Mathieu Warnier, Media365: published on Tuesday December 31, 2024 at 2:20 p.m.
If he stands up to Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme by remaining around 300 nautical miles from the leader of the Vendée Globe, Sébastien Simon has few illusions about his ability to play for victory and is instead aiming to secure third place.
Sébastien Simon wants to be realistic. In the leading pack since the start given last November 10 in Sables-d'Olonne and even a time in first place at the start of the crossing of the Indian Ocean, the skipper of Groupe Dubreuil assures that he is not able to play for victory in this tenth Vendée Globe on the occasion of the ascent of the Atlantic towards the finish line, even if it is not won by Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme, who are leading at full speed in the lead. “I regained ground on the two leaders and pushed aside my pursuer, but I don’t really look at the positions of the leaders, we are not racing the same race,” he confided in an audio message published on the site official of the race by mentioning Thomas Ruyant, who is a little more than 1000 nautical miles behind the native of La Roche-sur-Yon in the score taken by the organizers of the event this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Affirming that he is trying to “catch the somewhat timid trade winds upwind along Brazil”, Sébastien Simon expects to regain speed by January 4, adding that the leading duo will have had time to regain momentum. wide.
Simon: “The North Atlantic is going to be rough”
“It’s the effect of a rubber band that tightens and loosens,” he sums up graphically. Despite everything, the skipper of Groupe Dubreuil does not regret these very calm, or even too calm, sailing conditions. “I have between four and eight knots of wind, I'm heading to the northeast,” he first confided. On the one hand, it feels good not to be clutching everywhere, to go out on the bridge. I rest, I take care of the boat, I have less stress. » Nevertheless, Sébastien Simon expects something else as he approaches the end of the course of this Vendée Globe. “The North Atlantic is going to be tough, we'll have to be ready,” assures the man who has to deal with a monohull weakened by the breakage of its starboard foil. But there are phases when there is no more wind. I hope I won't be stuck for too long. » If third place seems certain to him unless there is further damage, the Vendée sailor is “crossing his fingers to have the most starboard”, i.e. wind coming from the right of his boat, to get the full potential.
