Vendée Globe: "Yes We Cam!" skipper Le Cam fourth: "That makes me giggle"
It was a wet and unpleasant Thursday evening when Vendée Globe record holder Jean Le Cam crossed the finish line on 28 January. His final sprint was astonishing, thrilling, unstoppable. Like an unleashed, somewhat aged racehorse, the 61-year-old from La Forêt-Fouesnant drove his "Yes We Cam!" on course for Les Sables. Together, skipper and boat gave their all once again. Le Cam's team manager Anne Combier had told him on the morning of his last day at sea that he could actually finish fourth. This motivated the oldest and most experienced of the 33 skippers who originally started the race to put in a fantastic final effort. When Jean Le Cam crossed the line at 20:19:55 local time, combined with his time credit of 16 hours and 15 minutes, which the Escoffier rescuer had received as compensation from the race organisers after his heroic and successful mission, he moved up from eighth place on the water to fourth place in the classification. There is hardly anyone who would begrudge him that.
Jean Le Cam has become the superhero of the Vendée Globe and the French sailing universe, and not just since his famous phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron. He knows like no other how to bring the race of his life, which he finished second overall in the fifth edition in 2004/05, closer to fans and the public in a unique "Le Cam" way. Since he fished Kevin Escoffier out of the South Atlantic waves on 1 December after his eleven-and-a-half-hour ordeal in the dark of night, thus saving his life, even more people have been paying homage to the old master of solo sailing than before. Now he has arrived at the start and finish harbour of Les Sables-d'Olonne and can recover from the exertions of his fifth Vendée Globe round the world.
Yes, he can! Record participant Jean Le Cam returns to the start and finish harbour. The canal trip became a triumphant journey for the oldest starter, who had so much to give to the race and saved Kevin Escoffier's life
Before that, however, the tireless, unique and formative character of the Vendée Globe gave an insight into his thoughts at the end of his sensational adventure:
"This is a finish line like I've never crossed in my life. You'll see tomorrow why I say that. I have no idea how I've made it this far. Honestly, I have no idea. But it's done! This is definitely a liberation. This Vendée Globe was a crazy number. I made it despite everything. And then I'm obviously fourth! I've been pushing hard for two days to make sure I don't miss the tide. This morning, my manager Anne told me that I could still get past Boris Herrmann. I could never have imagined that! I was already happy to be ahead of Groupe Apicil. It was all about the competition between the boats with centreboards. This challenge was what made the race. These foilers are like puzzle games, like computer software. But sailing is not an exact science! For me, the most important thing is that I was able to show the younger generation that the Vendée Globe can also be contested with limited resources. I've had a lot of positive feedback from young people. I'm happy because I can see that the budgets are getting higher and higher. That's why this is a real victory. I simply sailed from here to here. But if I say that too often, I always have to giggle."
The same boat that carried "King" Jean Le Cam to fourth place had already taken him around the world and to sixth place in the last Vendée Globe. The overview shows how calmly and consistently Jean Le Cam completed his fifth lap around the world despite a spectacular rescue operation in the South Atlantic, the handover of the rescued Kevin Escoffier to the French Navy on the high seas and a series of technical setbacks:
"Bonjour, Monsieur President!" The conversation between President Emmanuel Macron, Jean Le Cam and Kevin Escoffier became an internet hit. Macron thanks Jean Le Cam for rescuing Kevin Escoffier and talks to both sailors on board the "Yes We Cam"
Jean Le Cam's key moments:
Equator: 4th place on 18 November at 13:19 (UTC) after 9 hours, 23 minutes, 59 minutes
Cape of Good Hope:6th place on 2 December at 4.52 am (UTC), 1 day, 5 hours, 41 minutes after the leader
Cape Leeuwin: 6th place on 14 December at 2.31 a.m. (UTC), 11 days, 21 hours, 21 minutes after passing the Cape of Good Hope
Cape Horn: 7th place on 4 December at 20:18 (UTC) after 57 days, 6 hours, 58 minutes
Equator: 8th place on 17 January at 14:14 (UTC) after 70 days, 54 minutes
Target: 8th place on the water - 4th place after deduction of time credit
Scoring time: 80 days, 13 hours, 44 minutes, 55 seconds (the time credit of 16 hours and 15 minutes has already been deducted)
Fastest 24-hour time: 7 December (8 a.m. (UTC)) with 459.61 nautical miles at an average of 19.2 knots
