Many technical problems
This Saturday, January 16, 2021, Sébastien Destremau announced his retirement. Although he has not yet communicated the official reasons for this decision, the many technical problems he has encountered since the start are probably not to blame.
Setting out from Les Sables-d'Olonne with a boat that was more than moderately prepared, the skipper from Toulon was forced to climb the mast barely two days after the start. However, this was only the beginning of the problems, as one problem after another followed another: a faulty lazy-jack, flooding, electronics failure, problems with the keel hydraulics, the anemometer... Then it was the turn of his automatic pilot and steering system..
In the end, with all his setbacks, Sébastien Destremau was 26th and last in the rankings, 7940 miles behind the race leader, under New Zealand when he retired.
Doing everything to continue
On December 21st, the skipper of Merci?! was already planning to stop over in Australia to pick up equipment and make repairs. On December 23rd, he entrusted "For now, we're taking the boat back to Australia. In the state she is in today, it's not reasonable to envisage continuing the Vendée Globe without a stopover."
On 11th January, the sailor discovered a new damage to his IMOCA, his bowsprit split from side to side... The decision was therefore taken to stop the race on 16th January.
Safe in the South of New Zealand
Merci?! arrived in Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand on Monday 18th January and the skipper now has to pass a Covid test before he can disembark. After all, it's not as if he's been in isolation for 70 days now..
Sébastien Destremau also announced that this Monday he would reveal the real reasons for his abandonment. It has to be said that the last Vendée Globe had caused some personalities in the sailing world to react, who deplored his lack of preparation and his lack of awareness of continuing his route on a boat that was "taking on water"... More to follow.
