While the weather conditions did not allow us to follow Yannick Bestaven's finish and his crossing of the line, it was a happy man and winner of the 2020 Vendée Globe who was able to be found in the channel, cheered by the crowd.
I feel like I'm living a dream, hallucinating. It's bizarre?! We go from total solitude, to this, this party, these lights, these people who are there despite the complicated context. I don't realize it yet. It's a child's dream, réalise?!
I've opted for a westward shift and a northward option. That's what suited me best in relation to my boat and the sails I was missing. I needed strong winds and a low-pressure system. As I was 5th , i didn't hesitate. I'd already lost places off the coast of Brazil.
This Vendée Globe was incredible, a real yo-yo, it was a real regatta at contact?! In the end, it's not good to be the first. Charlie (Dalin) overtook me but I still finished first.
I always thought I was going to arrive in Les Sables-d'Olonne, but to which place?? I always believed in my chances. I felt good with the boat, I was well prepared and my team and I had prepared well for the Vendée Globe. I felt confident on the boat.
The weather conditions meant it never went out the front. The foilers didn't make any difference, especially in the South Seas, where we had bad conditions... And then again we found ourselves in contact in the Bay of Biscay, which is something we've never seen before. It's historique?!
There are so many difficult things in a Vendée Globe. You think you have thought of everything, you think you have prepared everything, but you have to go and find your own resources. There's a lot of stress in these noisy, violent boats. You have to be on the alert in difficult conditions... There's also the humidity, the cold, the solitude..
This Vendée Globe is in line with my expectations and even beyond. I had imagined a lot of things, but I've lived through so many things. And the finish is great. To have had such a hard time to finish in apotheosis and offer the finish to Maitre Coq is top?!
