Two days before the arrival of Armel le Cléac'h and Alex Thomson in Les Sables-d'Olonne, the French Navy was once again able to film the two leaders. On Tuesday 17th January 2017, a Navy plane flew over the two IMOCA boats as they passed the latitude of Les Sables-d'Olonne and sailed 350 miles off the Bay of Douarnenez.
It was first Armel le Cléac'h on Banque Populaire VIII who was contacted on the VHF, an exchange that was appreciated, according to the Breton, whose last VHF exchange dates back to the Kerguelen family "It's good to see you right now and to hear you. The last time I spoke to the VHF was with the Nivose, at the Kerguelen with the Navy too!"
Yes, it is, the two leaders were filmed last November.. in the Deep South, off the Kerguelen Islands. This is the first time in the history of the race that such images were filmed. And it has to be said that images of the two leaders are really rare! Too busy keeping at the head of the fleet and competing for the podium for 68 days now, the two sailors have rarely sent images from onboard.
The skipper of Banque Populaire VIII explains that he thinks "arriving early Thursday afternoon in Les Sables-d'Olonne." and concludes the interview with a message for great British rival "You say hello and tell her to stay behind, that's nice!"
