These final days are far from easy for a solo sailor taking part in the Vendée Globe, especially when they are in the lead. Four years of hard work and sacrifice, followed by three months sailing alone around some of the most dangerous oceans in the world, will finally be coming to an end. But what about the sailor, who has just been touched by the hand of fate, Roland Jourdain, who is still in constant danger. Until he reaches the finish, the sword of Damocles hangs over his head. A container drifting around, a fishing boat that wasn’t seen, a sea mammal that was invisible… a terrible injustice.
The anguish and fear will not be over until they pass the South Nouch Buoy, at the entrance to Les Sables d’Olonne. They will need to remain concentrated on the boat’s progress. Especially when victory is in sight. A win in the most difficult of all solo ocean races. During the radio session yesterday, Michel Desjoyeaux could not hide his desire to finish the race. «I have had a really sh***y night . it was worse than in the Southern Ocean. From 12 to 53 knots in gusts. And if I hang around, I’m going to have to tack , which I’m not looking forward to, as I’m fed up with that.»
After 45 days of being in the lead, winning seems clearer and clearer. For Michel Desjoyeaux, there is a paradox about these final days at sea. Still alone, still concentrating on the race, but thinking too of the finish. Of the crowds awaiting in their thousands. Of being back with the family enjoying the win together. The solo racer is a rather strange figure, as his dream is of getting back to shore as quickly as possible, so that he can set sail again. These final days at sea are of course a victory and the end of an exceptional adventure, but there are quite simply things that cannot be expressed or shared and then, there is the joy of being back on dry land with all that means.
These final days are in particular marked by the demands of the media. «Yesterday and today, Mich had to reply to thirteen interviews a day, explained Laurence Dacoury, his press agent. We have to turn down a dozen a day. I try to send him a list the previous day and he looks at that according to his obligations aboard the boat. Sometimes, like yesterday, he misses an interview because of the sea state or the need to manoeuvre. Tomorrow there won’t be any interviews until the finish so that he can take advantage of these final moments of sea. For his shore team, the most difficult thing is planning for the week ahead. «It’s all virtual. A lot of requests, but at the same time he hasn’t yet won and hasn’t crossed the line. That puts us in an awkward situation. We don’t want to assume too much. » But thanks to his win in 2001, Michel Desjoyeaux is probably the best placed to deal with this pressure. And as with any ocean race, Mich knows that the final hours always seem very long.…
Loïc Le Bras