Sports writing, Feb 3 (EFE) .- The French navigator Clarisse Crémer (Banque Populaire X), who finished in twelfth position in the general of the Vendée Globe, first female in the general, has indicated that her “objective was to finish “and that at no time did he think” about any records. “
She has invested 87d.02h.24m.25s to cover a real route of 27,687.07 nautical miles (51,304 km) and broke the women’s record of the Vendée Globe and the world championship of the solo round the world in monohull, both so far in power of the English Ellen Mac Arthur since 2001 with 94d.04h.24m.16s achieved on February 10 of that year with her second place in the Vendée Globe 2000-2001.
“MacArthur was one of the first to send her a message:” Hello Clarisse. Just this message to give you a big ‘bravo’ for your great career around the world. It’s great to see you at the finish line. It really was an exceptional lap. “
She has crossed with her boat the entrance channel to the port of Les Sables to the beat of ‘Born in USA’ by Bruce Springsteen, her favorite song, accompanied on board by her shore team, her coach Armel Le Cleac’h, and her husband , the navigator Tanguy Le Turquais.
It was applauded by hundreds of fans on both sides of the channel – since day 1, groups of fans are allowed to visit a part of the port’s piers, still under great anti-COVID security measures.
At 18:15, an hour and a half after crossing the finish line, the ‘Banque Populaire’ has been moored at the jetty. When he got off the boat, he acknowledged: “It was a great relief to cross the finish line. Until the arrival I was very stressed. I fought to the end and I am happy to have achieved it and I thank my team for everything they have done for my”.
Without thinking about what he has achieved, he said: “the most important thing is how much I have learned in this race; now it almost makes me want to go with this boat and more so now that I know it so well.”
“I realize that at the start of the Vendée Globe I didn’t know how to use it well and I discovered the ‘beast’ that faced me on the go and it was nice to feel more comfortable in your machine. The setup time was a bit short and what I noticed the first week that I was a bit intimidated by everything that had to be done, “she added.
As for his journey, he said: “I think I had fewer problems than others in terms of technical problems. I was lucky to have a ‘crazy’ team and a very well prepared boat. From the beginning I had to pay a lot of attention to it. . Sometimes I regret not having pulled enough of the machine, but my goal was to finish. “
“So I fought for it, especially from the point of view of fatigue and the feeling of constantly having a sword of Damocles over my head, wondering when I was going to make the next mistake. From the moment I stopped thinking about it, I was improving, “he added.
“We know that being a woman in ocean regattas is an element of differentiation. It is a mixed sport and there are a lot of ocean regattas, but there is no female classification. At sea I am a sailor and I don’t think about the sailor in front be it a man or a woman; I never think about that at all, “he concluded.
On board you can never lack a good supply of tea, ‘palmeras’ (heart-shaped puff pastry), pate Hénaff, an outstanding product of Brittany, and ‘Jimmy’, the stuffed rabbit that has accompanied you on this trip around the world .
And the most curious piece of information on your boat: the toilet and sink, designed in carbon by Florent Vilboux, head of composites at Team Banque Populaire. What if these are the most beautiful toilets in the fleet ?, says the navigator jokingly.
Regarding his future, he does not create expectations. “I have only been racing ocean racing for four years. In a short time I had to accumulate and assimilate a lot of new things. So today it is difficult for me to think about what will happen from now on.” EFE