Berliner Boersenzeitung - Bestaven ready to 'write a new story' as Vendee Globe yacht race starts

EUR -
AED 3.898523
AFN 71.644005
ALL 97.648604
AMD 411.303772
ANG 1.914021
AOA 969.589347
ARS 1059.019177
AUD 1.626695
AWG 1.912116
AZN 1.80447
BAM 1.955933
BBD 2.144347
BDT 126.914629
BGN 1.954472
BHD 0.400029
BIF 3075.943987
BMD 1.061402
BND 1.421364
BOB 7.364849
BRL 6.103346
BSD 1.062022
BTN 89.684337
BWP 14.448665
BYN 3.475501
BYR 20803.485902
BZD 2.140647
CAD 1.480529
CDF 3045.163175
CHF 0.936725
CLF 0.037924
CLP 1046.446944
CNY 7.676591
COP 4708.91149
CRC 543.462642
CUC 1.061402
CUP 28.127162
CVE 110.75745
CZK 25.388317
DJF 188.63237
DKK 7.459344
DOP 63.949359
DZD 141.630617
EGP 52.228957
ETB 129.544535
FJD 2.403068
GBP 0.83336
GEL 2.907944
GHS 17.422944
GMD 75.88837
GNF 9160.963762
GTQ 8.206946
GYD 222.173049
HKD 8.255656
HNL 26.609498
HTG 139.686101
HUF 410.858482
IDR 16798.071884
ILS 3.986711
INR 89.576785
IQD 1389.00842
IRR 44690.345182
ISK 147.502873
JMD 168.751502
JOD 0.752638
JPY 164.256789
KES 137.455129
KGS 91.487137
KHR 4303.986593
KMF 488.643096
KRW 1496.142353
KWD 0.326385
KYD 0.885002
KZT 527.030748
LAK 23308.395923
LBP 95101.650121
LKR 310.555796
LRD 196.730493
LSL 19.220988
LTL 3.134045
LVL 0.642031
LYD 5.1637
MAD 10.530204
MDL 19.010191
MGA 4935.52124
MKD 61.5696
MMK 3447.393404
MOP 8.50898
MRU 42.348517
MUR 50.002527
MVR 16.409566
MWK 1841.533028
MXN 21.879534
MYR 4.710487
MZN 67.850153
NAD 19.221764
NGN 1775.386729
NIO 39.027305
NOK 11.770703
NPR 143.49454
NZD 1.792862
OMR 0.408655
PAB 1.062022
PEN 4.021622
PGK 4.261796
PHP 62.358462
PKR 295.01699
PLN 4.35371
PYG 8297.565537
QAR 3.864301
RON 4.975817
RSD 116.983541
RUB 104.280832
RWF 1449.875599
SAR 3.988118
SBD 8.864043
SCR 14.393167
SDG 638.433911
SEK 11.579719
SGD 1.421722
SLE 24.195333
SOS 606.572528
SRD 37.398523
STD 21968.885515
SVC 9.293071
SZL 19.221951
THB 37.033402
TJS 11.288563
TMT 3.714908
TND 3.340765
TOP 2.485908
TRY 36.491299
TTD 7.216832
TWD 34.42106
TZS 2825.309757
UAH 43.984498
UGX 3902.449814
USD 1.061402
UYU 44.775161
UZS 13601.870796
VES 47.628304
VND 26906.549368
XAF 656.032617
XCD 2.868493
XDR 0.800092
XOF 652.762858
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.111791
ZAR 19.232187
ZMK 9553.893659
ZMW 28.913333
ZWL 341.771121
  • RBGPF

    59.3400

    59.34

    +100%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

Bestaven ready to 'write a new story' as Vendee Globe yacht race starts
Bestaven ready to 'write a new story' as Vendee Globe yacht race starts / Photo: Christophe ARCHAMBAULT - AFP

Bestaven ready to 'write a new story' as Vendee Globe yacht race starts

Defending champion Yannick Bestaven led a flotilla of 40 yachts into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday as the 10th edition of the solo, non-stop around-the-world Vendee Globe race got under way.

Text size:

The yacht race started from Les Sables-d'Olonne, with tens of thousands of people lining the docks and shore to wave goodbye to Bestaven and the other intrepid sailors.

Bestaven won the last edition of the race, completing the 24,300 nautical mile-course -- that's 45,000 kilometres for the land-lubbers -- like a seaborne Phileas Fogg in 80 days, three hours and 44 minutes in 2021.

All 40 skippers that will start this tenth edition will be eager to outwit and outsail their opponents and snag the 200,000-euro ($214,000) winner's cheque. They know, however, that the main challenge will be a communal one -- the sea.

Occasionally she lends a helpful hand allowing the 60-foot Imoca monohulls to glide on their foils at near 40 knots; at other times she will rise like a ferocious monster the size of a mountain ready to crash down and crush the boats below.

"I'm in great shape. I haven't slept too much, but you know what it's like on the eve of the start!" said Bestaven.

"I'm really happy to be here. The weather conditions are pretty good. We're going to get off to a gentle start. It's a change from some of the Vendee Globe's we've experienced. I'm delighted to see all these beautiful boats and this fine line-up here in Les Sables d'Olonne."

Bestaven was in no doubt about what lay ahead.

"It's going to be a great adventure and a great race," he predicted. "For the start, there'll be plenty to get on with.

"We know that the wind will strengthen in the Bay of Biscay. We should get out to the wind fairly quickly and have it downwind, so we're not going to complain.

"There's always a bit of stress. You never know how things are going to turn out. It's a new story to write. Of course there's the stress of saying goodbye to our life on land, to all our friends and family, but there's also the stress of the departure itself."

- Everest of the Seas -

Every skipper is well aware of the dangers that lie in wait in the 'Everest of the Seas'.

One skipper, Nigel Burgess, died in the second edition in 1992-93 while Mike Plant perished while crossing the Atlantic to reach the French start point for that race. Four years later the Canadian Gerry Roufs disappeared, his boat turning up on the coast of Chile six months later.

Four years ago Kevin Escoffier came within a whisker of joining them, his boat snapped in two. He was lucky, picked up by veteran Jean Le Cam who at 64 will be the oldest of this year's competitors.

"The excitement is building now, but it's going to be especially strong in the canal," said Le Cam.

"We're here for the public and the public are here for us: it makes a great team! I'm pretty calm. The weather forecast for this start will require a degree of 'zenitude'."

British skipper Sam Davies is one of six women entering the race, each of them looking to emulate Ellen MacArthur who remains the only woman ever to make the Vendee podium when she came second in 2000-01.

Another is first-timer Violette Dorange who, at 23, is the youngest skipper in the race.

"I'm so happy to be here," said Dorange. "There are lots of emotions and I just want to enjoy it.

"D-Day is always a bit stressful, but I'm storing up all the energy here for the difficult times ahead."

She is one of 15 skippers making their Vendee debuts. The others include 35-year-old Jingkun Xu, who only saw the sea for the first time at the age of 12 and is now the first Chinese sailor to take on the Vendee Globe.

The race started life in 1989, set up by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot. Of the 13 boats that started only seven finished with another Frenchman Titouan Lamazou winnings in 109 days.

The French influence remains as strong as ever with the race still waiting its first 'foreign' winner.

"I hope that in the future there will be more skippers from my country taking part in the incredible event that is the Vendée Globe!" said Xu.

(Y.Berger--BBZ)