“Vincent The Terrible,” as his competitors like to call him, conquered the Vendee Globe race last night, gliding home to a massive welcoming fleet in first place. He lapped the planet in just 87 days, 10 hours, 47 minutes, setting a new nonstop record for a solo sailor in a monohull. Jean Le Cam followed him in six and a half hours later. Riou had lots to say about his experience. Here are his comments:
Damage
“We suffered damage in two areas. On entering the Indian Ocean I suffered problems with my keel, the hydraulics in particular. That prevented me from canting the keel. I also had trouble with one of the ballast tanks. The water would come in and the air would go out and then the tank would become pressurised to the extent that it finally exploded. When on port tack I lacked 1.5 tonnes of water. Fortunately a lot of the climb up the Atlantic was on starboard tack. Thanks to my shore crew I had a very well prepared boat.”
Solitude
I didn’t suffer with the solitude but I like the contact with the shore. I spent a lot of time on the telephone. The difficult thing was that I had some hard days but I find it difficult to express my feelings. The descent down the Atlantic was pretty stable (in terms of place changing and pressure) but the return proved expensive. The Indian Ocean was very hard with some big depressions but we always had the choice as to whether to go there or not. We always had the solution of a compromise route. We finished with 8 days of beating between the Indian and the Pacific. The Southern Ocean is exceptional.
Ice
You can decide yourself if you are going to stay in the North or not and then we managed to get through the Pacific pretty much just on the front of a depression.
Management
Good routing of the weather enabled me to sail calmly. I was prepared to lose some miles in the pursuit of more favourable conditions to the north. I don’t go looking for difficult situations.
Weather
I love it. Strategy is the greatest aspect of sailing; the tactics and the strategy to choose the optimum route.
Mistakes
Jean made a mistake at the Horn. He went into a light wind zone which couldn’t be seen in the weather models. Satellite picture observation enabled me to spot it, but Jean went right into it. He lost 200 miles in 36 hours, maybe he didn’t have any Fleet 77 aboard. I was really fed up after the Azores, and also when I lost the lead after Australia. The tropical depression off Brazil and the big anticyclone after the Azores annoyed me a lot. I was very frustrated not to be able to mark my adversaries too. The conditions were changing an awful lot so I had to make a lot of sail changes.
Adventure
The Vendée Globe is an adventure and that’s not something you can forget. You have to prepare yourself for something new. You try to discover where your limits are. It’s a very important human dimension.
Performance
I haven’t always had the means to prepare myself in my career. This Vendée Globe enabled me to achieve that. I think it’s easier to win a Vendée Globe that requires versatility rather than pure racing.
Future
I’m not difficult. I like competitions of all types, on any kind of boat. I just want to continue to earn my living doing something I love to do and know how to do. I would like to do another Figaro campaign next year.
Boat
I’ve known this boat since it was conceived. It has a soul. I am happy for the people that designed it. I have never understood why you would choose to build a boat anywhere else than France. Boats have evolved greatly over a number of years as regards the hull shape.
Victory
Jean and Mike have raced a fine race. Being ahead doesn’t mean much in the southern Atlantic. Jean had a chance to comeback and didn’t take it.
Hmm. I don’t think Le Cam is going to like what Riou had to say much. But to the victor goes the right to talk a little trash. I guess…
Riou Returns: “Bon. Steak-frites s’il vous plait…”
The Earthist Chronicles 