A 2 e Vendée Globe got off to a good start for Bertrand de Broc
It's January 1993. Bertrand de Broc started the second edition of the Vendée Globe aboard Groupe LG, the Bouvet Petit design with which Titouan Lamazou won the first edition of the solo round-the-world race. Bertrand got off to a good start and took the lead, passing the Canaries in the lead.
But during a maneuver, he was violently struck by his mainsheet. As a result of the impact, he bit his tongue and tore it open over several centimetres. Back at the chart table, he measured the extent of his injury. He estimates the wound at 2 centimetres long and 5 millimetres deep.
Limited means of communication
At the time, communications between the boat and land were by telex, with a transmission time of around 20 minutes for each message, or by Saint Lys Radio. The race doctor, Dr. Jean-Yves Chauve, received the news by fax.
The rudimentary on-board pharmacy is equipped with compresses, sewing thread and curved needles. At first, Bertrand made small balls with the compresses to try and limit the bleeding. But this was not enough, and the doctor ordered Bertrand to stitch himself up.
While the procedure is fairly straightforward on land, it's much more complicated on a racing yacht in the middle of the ocean, and alone. In front of his small mirror, Bertrand performs his first medical procedures on himself. He manages to give himself a local anaesthetic, and performs his first sutures.
In his two-hour speech, Bertrand puts several points on his tongue.
An extraordinary anecdote
The rest of the race was not easy for Bertrand, as he was forced to retire in New Zealand. The architect's office having discovered a structural weakness that could lead to the loss of the keel, he made a stopover in Auckland, resulting in his disqualification. In disagreement with his sponsor, he was dismissed, and Canadian Gerry Roofs was commissioned to bring the boat back to Europe.
Since then, as a reference to this sea fact, Bertrand has sported the Rolling Stone language with a scar on the transom of his various boats.
The story of Bertrand de Broc and his reattached tongue remains one of the most extraordinary and inspiring anecdotes of the Vendée Globe, illustrating the extreme challenges faced by sailors in this grueling event.
