2016-2017

Once again, it’s after a sumptuous duel that victory chose its side. Armel Le Cléac’h, runner-up behind François Gabart in 2013, overtook British Alex Thomson by a few hours. On that occasion, he set a new record for the race in just over 74 days.

This time round the Vendée Globe was almost full : twenty nine sailors took the start, with nearly half of them recidivists. For the start, the solo racers benefitted from ideal conditions which enabled them to rush through the Gulf of Biscay, always dreaded by sailors going round the world. Only Spanish Didac Costa came back to Les Sables d’Olonne to repair a faulty ballast tube.

The descent to the Ecuador was actually quite mild :downwinds and manageable sea, the race seemed a tackle of jibing in which leaders very quickly got their bearings.

Only Tanguy de Lamotte had to give up just before the Cap Verde Islands : his masthead broke apart and he didn’t have the means to repairit on site. He returned to Les Sables d’Olonne on November 28^th.

The leaders widen the gap

Following an audacious option, Alex Thomson got the best deal of the day. By opting to cross the Doldrums on a more easterly route than the others, he benefitted from a better angle in the trade winds of the South hemisphere and started to widen the gap. In his wake, a few solo racersclung to him :Armel Le Cléac’h lead the peloton comprised of confirmed values such as Vincent Riou, JérémieBeyou or SébastienJosse and ambitious rookies such as Paul Meilhat or Morgan Lagravière.

Behind them, the gap stretched. The low-pressure system of Saint Helen sorted sorted them out. When the first ones rushed at over twenty knots, the second part of the fleet dragged itself in light airs. At the front, the job was tough; behind, some began to resign themselves to the situation .

The South Atlantic also had itsshare of victims. First of all, Bertrand de Broc who gave up after having hit a UFO. Then, Vincent Riou and Morgan Lagravière successively decided to head for Capetown –damaged bearing of keel for the first, rudder torn off for the second. At the Cape of Good Hope, Alex Thomson and Armel le Cléac’h followed one another by less than 5 hours. Behind, the gaps wereenormous :SébastienJosse, in third, was more than a day away, Paul Meilhat and JérémieBeyou at two days, Thomas Ruyant, in eighth position, and Jean Le Cam, ninth, were relegated to over fivesailing days from the forefront.

Strange place for an encounter

On November 28th Armel Le Cléac’hregained the race lead and didn’t let go until the finish. On the 30^th, the two leaders reached the level of the Kerguelen islands where the frigate Nivôsewas patrolling .The ship sent a helicopter which brought back sumptuous footage of the two IMOCAs dashing into the water. Behind them, retirements occurred in a cascade.KojiroShiraishi broke his mast before rounding the cape of Good Hope, SébastienJosse tore one of his foils and seriously damaged the daggerboard case. More dangerously, Kito de Pavant hit an immersed object and threatened to sink. Fortunately the Marion Dufresne, which was supplying the French Southern territories was nearby and able to save the skipper. Nevertheless, he had to follow the rotation of the boat toward Crozet, Kerguelen and Amsterdam before disembarking in La Réunion.

The Pacific wasn’t gentler with retirements of Thomas Ruyant, Stéphane Le Diraison, Paul Meilhat and finally the Irish Enda O’Coineen. Throughout his competitors’ difficulties, Jean-Pierre Dick reached fourth position in the Vendée Globe but,at Cape Horn, he was still one week away from the leader, Armel Le Cléac’h. Le Cléac’h finally managed to push back Alex Thomson two navigation days away. The navigator from Finistère was in a far more comfortable position reaching Cape Horn than his predecessors during the last editions. BanquePopulaire’s skipper could begin to consider victory. With the exception of the 2004-2005 edition, the one who had reached the Horn first had always been crowned on arriving in les Sables d’Olonne.

Diabolical accordeon

But nothing happened as expected. Stuck in calm leeward winds near Tierra del Fuego, Armel Le Cléac’h saw his advance melt away. On December 29^th, six days after having rounded Cape Horn, only 30 small miles separated the two contenders. But it was now up to Alex Thomson to experience the light airs which had slowed down the leader. Progressively, the gap widened again but Armel Le Cléac’h stayed under pressure until the finish line.

Behind them, JérémieBeyou seemed in a comfortable position before the trio of pursuers including Yann Eliès, Jean-Pierre Dick and Jean Le Cam – who sailed up the Atlantic at the rythm of a Solitaire du Figaro.

Twenty-four hours to the finish, Armel Le Cléac’h could finally admit to himself that, excepting an accident, this 2016-2017 edition would be his. Alex Thomson was not in position to catch up. As the leaders were about to finish, Louis Burton, seventh, crossed the Ecuador and Nandor Fa, eighth, had just rounded Cape Horn.

For some solo racers, going up the Atlantic felt like a cross to bear : on February 11^th, Eric Bellion suffered damage on his mainsail rail which forced him to finish the race with only his foresail. On the same day, Conrad Colman dismasted off the coast of Portugal. The New Zealander refused to abdicate and was able to cobble together a rigging of fortune to reach Les Sables d’Olonne and cross the finish line.

On January 19th, Armel le Cléac’h crossed the finish line in front of the South Nouch buoy at 16h38 (local time) setting a new record of 74d 03h 36mn. 50 days went by before seeing SébastienDestremau, last qualified competitor, finally reaching the finish line.

Ranking of the edition

1. Armel Le Cléac’h (Fra, Banque Populaire) – 74d 03h 35mn
2. Alex Thomson (GB, Hugo Boss) 74d 19h 35mn
3. Jérémie Beyou (Fra, Maître CoQ) 78d 06h 39mn
4. Jean-Pierre Dick (Fra, St Michel – Virbac) 80d 01h 46mn
5. Yann Eliès (Fra, Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir) 80d 03h 11mn
6. Jean Le Cam (Frza, Finistère Mer Vent) 80D 04h 42mn
7. Louis Burton (FRA, Bureau Vallée), 87D 19h 46mn
8. Nandor Fa (HUN, Spirit of Hungary), 93D 22h 52mn
9. ÉricBellion (FRA, Comme un seul Homme), 99D 04h 56mn
10. Arnaud Boissières (FRA, La Mie Câline) 102D 20h 24mn
11. Fabrice Amedeo (FRA, Newrest – Matmut) 103D 21h 01mn
12. Alan Roura (SUI, La Fabrique) 105D 20h 11mn
13. Rich Wilson (USA, Great American IV) 107D 00h 48mn
14. Didac Costa (ESP, One Planet One Ocean) 108D 19h 51mn
15. Romain Attanasio (FRA - Famille Mary – Étamine du Lys) 109D 22h 04mn
16. Conrad Colman (NZL, Foresight Natural Energy) 110D 01h 59mn
17. Pieter Heerema (NED, No Way Back) 116D 09h 24mn
18. Sébastien Destremau (FRA, Technofirst – Faceocean) 124D 12h 38mn

Retirements

• Enda O’Coineen (IRL – Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland), dismasting, January 1st
• Paul Meilhat (FRA – SMA), damage on keel actuator, December 24th
• Stéphane Le Diraison (FRA – La compagnie du Lit – Boulogne Billancourt), dismasting,December 23rd
• Thomas Ruyant (FRA – Le Souffle du Nord pour le Projet Imagine), collisionwith UFO, December 20th
• SébastienJosse (FRA – Edmond de Rothschild), damage on foil, December 7th
• Kito de Pavant (FRA – BastideOtio), collision with spermwhale, December 6th
• KojiroShiraishi (JPA – Spirit of Yukoh), dismasting, December 4th
• Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA – Initiatives Cœur), damage on mast , November 28th
• Morgan Lagravière (FRA – Safran), damage on rudder, November 24th
• Vincent Riou (FRA – PRB), damage on keel, November 22nd
• Bertrand de Broc (FRA – MACSF), damage on keel, November 20th