Vendée Globe 2024. “I owe it to myself and I want to finish”, Yannick Bestaven leaves the race to complete his world tour

After 6 days of technical stopover in Ushuaïa (extreme south of Argentina), Yannick Bestaven returns to sea this Monday January 6 aboard his IMOCA Maître CoQ V, heading to Les Sables d’Olonne. Although the Vendée Globe came to an abrupt end for the title holder on December 30, his world tour is not over.

The technical team refloated Maître CoQ V in record time. Yannick Bestaven returns to sea this Monday January 6 aboard his repaired IMOCA, heading for Les Sables d’Olonne.

Now out of the race, the Rochelais is determined to complete his world tour, to write the last lines of his story alone.

The winner of the 9th edition of the Vendée Globe is not the type of sailor to give up.

The new solo sailing departure aboard Maître CoQ V took place this Monday, January 6 at 6 a.m. local time (10 a.m. Paris time). Yannick wanted to leave at the same time as the group led by Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) of which his childhood friend Arnaud Boissière (La Mie Câline) is also a part.

Now, we have to go down the Beagle Channel to reach the Atlantic, a channel of more than 100 km, which we will have to travel in the maritime zone of Argentina, and all this by motor, approximately a dozen hours. In order not to take any risks, the technical team will escort Maître CoQ V and Yannick Bestaven, until it can navigate safely.

The skipper hopes to reach the Vendée port before the end of January. But before that, he will have to be a fine strategist to go up the Atlantic Ocean and avoid the meteorological traps that he could face.

I said that this was my last solo race, so being able to bring Maître CoQ V back to Les Sables solo would allow me to end on a happy note, and then there is the sense of sharing

Yannick Bestaven

Skipper Maître CoQ V

“There are a lot of people waiting for me on arrival. I know that all the employees who were unable to celebrate my arrival 4 years ago because of COVID are keen to do so this year. all these reasons I owe it to myself and I want to finish to experience this. Thanks to my team, we were able to carry out the repairs on Maître CoQ V in record time, and I will be able to leave, out of the race, but in the package. by Tanguy Le Turquais, my friend Cali (Arnaud Boissières)… I can’t wait to get back to sea and complete the loop. There will be a lot of strategy to go up the Atlantic, I can’t wait to find these conditions again. adds the browser.

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As soon as they arrived in Ushuaïa on Tuesday December 31, the members of the technical team began the first inspections of the IMOCA’s hull to assess the extent of the damage.

Yannick Bestaven and his team were able to tip Maître CoQ V onto the water to take a closer look at the bottom of the boat’s hull, and carry out the lamination work, laying layers of carbon fiber.

“Crane operations in Ushuaïa are complicated. The local authorities only allowed us one day with the crane, so we had to find tricks to be able to lay the boat between three moorings by pulling on the mast by one of the halyardsexplains Jean Marie Dauris, the technical and sporting director of the Maître CoQ sailing team. This allowed us to carry out repair operations on the hull, at the level of the keel, the planking and the foil. In addition, we were able to repair lots of small injuries and completely restore the steering system. We rebuilt the entire part that was broken, changed the rudder blades. We were also able to fix Code 0. We were able to move into a gym to expand sail and repair it.”

Yannick will be able to leave with a fully operational boat

Jean Marie Dauris

Technical and sporting director of the Maître CoQ sailing team

An extraordinary project, completed in record time. “We were very well received by the locals, and also met a lot of French people. Many sailors wanted to give us a hand with repairs. We were helped well, because it’s really not the best place. easier to make a stopover, at the end of the world, with means that are not necessarily the most suitable for this type of boat Carrying out this project with Maître CoQ V required a lot of organization, particularly to adapt to the weather conditions. are quite changeable with showers, temperatures oscillating from 5 to 20°C“, specifies the technician.

“The abandonment was brutal. It was painful for Yannick as for the entire Maître CoQ team, and the partners. But we all know that we are living exceptional adventures, and that in this context, we cannot complain, but we must move forward“, declares Anne Combier, team manager.

“Competition, in general, is also a lesson in life, in humility, a resilient state of mind which gives us the strength to start again. Once the decision was made, we put ourselves in working order to build the “commando” operation at the other end of the southern hemisphere, in order to welcome Yannick and Maître CoQ V to Ushuaïa in the best conditions. We were able to count on an incredible network of sailors, IMOCA teams, many people. proposed solutions in giving us the right contacts on site”, she confides.

This incredible experience sheds light on our profession which fascinates us. I thank the technical team who dropped everything on New Year’s Eve to leave without asking any questions.

Anne Combier

Team manager

“CWe left towards Les Sables d’Olonne! What an adventure to stop here, it really wasn’t what I had planned on the program but hey…”souffle Yannick Bestaven. “Unfortunately out of the race, but we will do everything to ensure that the end of this world tour is as beautiful as possible”he promises.