The navigator Yannick Bestaven left this Tuesday morning from the port of La Rochelle for Le Havre, where the “Jacques Vabre”, the duo Transat will be set off towards Fort-de-France. With his new team-mate, Jean-Marie Dauris, the Vendée Globe winner bids farewell to “Maitre Coq 4”.
It was a little before dawn, at 8 am sharp this Tuesday morning, that the Rochelle navigator Yannick Bestaven passed the lock of the Bassin des Trawlers in La Rochelle. With his new team-mate Jean-Marie Dauris (Roland Jourdain had to forfeit due to a herniated disc), the winner of the Vendée Globe will take the start, on November 7 in Le Havre, of the “Jacques Vabre”, the Route du Café which will join Fort-de-France this year. It was the last time that we saw his favorite boat, “Maître Coq” in La Rochelle, because the boat is sold to Damien Seguin and will be based in Lorient. Yannick Bestaven’s future boat, still under construction in Port-la-Forêt, will also be based in La Rochelle from next summer.
– Pierre MARSAT
In front of about fifteen morning friends, including several members of the Cercle Nautique de La Rochelle, to the sound of fog horns and applause, Yannick Bestaven spoke of his ambitions for this Transat Jacques Vabre, which he has already won twice. He admits that “Maître Coq 4” may not be the fastest in the fleet. But it is the best training for the future Vendée Globe in 2024.