Like a brightly shining comet, François Gabart stormed to the top of the best solo sailors at his Vendée Globe premiere. Now the "Golden Boy" is being stormed from all sides. Around 350,000 people cheered the youngest Vendée winner in history and new record holder at the finish harbour of Les Sables d'Olonne at the age of 29 as he took the parade off on Sunday morning. The quiet star enjoyed the hustle and bustle, the first hug from his Swedish wife Henriette, repeatedly praised his team, cited the good preparation for the sea marathon as the main reason for his success and did not forget the man who was his equal for almost 80 days: Armel Le Cléac'h crossed the finish line just three hours, 17 minutes and twelve seconds after François Gabart after 78 days, five hours and 33 minutes at sea.
Gabart immediately sent his congratulations to the conqueror, who finished second in the Vendée Globe for the second time in a row: "Thank you, Armel Le Cléac'h! What we experienced together was extraordinary! For two sailors like us, it was a privilege to experience such a duel as direct participants. Armel is one of the reasons why this Vendée Globe was so special. And yes, thank you, Armel, for not catching me again!" Gabart left his decision on whether to take part in the Vendée Globe again open for the time being: "I need to sleep for a few nights and think hard about it. You have to feel a very deep desire for it. I don't have that at the moment. But it could come back in a few days or weeks. If I do it again, it will only be because I really want to. Otherwise it's dangerous and unhealthy."
Armel Le Cléac'h said after crossing the finish line on Sunday evening: "I'm 99 per cent satisfied with my race." The remaining one per cent cost the likeable Frenchman his chance of victory off Uruguay. There he had decided to tack north-west in order to be the first to reach the predicted north-westerly winds. But they did not materialise. Instead, Le Cléac'h, who had led the race for a third of the way, sailed into the doldrums and had to let his opponent Gabart pull away. He was unable to equalise the resulting 200 nautical mile deficit in the final sprint. Nevertheless, there was praise from all sides. Jean Le Cam said: "There is no great winner without a great runner-up."
Gabart himself remained modest in the face of the triumph: "When I started preparing for the Vendée, Macif and I wanted to do our best. We didn't think about winning. We weren't that ambitious. We wanted to deliver a great race. That was all. But when I passed Armel in the Indian Ocean, I knew that Jean-Pierre was behind me and Vincent had dropped out. That's when I started to believe that this victory was possible."
Now the new king of single-handed sailing is being duly celebrated by the international press. The "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" calls Gabart the "new lord of the seas", the French "L'Équipe" reports on "François I's ascension to the throne", the British daily "The Independent" revels: "Gabart smashes the Vendée record". "Le Figaro states: "François Gabart, the prodigy of the Vendée Globe". And the Breton newspaper "Ouest France" enthuses: "Gabart - the hot guy is a sailor in a hurry."
There was no end to the list of well-wishers after the finish. The Brit Mike Golding from See also sent a personal congratulatory email. In it, he wrote: "François, what can we say other than our heartfelt congratulations? But that sounds totally inappropriate for what you have achieved today. Your incredible race, and - it has to be said - that of the entire lead group has given us hunters at the back of the 2012/2013 field something fantastic (even if it was frustrating at times). It's a dream you have to savour. It seems like Mer Agitée has infected you with the high-performance DNA of your mentor Mitch (Michel Desjoyeaux, ed.). Yet you have retained your own character and your own style. What a formula! Enjoy the moment in Les Sables d'Olonne. I'm sure this is just the beginning for someone as young and as talented as you."
While hundreds of journalists and television crews spoke to the winners the day after the triumph, Alex Thomson drove his "Hugo Boss" towards the harbour. The Briton still had around 900 nautical miles to go on Monday afternoon. The dream of a podium finish is within his grasp. At the same time, Thomson announced that he would not let his competitor Jean-Pierre Dick, who was "limping" across the Atlantic without a keel, out of his sight and would stand by him in an emergency.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
