Vendée Globe

It was when he saw Alain Gautier’s pictures of the Vendée Globe (92-93) that Sébastien Josse, then aged just 18, told himself that one day he too would take part in this great adventure. The huge surf in the Southern Seas impressed him enough on TV, but it was the reality of the region that really attracted him. Twelve years later his dream started to take shape. However, it wasn’t enough for Sébastien Josse just to take part. On board a fairly old boat (1998) with a fixed keel, "Jojo" surprised more than one. In the first half of the course, the youngest competitor never left the front of the fleet, having a fabulous race. He was one of the great revelations of this Vendée Globe. Unfortunately on the 23rd December, to the south of New Zealand, an iceberg lay right in front of his path and literally brought his dream to a halt. The race may have been over, but not the adventure of the Vendée Globe… In his damaged boat, Josse set about another challenge; finishing the Vendée Globe as best he could. An experienced Figaro contender, co-holder of the Jules Verne Trophy aboard Orange I from 2002 to 2004, the skipper of VMI is at ease on all sorts of boat. Aged nearly 30, Sébastien Josse is the leading light in the new generation of sailors.

How the race went...

Les Sables/Good Hope
From the start, Sébastien Josse showed his determination and his ambitions in the Vendée Globe by seizing fourth place at the end of the coastal run. In his older boat, fitted with a fixed keel, he was managing to stay up with the leaders. On 14th November, after a week’s racing, Sébastien slipped into second place for a few hours between Jean Le Cam and Vincent Riou. Four days later, it was in third place that he crossed the Equator, 6 hours 30 minutes after Jean Le Cam. Blocked by the St. Helena high, like many others, Sébastien watched the two leaders– Jean Le Cam and Vincent Riou – he and Roland Jourdain seemingly powerless against gaining a 200 mile deficit on the front of the fleet.
Overtaken by Roland Jourdain, Sébastien Josse reached the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope in fourth place. But Sébastien wasn’t feeling too happy. On the previous day, a huge breaker smashed the protective dome of his F standard antenna, putting his satellite communications system, used for Internet and getting weather forecasts, out of action.

Good Hope/Cape Horn
The gap with the leaders continued to widen in the deep south. But the end of the Indian Ocean signalled better fortunes for the first time since the start. In just a few days, Sébastien Josse made up a third of the gap, narrowing it to less than 400 miles. On the 15th December, Jojo reached the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, to the south west of Australia, still in fourth place. 2 days later, the skipper of VMI was back in third place following Roland Jourdain’s retirement due to keel problems, and he had further halved the gap with the leaders. He was only 200 miles behind. Sébastien Josse’s performance was incredible and attracted the admiration of many observers. A true racing spirit, he showed what he was made of by withstanding the challenge from the British yachtsman Mike Golding, as they entered the Pacific. But on 23rd December, at 15.15 (GMT), VMI hit an iceberg located at 53°54’S/176°52’E at 12 knots. Shocked by the violence of the accident, Sébastien kept his sailing wits about him and checked his boat over immediately to make sure there was no structural damage. The only damage was a broken bowsprit and a weakened rudder. Terribly disappointed not to be able to fight it out with the leaders, Sébastien Josse had to focus his mind on another adventure: repairing his boat and making it home as quickly as possible to Les Sables with an injured companion. On 6th January at 23.24 GMT, Sébastien rounded the Horn for the second time in his young life, but rich career. The skipper of VMI was now 794 miles astern of the frontrunners and 373 miles ahead of Dominique Wavre.

Cape Horn/Les Sables
On the ninth of January, Sébastien could no longer start his engine. One of the three springs in the fuel injection pump had broken. This breakdown meant that the power on board could only be generated by the nine solar panels and wind turbine. Once again, the race was relegated to second place. Sébastien now had to save his battery power to make sure he could arrive home. On 15th January, after an afternoon neck and neck, Dominique Wavre overtook Jojo and for the first time grabbed fourth place. Although racing was no longer the priority for the skipper of VMI, the duel with Dominique would last all the way up the Atlantic. As he returned to the Northern Hemisphere on 23rd January at 12h45, Sébastien won back 4th place from Dominique. The final stretch upwind in a moderate to strong wind in squalls did not help the young skipper, who had to remain at the helm for hours on end, because of his battery problem.

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