Dhe year’s Vendée Globe sailing regatta now has a winner: It is the Frenchman Yannick Bestaven who crossed the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne in western France at 4.20 a.m. on Thursday morning. Due to a time credit as a result of a rescue operation for a damaged skipper last December, he wins the circumnavigation of the world, which is considered to be the toughest regatta in the world.
After 80 days and almost 14 hours since the start on November 8th, Bestaven arrived in the early hours of the morning. Before that, two other skippers had already crossed the finish line, but thanks to the compensatory time allowed for the rescue operation, he is now the winner of the regatta, which is only held every four years because of the effort involved.
The German skipper Boris Herrmann, however, is still on the way. He had a chance to win until the end. But on Wednesday evening he collided with a fishing boat shortly before the destination. After he had covered more than 50,000 kilometers unscathed, the accident overtook him around 160 kilometers from Les Sables d’Olonne. He was not injured, but his yacht “Sea explorer” has had to sail much slower since then. According to the organizers, the arrival of the 39-year-old hamburger is expected this Thursday between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
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The Vendée Globe, in which 60-foot single-hull sailboats are allowed to participate, has been held since 1989. But this year’s event has the most unusual and brief result in its history. A third placed has never been chosen as the winner. On Wednesday evening, the Frenchman Charlie Dalin was the first to arrive in Sables d’Olonne at 8:36 p.m. after 80 days.
However, unlike three of his pursuers, Dalin did not enjoy any time credit. Three skippers behind him, including Herrmann, had rushed to the aid of a sinking competitor in early December. Jean Le Cam, the senior in the field, had fished the Frenchman Kevin Escoffier out of the water and taken him on his boat; Boris Herrmann and Yannick Bestaven had previously changed course in order to be there.
So Le Cam got a good sixteen hours, Bestaven more than ten hours, and Herrmann six hours. An international jury had decided this in accordance with the regatta rules. Such bailouts are not meant to result in a disadvantage, so there is compensation. The Frenchman Louis Burton crossed the finish line shortly before midnight on Wednesday. He is now officially third. His boat was “ruined”, he said, but he was overjoyed to be home and was happy to be on the podium.
Meanwhile, the unlucky man Herrmann reported on the collision: “Suddenly I saw a wall next to me, the ships got caught, I heard men calling,” he said in a video message. The bowsprit of his ship was broken off, its foresail tore, and a wing was damaged. “It was particularly critical that the starboard shroud broke off, the line that secures the mast laterally against falling over,” said his team. In the hours after the collision, Herrmann worked feverishly to replace the want in order to safely reach the destination.
“I’ve never seen anything like it at sea,” said Herrmann, “but the most important thing is that nobody was injured.” He now wants to sail the regatta home safely. After 81 days on the high seas, his wife Birte, his daughter and his team want to give him a warm welcome on land.
On Wednesday there were some critical voices in view of this unusual finish. But nobody let the rules be shaken. “The rules are not perfect, but nobody has found a better system yet. You have to give compensation to the people who came to my aid, ”said the skipper Escoffier on Wednesday in Sables d’Olonne of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “Solidarity must not be punished,” said the skipper Thomas Coville, who took part in a Vendée Globe 20 years ago, “I know of no other sport in which your worst enemy might one day save your life,” said Coville .
Also because of the coronavirus crisis, everything was different at this year’s Vendée Globe. No crowds lined the “Chenal” port canal in Sables d’Olonne, as gatherings are prohibited during the pandemic. After all, the mayor of the small town had allowed 300 volunteers to applaud and wave beacons on the banks of the river. At around 5:40 a.m., fireworks also woke the residents of Les Sables d’Olonne.
The 48 year old winner Bestaven is a professional skipper and trained engineer. Before the Vendée Globe, he won the Transat 6.50 regatta and twice the Transat Jacques-Vabre regatta. He already took part in the Vendée Globe in 2008, but had to give up prematurely because of a broken mast.
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