Vendée Globe: After an anonymous mail - FFVoile investigates possible routing fraud

The French Sailing Federation has launched an investigation into possible fraud at the 2020/2021 Vendée Globe. Three years after the ninth edition of the solo race around the world, the Fédération Française de Voile (FFVoile) has asked the Vendée Globe Race Directorate to convene a jury to examine the case. Documents are to be examined that may prove that a skipper exchanged messages with another person during the last race that are said to resemble illegal routing.

I have full confidence in the competent authority and will await the results of its investigation" (Alain Leboeuf)

The well-informed French daily newspaper "Ouest France" writes: "The case could cause quite a stir." On behalf of the Vendée Globe, President Alain Leboeuf made the following statement on the evening of 13 February: "The President of the French Sailing Federation has informed me of an anonymous email he has just received accusing a skipper of having benefited from routing information during the last Vendée Globe."

Alain Leboeuf continued: "The Fédération Française de Voile has taken up the matter and asked the race organisers to appoint a jury to analyse the veracity and content of the information in question. I have full confidence in the competent sports authority and will await the results of their investigation."

The Vendée Globe rules explicitly prohibit routing from the outside

The identity of the accused has not yet been revealed by any of the parties involved. Several French media report that the president of the French Sailing Federation, Jean-Luc Denéchau, received a whole series of documents, in this case anonymously sent screenshots, at the beginning of the week. These are said to suggest that a participant in the last Vendée Globe exchanged information about various routes with a person several times during the race.

However, because the Vendée Globe rules expressly prohibit such exchanges and the skippers are bound by this rule in a declaration of honour, the possible breach of the rules is now being investigated. According to its own reporting, the daily newspaper "Ouest France", for example, has 15 documents relating to an instant messaging dialogue about the correct behaviour of the accused sailor in particularly challenging weather scenarios. It talks about situations such as "the passage of the first major storm depression", "the approach to Cape Horn" or "the turbulent arrival phase in the Bay of Biscay".

A Vendée Globe jury investigates the case

According to several media reports, this exchange also included screenshots of the routing software (Adrena) authorised on board, on which the boat, the wind conditions and the recommended route are said to be located. However, "Ouest France" also reports that the exchange in question "as far as can be understood so far, is not really about performance, but mainly about the safety concerns of the skipper, who was apparently seeking comfort in the face of his worries".

Whether the case is a case of thoughtless help and support for a soloist in a difficult situation or deliberate and targeted deception will be one of the subjects of the ongoing investigation. Depending on the results of the investigation, the jury may acquit the accused or categorise the case as fraud. The FFVoile President, the Vendée Globe President and the World Sailing Federation will be informed of the outcome. Possible disciplinary measures can be decided on the basis of the report.

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