We expected an extremely fast Vendée Globe, driven by latest generation monohulls. After 53 days of racing, Cape Horn has not yet been crossed and Yannick Bestaven (48 years old) aboard “Maître Coq” creates the surprise at the head of an extremely tight fleet.
You are currently in the Pacific, what are your racing conditions?
YANNICK BESTAVEN. They are rather cool and damp! It’s difficult, the body gets tired. It’s hard physically, it’s not easy mentally. The stress is permanent. Our boats are uncomfortable, even more so in heavy seas with strong winds.
You are currently the leader. Is this Vendée Globe what you imagined?
It’s better than I imagined in terms of performance! My goal was not to be far in the standings in the southern seas. I never imagined this scenario, I did not imagine such difficult southern seas. There are many depressions from the front, which is quite rare in the Vendée Globe. Barriers in front prevent widening the gap, the race is homogeneous, we do not beat speed records either.
We expected a round-the-world record, a Vendée Globe in less than 70 days, this will not be the case …
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Especially since we choose neither the day of departure nor the weather window like when the Ultimes chase records. We have come a long way than Armel Le Cléach four years ago. Sometimes we had to do the downwind twice, doing zigzagging gybes, we had to bypass a tropical depression… Lots of phenomena which meant that the film never unwound in the right direction.
The differences are minimal between the skippers. Does this Vendée Globe show that technology has limits?
I had said that the Vendée Globe was above all a marathon. You need an all-terrain boat, super strong and reliable. When I was sailing next to Jean Le Cam and his drift boat, I noticed that the sea conditions meant that I could not go faster. Large foils are great, but you have to be able to use them. You put the turbo only when the road is straight and flat and there is no one in front. That’s what I did when I left the Indian Ocean, I attacked with small foils, but I couldn’t do it in all the southern seas.
Cape Horn is in sight. Do we approach it by saying to ourselves: “This is the last door, the one that puts us on the way home”, even if there will be about twenty days?
It is the exit of the seas of the south especially! A big depression arrives on Cape Horn and it promises to be difficult. The road to Les Sables d’Olonne is still long, you have to stay focused.
At what level will this race be played?
One thing is certain, nothing is played! Even if we are in front, the podium is difficult to predict. It will be played at the weather line. If the first boats pass and a barrier is placed behind, we will make the hole. If the barrier is in front, as it has often been the case for a few days, it will restart the race. And there are so many obstacles to overcome: the Azores high pressure, the doldrums …
You celebrated Christmas and your 48th birthday at sea …
The conditions were difficult, I could not enjoy on the terrace (laughs)! It’s like January 1st, it’s just a date on the calendar for us. These days are like any other in the Vendée Globe, with their share of shit. Or happiness, when there is a beautiful sun and it slips!
After 53 days at sea, are you able to have fun?
The brain is so well done that it retains beautiful things! Yes, I live fantastic times, magical nights, magnificent dawns, mountains of waves, albatross flights. For this new year, one could wish me to pass Cape Horn without too many worries and to make a nice climb up the Atlantic.
