Vendée Globe

Benoît Parnaudeau (Max Havelaar-Best Western), from La Rochelle on France’s Atlantic coast, is the 10th competitor to have completed this 5th version of the Vendée Globe, a single-handed round the world yacht race, without stopovers and without assistance. Benoît made his circumnavigation in a time of 116 days, 1 hour 6 minutes and 54 seconds; a convincing performance for this 32 year old Franco-Canadian on a boat originally launched nearly 15 years ago (ex DDP/60ème Sud). A celebrated shore crew, boat-builder and Mini 6.50 specialist, Benoît has achieved what he set out to do by sailing around the world. He did so with intelligence, staying true to both his values and his convictions, respecting both the environment and fair trade with a constant good humour and sensitivity.

Having set out a careful pace, Benoît Parnaudeau relished the idyllic
descent of the Atlantic. He was attentive to the boat’s needs, sharing
his discoveries and his fears with a boyish enthusiasm, making the
latitudes of the Southern Ocean without seeming to care too much about
where he was positioned in the general ranking. The roaring forties
woke up the competitive Parnaudeau. Totally confident in his boat,
Benoît was continually hunting down the shortest, fastest trajectory,
albeit through the ice fields and the depression centres synonymous
with his very southerly course. While those around him struggled with
various problems, Benoît continued on without any serious damage, proof
if there was a need, of his prowess in preparing boats.

For some
of the competitors, the round the world was a technical challenge
comprising latitudes and longitudes, degrees and lifts. For others it
was a wonderment when faced with the riches of nature and the act of
going beyond your limits. For Benoît, it was a permanent analysis of
human relations, based on geography. “We are off Brazil, and this is
what happened here...”. Everything played to the tune of a certain idea
about human relations. As is written in the text from the “Declaration
of Human Rights” that went round the world with Benoît, man is free and
equal. As a result he should maintain relations in which each
individual is respected so that it is possible to live together in
harmony. The defence of fair trade naturally found its way into
Benoît’s Vendée Globe universe, a cause also defended by his sponsor
Max Havelaar.

With this tenth arrival, there are but three
skippers now left at sea: Anne Liardet (Roxy), Raphaël Dinelli (Akenas
Verandas) and Karen Leibovici (Benefic). Anne is less than 600 miles
from the finish and currently looks set to loop the loop in Les Sables
d’Olonne on Sunday. Raphaël Dinelli entered into the heart of a
depression he was trying to round last night. “It was Verdun*!” he
said, sailing under just a storm sail alone and fleeing to escape the
backlash. The menu for Karen Leibovici isn’t that appetising either,
amidst big seas and a relatively poor VMG. With continuing back pain
from an operation last summer, Karen is being served up between 35 and
40 knots of wind in an unfavourable swell. 1600 miles from the finish
she courageously promised today: “I’ll keep going. I will bring the
boat back to Les Sables d´Olonne”.

*A strategic town of great
importance in French history: it saw the signing of the treaty in 843
establishing the existence of what is now France, two occupations by
Prussian forces, in 1792 and 1870, and Pétain´s ten-month resistance to
the German siege of 1916, a hard-won victory which etched itself deeply
into the memory of the French people.

Translation Kate Jennings

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