Less than 10 hours after finishing the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre in Fort-de-France, Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) set off again, heading directly back across the Atlantic. He crossed the start line of the 3,500 miles Retour à La Base at 15:34 hrs local time (19:34hrs UTC) in bright Caribbean sunshine on the heels of a brisk trade wind. 

Le Turquais had to stop in Lorient to repair his IMOCA after just one day of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre after he and co-skipper Félix de Navacelles hit a floating object which punctured a hole in the side of Lazare.

During his few hours in Martinique, he did not manage to sleep, but only to take a shower, a meal, and enjoy a few hours with his loved ones, including his one-year-old daughter. His last words were: "Poor child, she must no longer understand what her father is doing. Even adults don't understand everything!”

Le Turquais was visibly moved, his sun scarred face barely concealing the emotion of a unique moment

Starting some 28 hours after the fleet nothing will be easy for the skipper from Lorient, but the weather forecast for the next few days could allow him to pull back a few precious miles on the fleet, allowing him a more direct course. "If there's an opportunity to pick up some miles, count on me to give it my all," promised Le Turquais before setting off for home.