Yannick Bestaven: "I tell myself that if I have a 1% chance of winning it again.”

"When you are at sea, you tell yourself that it is the last time you do this and then when you arrive on land, you forget everything that was hard. On the contrary, you think only of what was good and that is the reason why you want to go back. It is ultimately proof that the brain is flexible (Laughs) Of course, going again with a new campaign is a real investment, but what motivates me, personally, is that I love being at sea, I love the adventure and the competition. In the end, I'm coming back to relive a bit of the same thing and especially to sail again in the Southern Ocean. The Vendée Globe will always be our Everest, for us sailors. It's a huge event to experience. During the last edition, because of the Covid-19 epidemic, it was a bit frustrating because there was no one on the pontoons at the start. This time, I'm looking forward to seeing the crowd again in Les Sables d'Olonne."

“To be honest it is not really easy to come back to the Vendée Globe after having already won it, but I tell myself that if I have a 1% chance of winning it again. But it’s better to try rather than staying at home, on the sofa, eating chocolates in front of the TV! There are always surprises, eh! (Laughs) Of course, if I won it a second time it would be amazing, but for me, the first win will be to finish, even having already won it. I’m lucky to be able to relive the race again. I hope to have a great race and enjoy myself. We’ll count the positions up at the end. There are so many good boats, good skippers and favourites in this Vendée Globe! At the end of the day, there’s only one who will win. For my part, I’m not putting pressure on myself with the result because I don’t want to be disappointed.”

“Yes, and I also realize that three years was a short time to build and develop an IMOCA. Today, the preparation of the boat is all done well, at least that’s my impression. Obviously, a lot of things will happen during the race. We will inevitably have technical problems because that’s also what the Vendée Globe is all about. What will really change compared to last time is that I have large foils to achieve good speeds. I tried to make a comfortable boat, even if that’s a weird  word because, like all the others, it is uncomfortable, but it is designed to expose the skipper less. For example, the cockpit is closed and the seats are on shock absorbers. We did things that mean I will be a little more protected than I was four years ago.”

“I clearly based a lot on what I did on the winning round the world race in terms of preparation and fine-tuning of the boat for this race. The team around me is practically unchanged. We had good foundations and we continued to work in that direction by relying on my experience, on my way of sailing and on our way of leading the project. I think we are even better equipped this time than on the previous edition.”

“My way, let’s say kind of relaxed, of approaching things, but also my experience. I have more than I had before. These are my two strong points."

“Our boats are increasingly complex and what I fear most is breakage, the unexpected, collisions… These things, unfortunately, we cannot manage. They are linked to destiny. It is a complex system that we do not control.”

“I think of the Vendée Globe of my predecessors, Christophe Auguin, Yves Parlier, Alain Gautier, Titouan Lamazou… all these guys. They were the true pioneers. They set off into totally unknown lands. They clearly gave me a taste for adventure.”

"I have loads of them but they are, for the most part, images in the Southern Ocean, with albatrosses behind the boat, magnificent colours, big swells... These are images that I want to see again. I also have, of course, images of my rounding of Cape Horn but also of my arrival in Les Sables d'Olonne where I received an incredible welcome with, as a bonus, a gigantic fireworks display. In this context, disembarking on the pontoon, half-dazzled, was simply magical!" 

"During the last training sessions, in September, we reached peaks of over 30 knots, under big gennaker and on flat seas, it was like sailing on velvet! It's the kind of moment that we want to experience every day!"

“Winning it a second time!”

“I would say Michel Desjoyeaux and Loïck Peyron. They are complete guys. Guys who have always been there for the big events.”

“I do lots of things but at the moment I’m flying. I’m taking flying lessons. After the Vendée Globe, I’d like to see this thing through to the end because it’s great. I’m discovering a new environment that reminds me a lot of the Yacht Club. I’m meeting aeronautical enthusiasts and I enjoy flying. It’s something I haven’t mastered until now but I love it.”

“I have lucky charms, in this case small bracelets. Some are made of Corsican coral, others of tiger’s eye stone. They all have their virtues. My mother gave them to me before my last Vendée Globe and since then I always keep them with me!”