{"id":3903,"date":"2013-01-28T12:24:01","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T15:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bwsailing.com\/news\/?p=1115"},"modified":"2013-01-28T12:24:01","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T15:24:01","slug":"francois-gabart-wins-vendee-globe-in-record-breaking-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/francois-gabart-wins-vendee-globe-in-record-breaking-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Fran\u00e7ois Gabart Wins Vend\u00e9e Globe in Record Breaking Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, January 27, 2013, Francois Gabart (MACIF<\/em>) completed the\"\"<\/a>
\nVendee Globe Race as the winner, setting a new race record of 78 days, eclipsing
\nthe previous record set by Michel Desjoyeaux of 84 days in the 2008-9
\nedition. Armel le Cleac’h (Banque Populaire<\/em>) crossed the finish line 3
\nhours 17 minutes later in second – the closest finish in the Vendee Globe
\nhistory. The previous record was 6 hours 33 minutes between winner Vincent
\nRiou and Jean Le Cam in 2005.<\/p>\n

Here is what Gabart had to say about the race:<\/p>\n

The entire race is something very intense and once you get here in Les Sables d\u2019Olonne, the transition is a unique moment. I\u2019ve given 100% for two months and a half and when it stops all of a sudden, it feels quite strange.<\/em><\/p>\n

My initial goal was to do my best but <\/em>MACIF and I didn\u2019t think about winning, we weren\u2019t that ambitious. We wanted to have a great race, that was it. But when I passed Armel in the Indian Ocean, I knew Jean-Pierre was behind and Vincent was out of the race and I started thinking maybe I could do it.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I want to thank Armel because he\u2019s one of the reasons why this Vendee Globe was so unique. Fighting against him made it all so special. When I see Armel, I want to thank him for making it possible for me to have such a great race with him, and thanks for not passing me too!<\/em><\/p>\n

Four years ago, I was at Michel Desjoyeaux\u2019s press conference when he won the Vendee Globe, I had started pro sailing six months before. What happened since then is something incredible. I don\u2019t really realize.<\/em><\/p>\n

What is really difficult in the VG is how many problems and technical issues you face. One problem is easy to deal with, but several at the same time or in a row, that\u2019s another story. Tough nights are among the most difficult moments, especially when you know it\u2019s just the beginning of the race. My priority was to do my best to make sure each problem was taken care of, so I don\u2019t have too many at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last night was difficult but it\u2019s ok because I knew it was the last. But still, there were huge waves, cargo ships and fishing boats, things that can definitely put an end to your race. There were 35-knot gusts, it was very dangerous and difficult.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve surprised myself, yes, and it\u2019s been going on for quite a while, it feels great. I don\u2019t know how long it will last though. I look back at my race and wonder how I was able to handle all those issues and twists of fate, either at the same time or one after the other.<\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t tell you about all the issues I faced. The first one was when the engine we use to generate energy broke down. Sure, the hydrogenerators were still there but being without a backup after 5 days isn\u2019t a good thing\u2026 There was sea water in the system and the pump was not working either. I had the same problem in the Jacques Vabre last time but this time, I had no spare pump. \u00a0That was the first big thing and I felt stronger after fixing it because I knew I could take care of things like that. Every repair makes you feel more confident. I\u2019ve learned a lot in that race.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d say the key moment was after Cape Horn, when we had a choice to make in the South Atlantic. Unlike before, our choices differed and after that, there were always 100 or 200 miles between us.<\/em><\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t too surprised with the Southern Ocean that I had never sailed in before, maybe because I had prepared well with Mer Agit\u00e9e and Michel Desjoyeaux. \u00a0If there\u2019s anything that surprised me, it\u2019s more general, it\u2019s the fact that the Vend\u00e9e Globe effort is a long and constant one, I wasn\u2019t aware it was that bad, it never stops. When things go fast, it shakes too much, you can\u2019t do anything except writing down what broke or what isn\u2019t working. When things are quieter, you take care of what needs to be repaired or set, and then the next tough moment comes, it\u2019s a never-ending thing.<\/em><\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t know if I want to go back on another Vendee Globe. I need to sleep a for few nights and think about it harder. Four years ago, if someone had told me I would be in this Vend\u00e9e Globe, I would have said yes immediately, even on a dinghy. You need to have a deep desire to do it. Right now, I don\u2019t have it, but it may very well be back in a few days or weeks. I\u2019ll go again only if I truly want it, otherwise it\u2019s dangerous and unhealthy. If you don’t have this strong desire to do the Vend\u00e9e Globe, it can feel like a punishment.<\/em><\/p>\n

I had a blood test before the race and another one now to compare and see what changed. My weight barely changed, I think I actually gained a few grams. I left with 87 days of food as well as 7 days of emergency food so I had no food problem at all, which is good because we burn so many calories\u2026 So I ate what I wanted any time I wanted. Last week, I opened the last bag that still had 15 days of food in it, so I got to pick my favorite things.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have a very special relationship with my boat, I\u2019m so proud of the <\/em>MACIF monohull. I want to thank the entire team for the great work they did, she\u2019s so great. She and <\/em>Banque Populaire are sister ships, they\u2019re probably the last boats Hubert Desjoyeaux worked on, and he obviously did an amazing job. At first I was not very familiar with the boat and I made it mine. As an engineer, I\u2019m interested in the technical aspects and the Vendee Globe definitely allows us to sail on amazing machines.<\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t speak with my family that much. I called my girlfriend and son once a week, maybe a little bit more by the end of the race. We sent each other emails, though. Writing was hard, but reading them felt great. I must have called my parents twice in the entire race. I know they were behind me, supporting me, but during the race, I had to focus on what I was doing, on the race itself.<\/em><\/p>\n

Seeing the crowd along the channel and on the water was just crazy. I thought I\u2019d be prepared because I was a spectator in one of those boats, right next to Foncia, four years ago. But you\u2019re never prepared to such a thing. You just don\u2019t realize how many people you affect when participating in such a race. It\u2019s great, because if there wasn\u2019t that, we\u2019d be just be crazy people competing in a pointless crazy race.<\/em><\/p>\n

When the race started, I thought I\u2019d communicate a lot with people, not like Michel Desjoyeaux. Then came that engine problem, which I decided not to talk about because it could be seen as a weakness by others. And then I guess I kept doing that, even though at first I really wasn\u2019t into competition. When Armel and I started fighting, I became a fierce competitor, and in that context, you just can\u2019t give away any hint or info. People may think they know I have a specific problem but as long as you don\u2019t talk about it, they can\u2019t be sure.<\/em><\/p>\n

The last night of the race was very difficult, the conditions were tough and I knew I could lose it all just before the finish line. I was careful, I was conservative, but when you have violent waves and 40-knot gusts in the dark, in the middle of cargo ships and fishing boats, you just can\u2019t have a good time.<\/em><\/p>\n

We had no agreement with Armel about not fighting in the Southern Ocean. Maybe some people in our team talked about it, especially when we were in iceberg areas, but Armel and I never discussed anything or acted upon anything.<\/em><\/p>\n

Courtesy of www.vendeeglobe.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, January 27, 2013, Francois Gabart (MACIF) completed the Vendee Globe Race as the winner, setting a new race record of 78 days, eclipsing the previous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cruising-news","category-news-and-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bwsailing.com\/bw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}