They are wrung out, energy in the hold as the ocean has not spared them, the sailors engaged in this “Return to Base” who have been docking one after the other in Lorient since Saturday December 9. Washed out but happy, for the most part, with this transatlantic race reserved for Imoca monohulls, the Vendée Globe boats, a new addition to the calendar followed by the double-handed Transat Jacques-Vabre: it was rich in emotions and quite “committed”.
It must be said that the valiant loners have been on deck for a while. They completed the Transat Jacques-Vabre late after leaving Le Havre delayed by a week due to bad weather conditions at the beginning of November.
As a result, once they arrived in Martinique, they hardly had the leisure to dawdle before preparing for this Return to Base, designed to limit the carbon footprint of deliveries to the mainland and add spice to an otherwise otherwise difficult navigation. without issues. “With two races so close together, the calendar requires maximum commitment from the teams around the boatsunderlines Jérémie Beyou, the skipper of Charal, second in Lorient. It takes people to prepare them to race from the given start. »
Like in the South Seas
In fact, stables capable of mobilizing around fifteen people for almost two months are favored. Yoann Richomme, winner of Return to Base aboard Paprec-Arkéawill not say the opposite: “There was still work to be done after the Jacques-Vabre. The technicians did not spare themselves and gave me a boat in great condition. And so much the better because it hit hard from the start. »
There was actually no observation round. “We created an event that pushed the skippers to their limitswelcomes Hubert Lemonnier, the director of the race and the future Vendée Globe. The North Atlantic at this time of year offered them conditions quite similar to those they will find next year in the South Seas in the Vendée Globe. And everyone who crossed the line found the race very interesting. »
Samantha Davies, sixth in Lorient, is not the last to applaud the novelty. “I hadn’t yet done a solo race this year before the Vendée Globe, and it was quite frustrating.comments the British, especially since I was looking for confidence on this new boat. It was difficult but great. And the last four days actually resembled the South Seas, with a succession of low pressure fronts that had to be negotiated. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to attack like this. I learned a lot about this race, and its place in the calendar also gives us time to adjust my Heart Initiatives, which is reassuring. »
Same enthusiasm from Yoann Richomme, double winner of the Route du Rhum (2018 and 2022) on the smallest Class40 monohulls, but who, “ridden” in an Imoca, has never sailed in the roaring forties or the screaming fiftieths. “I had never sailed in such heavy weather and for such a long time, and to get this experience outside of the South Seas which I don’t know, was worth gold,” explains the Varois.
Performance and adventure
Like any adventure, Return to Base, with its 32 boats at the start, also benefited from some great stories. Tanguy Le Turquais’ race against time deserves a few chapters in itself. His boat, injured at the start of the Transat Jacques-Vabre, and repaired in record time thanks to a formidable chain of solidarity, reached Martinique dead last just before the finish line closed. About ten hours later, just enough time for a hot meal and a kiss to his daughter, the skipper of Lazare left for the second transatlantic almost two days after his rivals, but he finished twentieth on Tuesday December 12, after a nice comeback.
And what about the long crossing of Antoine Cornic, who fell ill with dengue fever after only two days of navigation? Destroyed with fatigue, “piece of cloth placed on the back of the chair: weak and washed out”he wrote at the worst moment of his ordeal, the skipper of Human Real Estate has been through a week of hell, repeating itself every day: “I’m going to succeed, I’m going to succeed. » He will succeed, yes, finally reaching his goal this Wednesday, December 13.
Will real sporting interest, convincing performances (Thomas Ruyant’s record of 539.94 miles covered in 24 hours), and a few beautiful lines in marine ink be enough to sustain Return to Base? The place of the event in the calendar is not fixed. “Wouldn’t it be better after the Route du Rhum and in a double? “, asks Jérémie Beyou, judging the calendar for the year preceding the Vendée Globe to be a bit busy. “It is good to diversify the races of the Imoca championshipassures Hubert Lemonnier for his part. The offer can be further expanded by going, for example, to the Mediterranean. For Return to Base, nothing is really set in stone. What is certain is that we really enjoyed ourselves, even if we too, as race directors, are tired. It was worth it. »
