Sébastien Simon, the local hero

Along the way the skipper, who’s backed by an all-Vendée diversified group of companies owned and run by the Dubreuil family, smashed the 24 hour solo speed record, notching up an incredible 615.33 miles in one day, and was a strong contender for victory before breaking his starboard foil on December 7. 

The 34-year-old, who grew up sailing an Optimist dinghy off the beautiful beaches of Les Sables d’Olonne, showed great talent from a young age taking third place in the 420 dinghy world championship in Valencia, Spain in 2013. 

He was propelled to local hero sailing stardom with overall victory in the 2018 Solitaire du Figaro, winning two of the three legs in the final edition of the raceto be sailed in the Figaro 2 class. It was fitting that his triumph in this event was in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, the next Vendée sailing town up the coast from Les Sables d’Olonne. Here his victory surpassed the recently crowned winner of this 10th Vendée Globe, Charlie Dalin who finished in third place. And that waspartially his passport to a new IMOCA for the 2020 race.

But, while he consistently showed speed and his boat’s potential in preliminary races, on the 2020-2021 race Simon had to retire into Cape Town when he was lying fourth after damaging a foil and its casing, prematurely ending his dreams of Vendée Globe success. 

After that his ambitions foundered. He parted company with the project and its sponsors and found himself with no boat and no support. When time was really running out, it was only after a text message from the company owner, a long time Vendée Globe fan and small supporting partner from the past, that suddenly Simon’s fortunes turned. In July 2023 his campaign got the green light and made the very shrewd choice to purchase the appropriately named 11th Hour Racing, which had just won the crewed The Ocean Race.

With Spanish double Olympic medallist and four times round the world racer Iker Martinez as co-skipper they showed well on last year’s Transat Jacques Vabre race to Martinique, his first ocean race on the boat which is optimised and laid out for crewed racing. However, a bold move to the north of the pack did not work out and they finished low in the fleet. 

Nevertheless on Simon’s first solo race on the boat, the Rétour à La Base, he was lying fourth before having to divert to the Azores to make repairs to the electrical system and deal with a head and back injury. He fought on, but only a few miles from the finish in Lorient lost his mast. Showing incredible resilience and fight he set a jury rig and drifted across the finish line to ensure he qualified for this Vendée Globe.

But his injury, a crushed vertebrae, required Simon to spend most of last winter, three months, in bed whilst at the same time he and his team had to find and tune a replacement mast. 

But he bounced back hungry and determined. It speaks volumes of his unrecognised talent that even after a fourth in the solo New York Vendee in the early summer not many observers tipped Simon to podium or even finish in the top 5. But the partnership of a very well optimised and proven The Ocean Race winning IMOCA with a skipper determined to prove himself has proven and righ the wrongs of the past, has proven itself. 

His fundamental qualities of resilience, tenacity and an ability to sail very fast and smart have been always to the fore during Simon’s Vendée Globe. He was fast all the time and especially in the Big South. He was lying second, sparring with Dalin until he lost his foil, which then compromised his chances of winning. Yesterday, as he sailed his final miles to a hero’s welcome, he pledged to be back to try and win in 2028

Picture the scene

On Sunday, just before Dalin won this edition of the race, Simon had just woken up and answered his last call. He leaned against the cockpit as a sunrise dazzled the cabin. "I'm really proud of what we're achieving. Everything has gone by so quickly. I remember the start as if it were yesterday, I feel like I've been teleported here. But this is all about a lot of sacrifice, a lot of desire, a lot of energy".

At 34 years old he is a year younger than the race itself, he knows the pontoons and the channel by heart and having seen every start since he was a nipper he knows how much "the start takes hold of you".

But he was fast to get into the his race. The day after the start, he took the lead for the first time. Six days later, “Seb” smashed the 24-hour speed record (615.33 miles or 1,139.6 km) solo in a monohull, a performance that will be hard to beat. After a daring choice in the descent of the Atlantic, he managed to catch the depression that propelled the race leader from near the coast of Brazil to the Cape of Good Hope.

In the Southern Ocean, a lesson in tenacity

But the most impressive performance took place a little later, when a strong depression formed in the Indian Ocean. The conditions were hellish, with gusts of over 60 knots and 10-metre troughs. Everyone decided to turn north to avoid the worst of a big depression. Everyone except Charlie Dalin and Sébastien Simon. Together they were rewarded and built a big gap with their pursuers.

But on 8 December, Groupe Dubreuil's starboard foil broke. He acknowledged he would lose "around 30% of speed on the port tack". But he battled on and nine days after his damage, he even took control of the race for a while. At times the Vendéen expressed qualms about the loneliness that weighed on him, the difficulty of spending New Year alone and far from his loved ones. He faced much worse conditions than the two leaders for his first Cape Horn, crossing a day after Charlie Dalin "I never would have imagined being third at Cape Horn!"

On January 1st, 'Seb' was forced to climb the mast due to wind indicator problems. The days went by and the Groupe Dubreuil sailor consolidated his lead over his pursuers a little more each day, soon relegating them to almost 2,000 miles behind. As he got closer to the finish, the Les Sables d’Olonne local was able to prepare himself for a reunion with his loved ones, the explosion of emotions, the excitement of the channel. 

He will now finally be able to enjoy the simple happiness of having exceeded his objective. And of now being part of the great story of the legendary race that has motivated him since early childhood.