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Fabrice Amedeo retires after 33 days of racing

After a month's racing and having caught up with some of the older boats, Fabrice Amedeo is retiring from the 2020 Vendée Globe due to damage to his onboard computer.

fourth week / #4SEMAINEDUVDG

 

A SUCCESSION OF DIFFICULTIES

Remember, our navigator set off from Les Sables d'Olonne on Sunday, November 8, and was forced to turn back after 2 days of racing due to a problem with his hook, a front sail attachment. His technical team managed to solve the problem in record time, with the help of the opposing teams, enabling him to set off again to the cheers of the Sablais crowd.

After just a few miles, the skipper was confronted with a severe weather episode that put his boat to a severe test and deprived him of one of his two on-board computers.

Just when Fabrice Amedeo thought he'd eaten his fill and was fighting his way back up the fleet of older boats, the weather gates he'd anticipated would make the difference closed in front of him, one after the other, widening the gap with the sailors at the head of the race.

The picture darkened once again on December 10, after 33 days of racing. Our skipper, in 21st position in the Roaring Forties, announced that his second onboard computer was no longer working, depriving him of weather information in very heavy seas.

 

A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND A DIFFICULT CHOICE TO MAKE

The first onboard computer had been out of action since the front off Cape Finisterre. Fabrice Amedeo had tried to repair it, but to no avail, and knew that he was continuing on his way with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head. Our navigator therefore tried to carry out the repairs with the technical team from a distance, taking shelter from the 40-knot gusts expected in the area.

A competitor at heart and a passionate sailor, Fabrice Amedeo has decided to retire and has set course for South Africa. "It's a difficult decision to make," he confided, as he retired for the first time in a major race.

"[...] Our hydrofoil boats are diabolical in strong winds, I want to be able to sail according to a principle that has always been mine: as a good sailor and feeling in control of my safety and that of my boat. So I've decided to stop my Vendée Globe in Cape Town. It was a difficult decision to make, but one that I accept. I'm very unhappy, but I know I'll bounce back. My thanks and thoughts go out to my partners, to whom I dreamed of offering a finish in Les Sables d'Olonne, like a little light at the end of the tunnel of this year 2020, which has been complicated for everyone. I'd also like to say a huge thank you to my technical team, who did a superb job. The Vendée Globe tells life stories, and failure is one of them. I'm going to digest this failure, which will make me grow and come back stronger and more solid."

 

Arriving in Cape Town on Sunday morning, his carbon companion is moored at the foot of Table Mountain. With this stop at the quayside, the Vendée Globe really comes to an end, and that's hard to realize. Our skipper confides in us and explains that as long as he was at sea, he was in the protective cocoon of this parallel world of the open sea. Now, on dry land, he's concentrating on the to-do list to get the IMOCA back in fighting order.

 

"The ocean took its toll on me and didn't want me this year. But my love and faith are intact. We'll be back in 2024."

 

 

All Onet Group employees salute Fabrice Amedeo's courage and determination during this Vendée Globe. The sailor was able to assess the risks and listen to himself, putting his fighting spirit aside. We wish him all the best, and a safe journey home.