News – Yannick Bestaven in third, ‘It’s been pretty evnetful to say the least!’ – Vendée Globe

Yannick Bestaven on this afternoon’s French Live show 

Q: You mentioned the recent difficult conditions. How have you adjusted your timings, and managed your strategy with this depression in mind?

Well yes that has been interesting, because obviously you get used to going fast, but right now I can’t make much headway on my routing, so I’m going calmly and heading towards the North East, to try and avoid having to sail in the strong winds and seas because it’s not worth it, to potentially break something on the boat. As we’ve seen already, in the depressions we’ve already passed through, that in those conditions, you don’t advance quickly, and you can damage the boat…so yes I’m happy with my 3^rd place but I’d prefer to take it slow and potentially hang back with those behind me than enter into the thick of the depression.

Q: (Yves Auvinet): Great to see you in 3^rd place, how have you lived this first month of the Vendée Globe compared to the last Vendée you did a few years back?

Well, when I think back to everything that has happened so far this month, I wouldn’t have imagined there to be so much intrigue, breakdowns, ups and downs, including of course the rescue of Kevin Escoffier which will no doubt stay in everyone’s minds for a long time and this crazy Indian Ocean which is giving us a real ride right now. So yes, it’s been pretty eventful to say the least!

Q: Aurélien Ducroz: Great to see you there. Bravo on your brilliant race so far, it’s inspiring to see. You mentioned a few days ago you felt like you were living, sailing even, like a wild boar! How are you feeling, both physically and mentally?

Well it has been a bit wild on board recently, so for the first time I took in my foilers, because the shock I was feeling on board was just so violent, you get thrown all over the place. The first shock, I’d just got my food ready, and then in an instant it was all over the floor. So yes, you begin to feel like you are living with four legs, crawling around on the floor, just like a boar, or a pig! It’s hard physically, but emotionally also it’s not easy.