The Retour à La Base prizegiving crowned the overall race winner Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), and runner-up Jérémie Beyou (Charal) and third placed Sam Goodchild (For The Planet).
Goodchild finished third in the Retour à La Base, and in taking his fourth consecutive third position, his fifth of the year, won the 2023 IMOCA Globe Series championship . . . the first British skipper ever to do so.
Everything about the Retour à La Base seemed to follow the script, even down to the last of the Mohicans, Jean Le Cam arriving back in Lorient to complete his solo race as the awards ceremony was taking place.
Jean-Philippe Cau, president of the Lorient Grand Large association, the organizers of the event, thanked all the teams who worked behind the scenes, including the sixty Lorient residents who volunteered for the duration of the festivities.
Race director, Hubert Lemonnier. “And yet, we had our share of challenges: dengue fever, injuries, a dismasting, torn sails, harsh conditions… it’s a good learning experience for all of us,” concluded Lemonnier who, in less than for a year now, will lead the Race Direction team for the Vendée Globe.
Prize for fighting spirit and an IMOCA in chocolate
The combativity, fighting spirit prize put up by the French textile brand Mousqueton, official partner of Retour à La Base went to Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare).
The 32 Retour à La Base skippers each transported 23 kilograms of cocoa beans on board their boats, which will soon become more than 400 chocolate bars…
The Belco prize went to Thomas Ruyant (For People), who set a new single-handed distance record on a monohull: 539.94 nautical miles (999.96 km) in 24 hours!
Ruyant received a magnificent chocolate IMOCA made by Criollos chocolatier.
Related Post . . .
Sam Goodchild wins 2023 IMOCA Globe Series championship
Yoann Richomme wins Retour à La Base solo Transatlantic race
