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Saturday 5 March
2005 16.00 gmt
A Dream Weekend To
Loop the Loop!
A Stunning Final
It was finally at
20h04 GMT that the
Vendée Globe 2004
was completed in Les
Sables d’Olonne.
Karen Leibovici
brought the race to
a close by finishing
in 13th place on
Benefic. What a
weekend! Summer
conditions in Les
Sables d’Olonne for
2 magnificent
finishes. Initially
it was local
skipper, Raphael
Dinelli, completing
his first Vendée
Globe on his third
attempt. He
received a rapturous
welcome on Saturday
afternoon from the
thousands of people
massed along the
banks of the
channel. It was an
intense and much
deserved conclusion
to a fantastic race.
Karen, Karen …
It was late
yesterday night that
the 5th edition of
the Vendée Globe was
completed by the
arrival of Karen
Leibovici aboard
Benefic. It was the
epilogue of what
proved to be a crazy
Sunday where the
crowds came out in
their hundreds to
welcome in their
heroine, after a
long, long wait.
Numerous forecasts
for an ETA were
being tossed around
throughout the day
yesterday. The more
optimistic of them
reckoned early
Sunday morning that
a midday finish in
the spring of Les
Sables d´Olonne was
on the cards. As the
day went on the
ETA’s became
increasingly less
optimistic though,
Karen Leibovici (Benefic)
caught up in the
midst of light winds
around twenty miles
from deliverance.
Already the crowds
were hurrying
towards the channel
leading to Port
Olonna, in search of
more specific
information. As time
went on thoughts
turned to the fact
that the tide was on
its way out and that
the channel would
only be practicable
until 2030 GMT.
After some
precisions on these
calculations it was
decided that “she’d
get through until
2010 GMT, but only
just.
At around 1600 GMT
the pleasure boats,
the organisation’s
ribs and launches,
Karen’s supporters,
all began to leave
the pontoons to go
and welcome Benefic
off Les Sables
d’Olonne. She was
then less than 15
miles from the line.
Nothing at all
compared with the
23000 odd miles that
she had just
covered, and yet...
It was a surreal
image as a cortege
of boats, ribs and
yachts massed around
Karen’s ‘red cigar’
Benefic, almost at a
stand still, the
sails flogging in a
bare whisper of air.
Gradually, in
virtually complete
silence, the
journalists
approached the boat
one by one to get
Karen Leibovici’s
comments, as she
understandably
became a little
annoyed by the
situation ... Back
on shore a presenter
was trying to keep
the public informed,
though there was
really nothing to be
said when you don’t
know when it’s going
to end ...
Fortunately the
conditions finally
enable her to gybe
one last time at
around 1830 GMT and
make a direct course
towards the finish
line. As if by magic
the wind kicks back
in as night
falls...3 knots,
then 4 then 5, the
whole flotilla now
surrounding Benefic
as it makes headway
at last. The
atmosphere becomes
lighter, the fog
horns blare out
flamboyantly in the
darkness, the
supporters yell and
Karen relaxes, trims
her boat one last
time and finally
revels in the
moment.
Deliverance comes at
2004 GMT, Karen
Leibovici crosses
the line in 13th and
final position. The
emphasis is on
making the channel
as quickly as
possible. Benefic is
taken in hand by the
organisation’s ribs
and drives towards
the jetty at over 6
knots. They get
through! The boat is
slowed and the crowd
applaud the 4th
woman to loop the
Vendée Globe loop.
The atmosphere is
sublime, the crowds
have been waiting
for hours, but
they’re out in
force, as always.
They tie up to the
pontoons, there is
applause from the
supporters, they are
showered with
champagne, there are
bouquets of flowers,
hugs and kisses,
tears, protocol...
Karen eventually
steps down off her
boat and works her
way up the pontoon
to climb up onto the
podium. She gives
the crowds her first
sentiments, still in
shock after
everything that has
happened.
Raphael Dinelli,
Benoit Parnaudeau,
Jean-Pierre Dick,
Isabelle Autissier,
Catherine Chabaud,
Jean-Luc Van Den
Heede, Alain
Gautier, the welcome
committee is of a
calibre that
reflects the
quality of the
event. They wouldn’t
have missed this
moment for the
world, Karen showing
exceptional courage
throughout these 126
days at sea. More
hugs and kisses and
tears and then the
ceremony is rounded
off by the notes of
the song that her
brother Roch wrote
her during the
Vendée Globe.
It is the end of the
ceremony and the
start of a long
night with friends,
partners, and
family...
The end of a long
but magnificent day,
the ultimate of this
Vendée Globe 2004,
one of those that
goes down in the
history books of a
race like no other.
Quotes from the
Pontoons :
Karen Leibovici (Benefic):
“The last day was
hard. When all the
boats swarmed around
me, the transition
was very quick, too
quick without a
doubt. I didn’t let
down my guard until
I crossed the finish
line, I couldn’t let
myself lose
concentration.
After that it was
just crazy. I was
overjoyed when the
people that are
close to me came
aboard. The channel
was all a bit of a
blur. I’ll have to
take a step back
from the whole thing
to take it all in
but I’d like to say
thank you. It’s
good to know there
are people following
you, who are
interested in what
we do.”
Philippe de Villiers,
President of the
SAEM Vendée:
“From the first to
the last, all the
finishes have been
extraordinary! The
fact that there were
still 50,000 people
to welcome Karen
Leibovici is crazy!
The standard in the
race has never been
as high as it is
this year which I’m
obviously very
pleased about. What
we hope for in the
future is to
continue to place
the emphasis on the
human aspect of this
race and we’re going
to do just that.”
Denis Horeau, Race
Director:
“It has been
extremely
pleasurable for the
whole organisation
to have welcomed 13
officially ranked
competitors into Les
Sables d’Olonne, as
well as Patrice
Carpentier and Marc
Thiercelin who made
the Vendée port
without being
classed. This 5th
edition of the
Vendée Globe ends on
the same high note
on which it started,
with an enthusiastic
public who have
welcomed this
ultimate arrival of
Karen Leibovici in
deserving fashion.
We couldn’t have
imagined a better
note on which to end
this exceptional
event.” |
