Armel Tripon finished eleventh in the Vendée Globe and was celebrated like a winner at the finish. The 45-year-old skipper from Nantes has fulfilled a childhood dream with the completed course around the world despite technical setbacks. It took a quarter of a century until the "L'Occitane en Provence" skipper was able to put his project into practice together with Sam Manuard, the best friend from mini times. Now he has arrived and can hardly believe his luck. The very personable skipper was nicknamed "The Happy" during the race. Hardly anyone knew how to gain something positive from every day at sea, to enjoy the moment and to meet even the darkest hours with a smile. His famous race to catch up after early technical problems right after the start and a masterful comeback (from 32nd place) led Tripon to eleventh place - an outstanding seafaring performance.
Strong skipper, masterful storyteller: Armel Tripon on his arrival in Les Sables-d'Olonne
Not without my family: Armel Tripon's sons celebrate the arrival with their father
"L'Occitane en Provence" skipper Armel Tripon arrives in Les Sables-d'Olonne after completing a solo circumnavigation
Tripon's Manuard design, christened only a year ago, has proven to be technically vulnerable without participating in intensive test regattas and with only 7,000 nautical miles completed until the start of Tripon's Vendée Globe premiere, but it has also proven to be very fast and ultimately reliable to the finish. His skipper is fondly remembered because of his achievements, but also as a masterly narrator, as is his own mischievous smile. The race ended for Tripon on February 2nd with a final storm, "the toughest 48 hours of the entire race", as Tripon himself described the experience. The Biskay showed her teeth to the father of three sons waiting longingly on land and once again demanded everything from the Imoca yacht "L'Occitane en Provence" on the home straight. The line finally reached Tripon after 84 days, 17 hours, 7 minutes and 50 seconds of racing.
This is what luck in Armel Tripon's team looked like when he arrived
"L'Occitane en Provence" skipper Armel Tripon: also a good ambassador for the Vendée Globe on the microphone
So "L'Occitane en Provence" skipper Armel Tripon was welcomed in Les Sables-d'Olonne
Armel Tripon: "The sea was white!"
Like a fresh sea breeze: Clarisse Crémer is expected to be the first female skipper to reach the destination today
At the welcome party at the dock, Tripon reported - with a smile of course - how tough this final test had been: "When I came back to the Bay of Biscay, I was faced with gusts of over 50 knots. The sea was white. It was very brutal. That but I also say because it is a gift to be able to experience and see it. There was a crazy light. And as soon as I could find a small mouse hole with a little less wind and waves, I headed for it. It was the strongest winds that I've seen it throughout the race. You have to travel all the way around the world to find out that your couple of really bad parts are right on your doorstep. " How he was able to overcome the setbacks at the beginning, Tripon also reported: "I worked with a mental coach for two years. The focus was on the idea that this race around the world would be full of unexpected events in the end that we would have to grapple with Fortunately, I dealt with this aspect in detail because I had a problem on the second day of the race. But overall it was a lot of fun, it was very intense. " If you could bottle positive energy, you would probably get rich with Armel Tripon's. In this race he mostly looked like the sun that his sponsor had painted for him on the boat and is now thinking about a comeback.
Clarisse Crémer: "Boris' story shocked me"
Clarisse Crémer shared her happiness with this fresh grapefruit, which she still had in her provisions on January 15th, as well as her haunting stories in good and bad times …
After Tripon, who crossed the finish line on Tuesday, "Banque Populaire X" skipper Clarisse Crémer is expected to be the first female skipper to cross the finish line today. As a result of the failures of Sam Davies (after a UFO collision) and Isabelle Joschke (with broken keel suspension), the young 31-year-old economist took over the baton as the best woman in the race at her premiere. The refreshing and clever former runner-up in the Mini-Transat is expected to reach the goal in twelfth place. If she arrives safely, Crémer will break the 20-year-old record of Ellen MacArthur, who finished the 2000/2001 race after 94 days and 4 hours as second and best skipper to date. However, Clarisse Crémer also has to withstand the stormy Biscay conditions, which Armel Tripon had previously made the home straight to the mogul slope. Crémer said: "Boris's story shocked me. I will have to keep an eye out for my destination. I've crossed shipping lanes and there was a lot going on. At one point I had to reduce my speed to let a container ship pass. Me see them on the AIS, so everything is okay at the moment. " Clarisse Crémer went on to say: "It will not be easy to reduce the speed in 30 knots of wind. So I think that I will be sailing with three reefs."
Back at home and still in great demand: Boris Herrmann will be a guest on well-known TV shows several times this coming weekend
Boris Herrmann in the current sports studio
The Vendée Globe fifth Boris Herrmann, who moored with his family again in the Hamburg home port on the night from Sunday to Monday, is currently in quarantine and fulfills the specified requirements, which were initially difficult to determine. It is now clear: If Herrmann can present another negative test result on February 5, he will be a guest at ZDF in the current sports studio on the evening of February 6 and draw the DFB Cup quarter-finals on the ARD sports show the next day. Further talk show visits are planned for the following week.