Jean-Pierre Dick reached Auckland yesterday evening aboard Paprec-Virbac 2 after abandoning the race officially on New Year's Day

"I've just reached Auckland after more than 1800 miles (3333 km) of sailing in the Indian Ocean with a damaged rudder. It made the sailing very tricky. After my second rudder broke on 31st December 2008 following a collision with a UFO, my goal was to take my boat to a safe harbour. So now I have done that , even if it feels very strange being here in New Zealand. 13 days ago, I was racing in the Vendée Globe, and now I'm stepping ashore on the other side of the world, where the boat was built."