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- A question over there, let's go , question !
-Hi François, I'm here, it's Camille
François, you were talking about the difficulties, there were some every days
nothing about it has sweat during the race, so much that we were felling that it was the perfect guy doing the perfect race
Why did nothing has swear in fact ?
- That's funny cause at the beginning of the race, well, 4 years ago Mich was in this configuration
at the begining of the race, I wasn't convinced that I was going to do the same thing
I was telling myself no, I have a different way of communicating, I'm somebody rather spontaneous
and I'm going to share what I live
well, there's things you don't say, the sails , etc, but in general, I'm going to share
and this engine problem arrived after one week and then ...
I've told myself it's not good, cause it's a weakness not to have an engine, anyhow it could be seen as a weakness
and it would be bad to say it right at the moment
and after that, well, I started to keep things for myself
and when we arrived ... At the begining of the race, I was in the adventure, in the idea of doing a Vendee Globe of doing my first round the world, I wasn't that much in the competition
and in fact, as the race time passed, and I was up front, and we started to jostle with Armel
there it became totally pure competition
and somewhere I'm quite surprise, cause I lived 3 months of intense competition, and I wasn't expecting that
and so, the fact of being in this state of mind, forbids you to give away anything to the opponent.
it's too hard, to allow yourself to give things to the opponent, and whatever happens, even if they guess that here we have troubles, etc ...
well as long as they don't tell, we don't know, and today, Armel, we don't know the problems he is having
and ... 10 days ago, when we are climbing back the Atlantic and we have Armel coming back
for me it was harder to face it
even though perhaps he is going to tell us in 2 hours that anyway, he didn't had this sail or this thing, and that I was impossible that he overtook me.
I don't no, I don't think so but ...
well and so you are forced to put yourself in this state of mind, and that's not easy, cause it's quite against my nature
I don't really like keeping all those things, I would rather have shared it
cause in addition ... well it's really part of the race, and facing our little problems, is what makes the Vendee Globe
and unfortunately, as long as it will stay a competition, it will stay for us.
and the only way to share all this, is that this no longer be a competition, and it be a rally
that we start all together, and finish all together, but as soon as there is a ranking, an people wanting to compete, well we'll keep it for ourselves !
- A question here.
- Francois hello, thanks, congrats, Charles Guyert of Sun radio at Nantes, to short and quick questions
How did you lived this last solo night at sea, before the finish and the excitement
and second question, what would stay your best memory of this Vendee Globe if you had to keep just one picture ?
- Hum ... the last night has been hard ! It was frankly hard cause ...
conditions where difficult, and roughly, you can loose everything ! It's stupid but ...
and as a result it's not simple. It's not simple cause you have to attack.
without taking risks
in 40 knots of wind,
So I as was saying, I was with my famous reacher, so a rather easy sail in regard of the condition we were having
but despite it, you watch out for the boat, but when you start into more than 30 knots surfs
cause this night, even while lifting foot, taking reefs earlier and all, when the waves takes you, you take it and descend it.
and there's no handbrake so ...
so well, when you take surfs up to 28-29-30 knots
in the dark, in the middle of cargo ships and fishermen
yeah well that's not easy !
we have systems to detect the boats, we have the AIS which works very well
and which allows to avoid cargo ships in a rather easy way
and when we cross the cargo ships lane, it's quite the easier, cause you know that there's no fishermen
when there's 50 cargo, in fact a cargo every 10 miles, you know that there's no fishermen playing around
and as the cargo ships you know where they are, you can call them, there's a guy on the watch.
it's quite manageable, on the other hand when you are in the middle of the Bay of Biscay and that there is fishermen and people working
who are in their nets, their line, etc ...
well they are not necessarily, well it's more difficult !
and we have the AIS, we also have the radar, unfortunately my radar wasn't working anymore since .. quite the beginning of the race
I had no radar.
and we have an active echo. In fact the active echo emits signals when there's radars around
and when there's a radar detecting us, it rings, and so we know that there's a radar not far.
and in the middle of the night, I found myself with the active echo beeping, so I knew that there was a radar not far
but at the AIS there was nothing, and the boat was in pitch black.
25-30 knots, charging along, so I was at the bow, trying to look what was happening, but anyhow, you can't see nothing !
I spent 1 and a half hour like that, being ready to pull widely the helm if there was something coming up front
it's not very comfortable as a situation !
- A question from Anouk and a short last one, cause it's the rush with Armel Le Cleac'h arrival.
- About that Francois, Armel is going to finish, I guess you are going to welcome him, what are you going to say to him ?
- I'm going to tell him thank you !
first !
Thanks to made me live this competition, as I was saying previously, cause without him it would not have happened.
and thanks you not to have overtook me, to have stayed behind !
-Thank you François ! We would spend hours ! François Gabart !
We would spend hours we you, wouldn't we ? Hours with you, and it was a privilege ! François Gabart, MACIF !
And to tell you that in 5 minutes we are going to start the live with pictures of Armel Le Cleac'h
at a few miles from the Nouch's Buoy
Francois Gabart, who comes back feet on land !
and in addition, bare feet ! François Gabart !
Bye François, BRAVO !
Bravo François !