INTERVIEW
Unable to sail for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the skippers were able to return to sea on Saturday afternoon. The start of the Vendée-Arctic race was given off the Sables d'Olonne at 3.30 p.m. Twenty boats started with crews of up to three skippers. They must sail to the southwest of Iceland and then to the northeast of Portugal, before returning to the port of Sables d'Olonne.
Objective: the Vendée Globe in November
"It is a replacement race necessary for the technical and sporting establishment of sailors", explained Jacques Caraës, the race director, on Saturday at the microphone of Europe 1. Because this winter, two deckchairs were canceled, considerably reducing the opportunities for skippers to get started before the Vendée Globe, whose start is due in November. "All those who make the Vendée-Arctic will feel even stronger on the eve of the Vendée Globe in four months", continued Jacques Caraës.
A rehearsal in the northern hemisphere
For sailors, the start was not easy. Yannick Bestaven, twice winner of the Jacques Vabre transatlantic race and engaged in the race on the Maître Coq IV, mentioned "complicated conditions" at the microphone of Europe 1. And the sailors are not at the end of their pain: "There there is a depression over Ireland which promises to be severe, "warns the race director. "For them, it is a set-up and a strategy to be adopted accordingly. But it is also delicate passages that they will meet during all their round the world trips. Climbing as far north is not very common in our competitions, but psychologically, it allows them to better understand the rest, for example when they are in the Indian Ocean or the South Pacific, all around Antarctica. It is a repetition in the Northern Hemisphere ", he sums up.
No departure village or boat gathering
The organization of the race has also been adapted to current health regulations. There was no departure village, no gathering of boats and even less of the public. The boats even left 24 hours before departure from their home port and spent the night at sea. "It allowed us to take our marks on board, to rest and work on the weather before departure," said entrusted Yannick Bestaven.
Sailors are expected at Les Sables d'Olonnes around July 17th. Qualifying places for the Vendée Globe, the Grail of solo racing (round the world without assistance and without stops), are yet to be won.