The past three months have seen a Vendée Globe like no other. 80 days at sea concluded with an unimaginably close finish as the first seven competitors finished within 24 hours of each other. Charlie Dalin aboard APIVA took line honors with a finish of 80 days, 6 hours and 15 minutes. Second to arrive was Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée 2 in 80 days, 10 hours and 25 minutes. Yannick Bestaven on Maître Coq IV finished in third, however, due to his role in the search and rescue of former competitor Kevin Escoffier, he was awarded a correction of 10 hours and 15 minutes. This improved his finishing time to 80 days, 3 hours and 15 minutes, boosting him to first place with the fastest finishing time. Though he may not have won line honors, Bestaven earned his win with a consistently solid race. He led the fleet for 26 of the race’s 80 days, primarily in the Southern Ocean and south Atlantic. “I feel like I’m living a dream, hallucinating. You go from total solitude to this, to this party, to these lights, these people who are there despite the complicated context, I don’t realise what’s going on. I’m still in my race. It’s a child’s dream,” said Bestaven after arriving.
In a final moment of drama, Boris Herrmann (Teamexplorer – Yacht Club de Monaco) collided with a fishing boat in the last hundred miles of his race, damaging his boat and reducing his speed. Nevertheless, he managed to secure a fourth-place finish. Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut), Damien Seguin (Groupe APICIL) and Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group) arrived in fifth through seventh, with French favorite Jean le Cam (Yes we Cam!) expected to arrive next.
No one on the podium was a favorite going in, making for a truly astonishing race. Eight of the original 33 competitors retired due to damage to their boats, including big names like Alex Thompson and Sam Davies, clearing the way to victory for sound boats and a measured approach. Maitre Coq IV is a 2015 VPLP-Verdier designed boat (formerly Safran) and, notably, not one of the latest generation of foilers. Many of the newer boats did not survive to the finish.
To follow the remainder of the fleet on the race tracker, click here.
January 2021