The big damage, the hardest times were in the south of New Zealand. I really wondered if I was going to continue, especially for safety reasons. I didn't know how I was going to do it. And then finally, I learned to sail differently, in a way that I didn't know before. I had a lot of fun. Also, it was super motivating for me to be in the group, I tried to stay with them all the time and that motivated me. I constantly pushed and I suppose I surprised myself. The work we did on the boat before the start is really flawless because the boat, apart from the keel damage, is in very good condition.

In this race, I got to know sailors like Jérémie Beyou, we have known each other for several years and spoke occasionally. When we met up we sailed a little bit side by side but after that he was messaging me every day. I got to know him and it was a pleasure to sail with him. Cali and Stéphane, I already knew them because we often sailed close to each other in races. Jérémie had a great race because going back and starting again is not easy.

It was not like there were highlights every day. But when there were it was amazing. The descent between the Canaries and Cape Verde was wonderful, the passage of Cape Horn was magnificent and after that sailing with the other boats, sometimes in sight, it was a bit mad. These moments will remain engraved in my memory because it is rare to have a match race around the world. So there were no better times that is for sure. Yesterday over the last miles you suddenly reflect that what we are doing is crazy doing but them at the finish line I was saying to myself that I had to get back there. We forget all the bad things on arrival. It took a while to get into the enjoying it, fun phase, but after that it was awesome.

I finished this Vendée Globe, it was thanks to my daughter because I wanted to prove to her that her father held out to finish the course and that he was going to complete it. I wanted to leave her that memory. Obviously, it's hard because I missed my loved ones a lot, but they also gave me the strength to continue. I grew up during the race because in everyday life I have always been someone who tried to avoid conflicts or to make decisions and I think I always talked myself down a bit but now but I got to know myself more, a different me, and it will serve me well in the future.

I don't know where I'm going next I want to go back to race the oceans. If I go back, it's with a boat to race for the win. We will have to look at all this.

I have a great team. We started to set up a project 5 years ago with Superbigou, the boat on which Pip Hare sailed this year. We were only four volunteers. After 2016, we relaunched a new project with still a small, evolving team. When I see the condition of the boat today, other than the keel issue, it is in great shape. I hardly touched the repair materials. That's what is beautiful, it's that I've been around the world, but it's all thanks to them. "