Sébastien Simon: "I am a child of the Vendée Globe, now I just want to finish the race."

There is a certain feeling of pride and relief. I really doubted I would be able to come back and race again. And so there is a satisfaction at the work we have done with my sponsors and my team. We worked hard to be here! 

Yes, I believed in it, I knew that it was all a question of patience, energy, sacrifice. When I received the text message, I was getting ready to leave Halifax (Canada) after having dismasted aboard Guyot Environnement during The Ocean Race. At the time, I had a hard time believing it. The search for sponsors took so long, there were a lot of false dawns. It was two years of work and waiting before everything started to happen in a second!

Yes, the project really started in July 2023, which left us just over a year to prepare for the Vendée Globe. We were starting from a blank page: we had to find a team and the equipment too because we didn't even have a screwdriver! We put together a team and showed that we were capable of growing together over the course of the races. Even though the timing was tight, we did a great preparation and we proved ourselves with the good result in New York – Vendée Les Sables d’Olonne (4th). We know that nothing is a given for the Vendée Globe but the team is ready, focused and mobilized.

“I WANT to go all the way”

I have no memory of the accident. I was 3rd in the race, I imagine the boat was flying and there was a sharp deceleration. The boat suddenly crashed and I must have been thrown inside. Then, everything was cloudy and confusing. I called my team manager to follow an emergency protocol, then the doctor but I don't remember anything. My face was bloody, I stapled my forehead, I called my fiancée who tried to tell me where I was. I just knew that it was a qualifying race for the Vendée Globe and that I had to go all the way. I made a 24-hour technical stopover in the Azores because I had a power blackout on board. And then 12 miles from the finish, when I was in unbearable pain to breathe, I lost my mast. I managed to make a makeshift rig and get across the finish line.

No, not really. I don't know if I'd be able to go through that again. I want this Vendée Globe, I wanted to show those who are with me and support me that they were right to trust me. Afterwards, what I experienced was very extreme. It shows how much our sport is increasingly violent. We have also adapted the boat accordingly so that it doesn't happen again.

I'm having trouble positioning myself. The New York Vendée - Les Sables showed great things to come. I have a great boat and it's up to me to prove what I am capable. But the goal is above all to go all the way round, I still have front of  mind the frustration of abandoning the previous Vendée Globe. I hope to go all the way and if I come out of the Southern Ocean with a boat in good condition, I am sure that the results will follow.

My abandonment four years ago was linked to a random phenomenon (the collision with an UFO). In recent months, we have worked a lot on the reliability of the equipment in order to reduce as much as possible the risk of minor damage or breakdowns. I think I know the limits of the boat well, having already exceeded them several times. And then experience will count even if I still have a little carelessness.

Yes, I am convinced of it. Four years ago, we weren't very lucky with the weather. But if we compare the boats from the record edition (74 days, Armel Le Cléac'h, in 2016-2017) and those of today, we are so much faster and advanced now. Our boats have incredible average speeds and we know how to exploit them 100% over the long term. I'm sure the record will be beaten.

Well  I consider myself a child of the Vendée Globe. I was born a few months after the first edition, I grew up with the race, I followed it, I saw it evolve. For me, it's exceptional to take part and to be supported by a Vendée company. Now, we have to finish it!