© © Pierre Bouras / Retour à La Base

Tanguy Le Turquais arrived from the Transat Jacques Vabre the day after the start of the Retour à La Base and stayed in Martinique for just 10 hours before setting off again. What happened next? Favorable weather, a highly motivated sailor and an incredible climb up the fleet to finish in twentieth place on Tuesday, December 12. The skipper of Lazare completed his return transatlantic crossing after 12 days and 7 minutes at sea, having covered 4089.51 miles at an average speed of 14.19 knots. Here's a look back at an adventure based on daring, fighting spirit and, above all, fun.

 

HE SAID : 

"We have proved that you can be a winner without coming first. When we hit something during the Transat Jacques Vabre, we thought it was all over, but there was that small glimmer of hope that we could repair and set off again. We took it one day at a time. When I set off again from Martinique, I had tears in my eyes. It was great to be able to set off again, but there I was alone aboard my boat, exhausted with the nearest rival 300 miles ahead. I said to myself it was going to be impossible and that I’d never get through it. But I was lucky with the weather. The boat sailed fast and everything fell into place. As soon as I caught one skipper, I said I could maybe catch others and that continued all the way to the finish. I got myself into a mode where I only slept for three hours in three days. I really gave it my all. I didn’t even feel tired, but just wanted to race. I didn’t have any pressure on me, as when you come from behind, no one expects you to do well. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen, so I just wanted to have a good race and learn things for the Vendée Globe. It paid off, so I’m really pleased. We showed we were resilient and proved that you can always find solutions to get back on your feet, transforming something rotten into something fantastic.”

 

HIS RACE IN NUMBERS


Finish time: 16:07hrs UTC
Race time: 12 days 7 minutes
Miles sailed: 4089.51 miles
Real average speed: 14.19 knots
Average speed on the Great Circle route: 12.14 knots