It's true that adventure still exists, not against it, I don't believe that poetry is as present as it was in the first Vendée Globe . We were going slower, we were able to marvel at the flight of albatross, at the sight of icebergs. I know I preferred my era.”

Legal troubles? “We don’t talk about it, I’ve turned the page.”

At the time of the inauguration of the quay, where Philippe Jeantot had launched his Crédit Agricole sailboat, several hundred people and visitors applauded the skipper and creator of the race. A public which seems to have forgiven the conviction for tax fraud in 2007. A taboo subject: ” We don't talk about it. It's been 20 years. I turned the page and I did even more, I changed books. So we don't talk about it.” Philippe Jeantot now lives with his family removed from the world in Thailand, the sea never far away.

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