A classic win
Jérémie Beyou, at the helm of Charal, has sailed across the finish line to win the hotly contested Vendée–Arctique–Les Sables d’Olonne Race.
Photography by Eloi Stichelbaut
15 July 2020
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After one of the most thrilling battles in the history of the IMOCA class, Jérémie Beyou has won the first-ever Vendée–Arctique.
Beyou on Charal reached the line after a dramatic 550-nautical-mile final leg from the Gallimard Waypoint, which saw him overtake Charlie Dalin on Apivia.
It looked like Beyou had a firm position for the final stretch until remarkably, Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut stormed past both him and Dalin to take the lead.
“There were some reversals in the situation between the three of us – myself, Charlie and Thomas. We sailed the race together. We were virtually within sight of one another the whole time. Your turn, my turn, they too sailed very well,” recounted Beyou.
But in the deep-reaching and downwind conditions and the powered-up northerly breeze, Beyou managed to press forward again to re-take the lead as he closed in on the French coast.
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“It was important to pull that last little move – the gybe that I initiated yesterday that everyone mirrored. After that, you had to position the last trajectory right. You had to want it – and I wanted it really badly.”
By the finish, he was well clear of Dalin who finished in second place 50 minutes after Beyou, while Ruyant had to settle for third, another 20 minutes back.
Beyou completed the shortened course in 10 days, 5 hours and 14 minutes, arriving at 20.44 (GMT+2). He had sailed a total distance of 3,284.3 nautical miles at an average speed of 13.4 knots.
The Charal skipper must have received a huge confidence boost for the Vendée Globe, crossing the same finish line that will be used for the round-the-world classic in 2021.
After the race, Beyou said, “This victory comes as a great satisfaction. I’m someone who needs to sail a lot, to do lots of competitions, and be in contact with my boat. And it’s fair to say that since the Transat Jacques Vabre, amidst the refit and the lockdown, I no longer had my bearings, so I’d put a lot of pressure on myself.”
“Here, managing to do things right and secure the win, I can kind of settle down a bit. I no longer feel this pressure on the eve of the Vendée Globe start. I know where I’m going, how you have to get there and that, that is a great victory in itself.”
By winning what was effectively a round-the-cans to Iceland and back, Beyou has certainly signalled his intentions for the Vendée Globe. The combination of Beyou’s expertise and the optimised foiling set-up on Charal is going to be a potent force on the round-the-world course.
Beyou was never out of the top five throughout the ten days at sea. He was in the leading group during the tough upwind phase early in the race, but then took the lead himself when crossing a major depression sitting off the west coast of Ireland.
He then lost out to Dalin in light airs going north toward Iceland before capturing the lead again on the way south when four or five skippers were changing places at the top of the leaderboard. Beyou remained in contention, trailing either Dalin or Ruyant at various times, and was then ready to pounce on the final leg to the finish.
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