After an epic, 28000-mile, solo voyage and with just a couple of hours between the top 3 boats, Yannick Bestaven (in the Maître Coq) takes the win in 80 days 3 hours 44 minutes and 46 seconds!
There is no such thing as an easy Vendée Globe race. It is rightly considered to be one of the very toughest sporting challenges in the world, and the 2020/2021 edition has been no exception. The starting line on November 8th, 2020 saw 33 skippers, 33 explorers, 33 free-spirited and crazy Ulysses, taking off from Les Sables d’Olonne, France.
In the early hours of January 28th, fireworks lit up the night sky as the victorious Bestaven approached the pontoon at Les Sables d'Olonne on France's Vendee coast. It was 4:09 AM.
“My main quality? Stubbornness!” admitted Bestaven before the start. “This is not a race for those who doubt themselves” said Patrick Pruniaux, CEO of Ulysse Nardin.
This was the second Vendée Globe for French skipper Yannick Bestaven. The 48-year-old, at the helm of the Maitre Coq IV, was the third across the finish line. He arrived nearly eight hours behind the leader but won because of the 10hr 15min time bonus he carried for helping rescue a competitor (Kevin Escoffier) off of the Cape of Good Hope. Charlie Dalin in Apivia was the first to arrive in the Sables d’Olonne, sailing into port after 80 days, six hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds at sea. Dalin was followed by fellow Frenchman Louis Burton in Bureau Vallee 2, however they placed second and third due to Bestaven's time bonus.
On Bestaven’s wrist, a blue DIVER chronometer in 44mm. On Dalin’s wrist, a DIVER X CAPE HORN. Both well deserved to mark their fabulous odysseys forever and talismans to take along on their next adventures.
