Your welcome party in the port of departure and arrival at Les Sables-d'Olonne was particularly warm in bright sunshine under a blue sky. And Isabelle Joschke enjoyed every second of her journey through the canal. Four weeks after the fastest boats on the 9th Vendée Globe, the 44-year-old German-Frenchwoman reached the port she left on November 8th to conquer the world with one hand and non-stop solo for the first time. A series of technical setbacks, a repair marathon and finally the failing keel hydraulics prevented the fighter from finishing the race as possibly the best skipper. She had to give up in the middle of a storm and steer Salvador de Bahian with a swinging keel. There she stopped for repairs for ten days and decided, like Samanth-Davies, to finish her race outside of the classification. Isabelle Joschke's brilliant performance was 107 days and 21 hours after the start on February 24, 2021.
Did a great job at her Vendée Globe premiere: "MACSF" skipper Isabelle Joschke
Proud and celebrated by her team: Isabelle Joschke
The live broadcast of the arrival of Isabelle Joschke in Les Sables-d'Olonne in the repeat
"I have the feeling that I was very close to the worst and the best of this race," said Joschke at the press conference after her acclaimed arrival. For them, arriving was above all a victory over themselves, their own uncertainty and their own fears. She observed herself and her reactions during the race as if through a magnifying glass and did not always like what she saw. But she also recognized her abilities and used them up to the personal and, above all, conciliatory conclusion of the Vendée Globe premiere.
This thanks to Isabelle Joschke goes to the fans, friends and team partners
The harbingers of the knockout blow for Isabelle Joschke had already become noticeable on January 3rd, when the keel hydraulic cylinder at the upper end of the keel fin of the "MACF" tore off. A week later, the replacement solution also broke. "The night when the storm came was terrible," remembers Joschke. "The keel swung loosely from side to side and I couldn't get away. My boat almost capsized, the mast was already in the water. Everything on board was flying around. I really thought I would overturn." The shock was deep. But Joschke then freed himself a little further from the depression every day. Physically and mentally.
The soloist, who fell in love with sailing as a child on the Austrian Traunsee, did not want to think of a comeback on the day of her return. The YACHT had already explained to her about future participation plans: "I think it's important to love what you have, what you've achieved. I could take part twice and fail twice. I think I delivered a good match. It's better it always - but worse too. For me, as for Sam Davies, it could have ended at Cape Town. " According to Joschke, she was deeply touched by a message from Jean Le Cam that she had received on the day of her assignment: "I cried. My disappointment at the end was so immense."
A spontaneous dance of honor: Jean Le Cam and Isabelle Joschke
He comforted Isabelle Joschke at sea immediately after her departure and was also there at the end of her trip: With his fourth place at the 9th Vendée Globe and his fifth participation, Jean Le Cam has not only once again proven himself to be a grand master of solo sailing, but also as a man with a big heart. The 61-year-old came to the port again and again after crossing the finish line to personally greet the skippers arriving after him and to show them his respect
When asked what she would most like to do after her rollercoaster ride through the Vendée Globe, in which she was even among the top five at times and was thought to be on the podium, Joschke said: "I would now like to spend some time with me Friends, my team and my partners. I want to enjoy this sunny day and I want to feel and enjoy the silence under my feet. Right now. And nothing else. " Isabelle Joschke closes the Vendée Globe with her head held high: "For me it is a victory in itself. It feels like I have won. I did not win the Vendée Globe. But what I have won feels enormous. " Shortly after the race, the daughter of a French woman and a German woman who lived in Lorient did not yet know for sure whether the race around the world had changed her as a person. But they shared another observation: "I have the feeling that I have seen the real me."
A cheeky farewell picture. Isabelle Joschke initially left the answer to the question of whether her comeback can be expected in 2024