As for Foncia, many skippers turned up today to pay homage to Armel Le Cléac’h. Michel Desjoyeaux was present, as was Jean Pierre Dick, whom Armel congratulated on a great start. Then, there were those who did not wish to miss Brit Air finishing: Vincent Riou, who had accompanied Armel for a large part of the voyage in the Atlantic and Pacific, and Jean Le Cam, for whom Armel was diverted after his boat capsized.
On the pontoons, there were some other familiar faces from the Figaro circuit, Gildas Morvan and Nicolas Troussel, a long time friend of Armel, with whom he won the Transat AG2R.
 

Message sent early this afternoon by Marc Guillemot to the Race Directors to pass on to Armel Le Cléac’h :

«Armel, well done for your race. I really think you sailed intelligently minimising the risks. You deserve second place and don’t worry, your position in the rankings isn’t going to change after I finish. Have one on me!
Marco »

Indeed, Armel’s place cannot be confirmed until Marc Guillemot finishes, as he was awarded 82 hours of redress for going to the help of Yann Eliès, while Armel was granted 11 hours for his part in the rescue of Jean Le Cam.
 

"It was fairly tough for the last three days with some strong winds, 35-40 knots gusting to 50 knots in squalls, but above all some rough seas with 7-8 metre high waves with the seas on the beam and the boat doesn’t really like that. After 89 days at sea, the boat and skipper were both a bit tired and finishing like that was a bit tough. The hardest part was the climb back up the Atlantic, because the conditions weren’t always kind to me and I found it a bit long at times. When journalists kept asking me about how I felt finishing second, I couldn’t say as I was busy dealing with the rough conditions. I didn’t have time for anything else. It was only this morning about twenty miles from the finish that I began to think about it when I started to see a lot of fishing boats from Les Sables."

"The start of the race went very quickly as there were ten of us battling it out on the way down. As we were so close, time just slipped by. I soon found myself in the southern ocean and had to concentrate on that. I played it cautiously, always keeping an eye on the equipment, going more slowly than I could have. So it was only the climb back up the Atlantic where I found it a bit long at times."

"At the time of the first Vendée Globe, I don’t think I really wanted to sail around the world. Those people were my heroes, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing that. I started on an Optimist in St Pol de Léon and so I could only admire those legends. Now I’m a round the world sailor, but that desire came later, when I had acquired some experience. After the Figaro I did the Transat, and then I wondered what to do next, so thought of the Vendée Globe…"

"It wasn’t very easy over the last few days with some rough conditions in the Bay of Biscay. The gear was beginning to suffer, but the main thing is we made it to the finish. It’s normal that conditions were difficult as we’re in February in the North Atlantic. I never really gave myself any real goals in terms of positions. With Brit Air in the beginning our aim was to complete the round the world voyage and sail well. If we managed to do both, looking at previous races I thought it would be possible to get a good place in the rankings. I’m proud to have finished second behind Michel Desjoyeaux. No one could beat him this year, so I’m very pleased with my place. There were times when it was difficult. There were moments of doubting and stress aboard the boat, when conditions were bad. And then, there were magical moments; Rounding the Horn was a great moment. Jean’s rescue was something I could never have imagined, as it was an incredible scenario. So the three months passed really quickly.
I think I have lost some weight, because at the end I didn’t have much left to eat. I had nothing left after yesterday’s lunch and I’d been rationing myself for a while. So I was pleased to have some crepes, fresh bread and butter this morning.

I was knocked down in the South Pacific with the mast over in the water and I lost my wind vane and didn’t have wind info for about a month and a half. So I sailed by intuition. It was only at the end of the race that the boat suffered any real damage apart from that. The protective cover was ripped off by a giant wave in the Bay of Biscay. There’s a piece of the mast track missing too, so I had to finish with three reefs.
I think the race was well prepared with the team. We had done quite a lot of racing. I wanted to set out on a boat that I knew perfectly and where I had gained a lot of experience. I was surprised in the southern ocean at the beginning, but you get used to those conditions, so I really learnt a lot."

Armel le Cléac'h's first words on the podium
 

You can view pictures of Armel le Cléac’h crossing the finishing line in the media section – photos.  Click here.  The skipper of Brit Air is currently making his way into the harbour and is being cheered by thousands of spectators.

“It was frustrating to have lost 300 miles in the Doldrums so it feels great to close the gap. I don’t really know how I have done it because I have just sailed the breeze and not really pushed the boat, but Aviva is definitely on a mission. I can’t slow her down! We have 2,000 miles to go so there is a chance of closing further. There are a couple of stopping areas where there are light airs and they might not let Brian through and I might be able to catch up more or we might both get stuck in it for a while so there is potential. It is very unusual to change places with this far to go but never say never. It is exciting to have these small battles going on with Roxy and Safran and me and Brian so there isn’t just a procession to the finish. But congratulations to Armel. He has sailed an awesome race. I am currently negotiating my way past the high pressure but I have had a good breeze all night which has allowed me to sail quickly in the right direction. I reckon I have another decent breeze before it gets light and I have to do my little wiggle through the light patch. As long as my routing is right and the weather does what the grib files say, I will be OK. The mainsail is still disintegrating and it will be tested further over the next few days. Whenever I put in a reef or take one out, I have to make sure the conditions are exactly right. I get a shower of confetti whenever I put in a reef or take one out but the main danger is the exposed fibres – if they get caught on anything, that will be it. Sail over.”

Dee Caffari (Aviva) in her daily message