Image: Monnoyeur - DUO for a JOB, skipper Benjamin Ferré - Photo by Vincent Curutchet / Alea
Benjamin Ferré, 16th in the Vendée Globe 2024
A Vendée Globe rookie, Ferre has come a long way since he fell in love with ocean racing only six years ago! At 34, the skipper of Monnoyeur - DUO For a JOB has completed his non-stop, unassisted round the world race on the morning of Monday February 3 securing 16th place in the ranking, after 84 days, 23 hours and 19 minutes at sea. It’s a performance that saw him cross the line first of the non-foiling daggerboards, iahead of his original mentor Jean Le Cam who encouraged him to take on the Vendee Globe in the first place.
Right from the start Benjamin showed that he was here to live the experience at full throttle. He was first to cross the line on November 10 and during his three and a half months at sea sparred frequently with Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare).
Benjamin also demonstrated the resilience that’s essential for success in this field, repairing a string of small and large issues that befell his IMOCA, the winning boat of the 2012 edition in the hands of François Gabart.
Problems included rudders, the hydraulic keel ram cylinder, and two broken halyard locks. The self-nicknamed "Pépin" learnt his DIY skills on the job, having confessed his shortcomings in the field before the start, although he now claims to be delighted, "to have discovered a new passion.”
He also enthusiastically shared his fascination with the exotic countries he sailed past, as well as his despair before Cape Leeuwin when he thought his Vendée Globe was over. He also shared without embellishment, off the coast of Brazil, a “monumental blow”, while fatigue fell on him after the passage of a large depression near the Falklands.
“Even moving around in the boat was becoming a superhuman effort”, says the young Breton, who had already impressed by finishing 4th in the Vendée Arctique in 2022, 15th in the Route du Rhum 2022 and 13th in the Retour à La Base in 2023.
Before the start, his only goal was to “finish at all costs, even if that means swimming to pull my boat”. But his taut routings and assertive options even only a week from the finish, in a pack of eight closely packed boats, Benjamin Ferré certainly did better than that: he really raced with style and success!
Tanguy Le Turquais, 17th in the Vendée Globe 2024
On crossing the finish line this February 3 at 1137hrs UTC, after 84 days, 23 hours and 35 minutes of racing, Tanguy Le Turquais has made a dream come true: to complete his Vendée Globe. His long held desire to compete in the Vendée Globe strengthened when he welcomed his life partner, Clarisse Cremer, back into the legendary Les Sables d’Olonne channel after her 12th place four years ago.
A former Mini650 sailor turned Figaro racer, all the way through his race Le Turquais has shown his skill and determination first and foremost as a competitor, determined to never give up and to share his story, including all the emotions he has had to deal with.
During his build up period, last Autumn he struggled with a technical issue, a major leak into his boat during the Transat Jacques Vabre which required him and his co skipper to stop into Lorient to repair. They restarted five days later, meaning Le Turquais started the return solo race one day after the fleet left.
But he proved his grit and tenacity successfully completed the return Atlantic crossing, guaranteeing participation in the most challenging of all round-the-world races.
Tanguy demonstrated his talents repeatedly during his Vendée Globe, constantly trying to get the best out of his daggerboard boat. he endured his share of the bad weather that has characterised this edition of the race for many, including powerful low pressure systems at the Cape of Good Hope, the Kerguelen Islands and Cape Leeuwin in particular.
Each time, the boat suffered and forced the living area to be transformed into a DIY workshop at different times repairing broken mainsail battens, as well as structural damage including a bulkhead repair.
His successes in solving these problems and pushing the boat hard was rewarded when he caught up with Jean Le Cam’s group of boats, which had been 900 miles ahead in the Southern Ocean. By the end of the race he was neck and neck in a group of eight skippers with whom the battle raged until the finish line.
The skipper of Lazare also talked about his separation, being away from his daughter Mathilda as well as his pride in his partner Clarisse Cremer who completed the Vendée Globe over a week ago. he spoke of hallucinations of pirates who would come on board, the joy of experiencing tight competition in the heart of the fleet and his pleasure in enjoying many magnificent sunsets on the open ocean.
Alan Roura, 18th in the Vendée Globe 2024
Today the Swiss skipper Alan Roura, at the age of just 31, completed his third consecutive Vendée Globe. The solo skipper of HUBLOT crossed the line off Les Sables d’Olonne at 11:57.48 hrs to take 18th place in an elapsed time of 84 days 23hrs 55 mins. Despite the beautiful sunshine and blue skies it was something of a bittersweet moment for Roura as he took his finish gun. He was overtaken in the final miles first by Benjamin Ferré and then by Tanguy Le Turquais who went on to take 16th and 17th places respectively, Ferré 37 minutes ahead and le Turquais 20 minutes in front of him.
Among his goals and aspirations pre-start Roura simply wanted to race in the Big South again and to be able to push his IMOCA, the former boat of Alex Thomson on which it is hard to do anything else. It was certainly big step up in performance potential to his two previous races, both completed on modest budgets with older, non foiling daggerboard boats.
In 2016 Roura set off at just 23 years old – reminding us of a certain Violette Dorange – and four years later in 2020 he was still the youngest of the edition.
Now at 31 years old with so much experience under his belt Roura was able to manage his race and his boat, setting the cursor between the innate needs of hard bitten competitor and the prudence and reasonableness of a businessman- entrepreneur.
Unfortunately his race started modestly, as it did for many others. He saw the head of the fleet escape quickly whilst he was stuck in a calm off Cape Verde. But Roura pushed hard all the way. He crossed the equator in 33rd position and then drove hard in the South Atlantic, then in the Indian and Pacific evolving into a quartet he formed with Jean Le Cam and Italian Giancarlo Pedote and Isabelle Joschke.
He impressed coming into Cape Horn where he chose not to slow down despite typically stormy conditions. It was a courageous choice but it did not really pay off. A few days later in anticyclone off the coast of Brazil would all his hard earned gains evaporated like snow off a dyke.
The end of the Atlantic was thus a series of elastic gains and losses, one blow against, one blow in favor of the Swiss sailor.
But the last depression north of the Azores allowed the Hublot skipper to finally have a great match up, a tough close battle with Seguin, so finishing his race with the intensity he had set off looking to find. And so he crossed the finish. bearded, happy, and proud to have succeeded on the world’s toughest solo race for a third time.