Even if it is difficult, it still looks easy with her: Clarisse Crémer finished her first Vendée Globe in twelfth and was enthusiastically celebrated by thousands of fans on Wednesday in Les Sables-d'Olonne. "If I had the opportunity to start again today, then I would do it," said the 31-year-old from Locmiquélic. The "Banque Populaire X" skipper crossed the finish line after 87 days, 2 hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds. With this, Clarisse Crémer undercut the two-decade-old solo record of Ellen MacArthur, which the British sailing icon had set at the Vendée Globe in 2000/01 when she was second behind Michel Desjoyeaux. MacArthur, who later withdrew from active professional sailing and has long been committed to a sustainable circular economy with her foundation, congratulated Clarisse Crémer with a personal message:
Ellen MacArthur
Hi Clarisse, just a little message to say a big bravo for your race around the world. It's great to see you at the finish line. It's a really extraordinary lap. You did everything well, what you did
Clarisse Crémer cheering at the finish and grateful for the message from MacArthur: "I'm really happy about that!"
Even in uncomfortable areas she could still smile. In the same way, she took her fans on an emotional rollercoaster ride when she was not feeling well
"Banque Populaire X" skipper Clarisse Crémer was celebrated on Wednesday in Les Sables-d'Olonne: The 31-year-old crossed the finish line as the twelfth and best skipper of the 9th edition
This also applies to the last nautical miles, in which Clarisse Crémer had to deal with the beastly Biskay again. The young Frenchwoman put a stormy low pressure area to the test one last time with winds of 20 knots and more and waves four to five meters high, before she returned to the start and finish port in the evening as the first of the skiers still in the race. Six women showed up at the start line next to 27 men on November 8, 2020. But the two who were rated the most on paper had to give up: "Initiatives-Cœur" skipper Sam Davies as a result of a UFO collision and the German-French Isabelle Joschke with a broken keel suspension.
In the Clarisse Crémer fan corner, they show it: The French woman is the most successful skipper of the current Vendée Globe, but she also reminded her of the bad luck that her colleagues Sam Davies and Isabelle Joschke had
Like a conductor on her own forecastle: Clarisse Crémer in the red light of the cheering Bengalos
Their goal was to arrive. Clarisse Crémer ended her Vendée Globe premiere as the most successful female skipper with a new record
Clarisse Crémer came through. Also because she had fewer technical problems than others with her excellently groomed boat from the Banque Populaire racing stable and the Imoca yacht - as it was most recently in Biskay - has often deliberately sailed cautiously in bad weather. She herself does not want to evaluate her performance in female categories: "There is no women category. At sea I am a sailor and I do not tell myself that there is a man or a woman sailing in front of me. I do not think about it at all. This here is a mixed race and a mixed sport. " The former mini runner-up in the series ranking first sailed the boat that she had just carried around the world 15 months ago. She only learned to sail well and successfully during the race, nautical mile by nautical mile. "Now that you can do it and have learned a lot about this boat, I almost want to take it and do it all over again," said Crémer. You will soon hear from the sailor who has business diplomas from the Parisian elite school HEC and the American Kelley College, but still decided to go solo sailing and, after success in the mini-scene, from the racing team Banque Populaire Chance to contest her first Vendée Globe. Her mentor there: none other than the winner of the eighth edition 2016/17 - Armel Le Cléac'h, who, together with her husband Tanguy Le Turquais, was one of the first to congratulate them on the water.
Clarisse Crémer celebrated her 31st birthday on December 30th at sea
Done!
