Les Sables-d'Olonne (France) (AFP)

His weathered skin, his black curly hair, his outspokenness and his crazy talent on the water: at 61 years old, Jean Le Cam is a sacred sailor, returned emptied but a hero of his fourth Vendée Globe completed after an epic rescue, which forever marked the history of ocean racing.

"This Vendée Globe is very special. And so I did everything! On this Vendée Globe, I did them all. I did Kevin (Escoffier), rescue, disembarkation on the military boat, the J2 (sailing ) at the bottom. There I think I collected serious ", had launched to AFP the dean of the race a few days before the finish.

On Thursday evening, the sailor, who was seasoned in his early years alongside Eric Tabarly, completed his fourth Vendée Globe, exhausted as never before, after 81 days of racing to finish fourth aboard his old boat. generation (Yes We Cam!).

"Jean is a boy who is unbearable but who is brilliant", affectionately told AFP Jacqueline Tabarly, his "godmother" of heart for many years.

"I remember him from the time he spent with Eric (Tabarly), but also when he stood on his own feet. He was a bit of a son of mine," she continues.

With his sharp character, his rants, his witticisms that amuse and ring true, Jean Le Cam amazed the general public - including President Emmanuel Macron - during this Vendée Globe.

- Good wine and good food -

For forty years, he has been skimming the seas and preparing his boats himself, putting together twelve-hour days seven days a week tinkering with his machine, struggling with his small budget of 800,000 euros.

His preparation for him is forty years of intense sailing in competition.

No coach, no mental trainer, and even less a dietitian.

"It's not his nature," slips AFP his wife, Anne, whom he has called every day since the start.

"He drinks his little bit of red. He likes good wine, good meat. It's his antidepressants."

After finishing second in the Vendée Globe in 2004, the Breton sailor returned to the solo round the world race several times (5th in 2012 and 6th in 2016), but never, ever, has he experienced such a race. extraordinary, first playing the leading roles and then donning the superhero costume.

On the night of November 30 to December 1, he diverted to rescue Kevin Escoffier, who took refuge on his life raft after his boat broke in two.

It took the Cam eleven hours in a stormy sea to save him.

"This episode with Kevin confused him a lot, he was really in a very competitive streak. It broke him in his race, he didn't ask himself any questions, he was at the forefront, it was quite exhilarating, no one would have bet a kopeck on Le Cam, "says Anne Le Cam.

- Make dream -

"There he goes on a completely human level. Adding an intense physical fatigue, because he was extremely shocked, he called me, he was crying because he could not find him anymore when he had seen him. He changed his fashion completely at that point, "recalls his wife.

The two men, who did not really know each other, lived together for a week in a cramped space before a French Navy frigate came to retrieve Escoffier.

"Like he says, suddenly you throw him back into the water. It's a huge shock. The distress we saw on his face when he let go of Kevin, it was horrible, it was sad," Anne Le Cam blows.

This episode marked the spirits in France, who fell in love with the hero of the sea, who is far from this craze on land.

"No, I'm not measuring. We are in our + box +, and we have to move our + box + as quickly as possible. Good if people, I give them something that makes them feel better, that makes them dream. That's why I'm doing the Vendée Globe, not just for myself. It's for those who follow ", retorts the navigator passionate about music, with a crush on" The black eagle "of Barbara.

© 2021 AFP