The race viewed by: Yann Elies

Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre Multi 50 category with Erwan Le Roux, Yann Elies tells us his view on the course taken by the IMOCA 60s.

“I haven’t really had the time to truly dissect what’s happened, but I’ve still managed to note two or three important phases in the race, such as at Cape Verde, where the boats were ahead of a front, with a fairly large lateral separation between those who opted for a westerly route and those who favoured a more easterly course. In the end, we saw that those who headed east came off best, particularly MACIF and PRB, which managed to steal a bit of a march there. I didn’t really see what happened at the equator. After that, on arriving off the coast of Rio, I learnt that François Gabart and Michel Desjoyeaux had dismasted, that PRB had got ahead and Maître Coq and PRB were then jostling for second place. However, it wasn’t really easy to follow it all. Barring a technical issue, PRB should win logically. However, it’s really full-on between Maître CoQ and Safran, which lost out on second place overnight. There’s a chance of a photo finish for those two. It’s always nice when there’s a match race right to the finish! I’m going to try to welcome all the racers I can, especially Bernard Stamm, who I’m particularly fond of. I’m disappointed that he didn’t have more luck in the Doldrums because if it had gone more smoothly, he could have been vying for victory”.

CF