FLASH ARRIVAL

After 14 days – 18 hours – 36 minutes at sea, I’ve just crossed the finish line of the New York – Vendée in 14th position aboard the IMOCA Fortinet – Best Western!

An unusual race and a crazy finish! That’s what I remember about this New York – Vendée 2024.

The race was atypical in every way, from the almost enclosed pontoon start to the start off the American coast and the impossible weather. It was a formative race, but also a very difficult one mentally. Particularly when I found myself in last place, with no way out in terms of weather. Every time I had the impression of finding one, it closed behind me. It was extremely frustrating, to the point of going mad. I had to work on myself, to accept the situation and keep moving forward and fighting my way up the rankings.

And what about the finale? I spent the last 24 hours of the race working hard to avoid being caught by the boats coming back from the North… I found the DMG Mori boat a few miles from the finish, and I launched myself into a crazy final sprint to snatch 14th place! 2 minutes is all that separates our two boats after crossing an ocean.

Definitely a challenging and formative race, like a full-scale training session before the Vendée Globe at the end of the year.