Race Statistics
Finish: Sunday 21 June, 10:10 a.m.
Elapsed time: 13 days, 21 hours, 8 minutes and 40 seconds
Distance sailed: 3,379.68 nautical miles
Average speed: 10.1 knots
Race Summary
During last Thursday’s prize-giving ceremony, Manu Cousin sent a video message that was broadcast on the giant screen beside the stage. In it, he congratulated each skipper in turn before reflecting on his own race.
“It hasn’t been easy – I’ve had my fair share of problems,” he admitted. Cousin knew the challenge ahead would be demanding. Having taken over Arnaud Boissières’ former IMOCA and spent weeks carrying out extensive refit work, his team relaunched the boat only a matter of days before the start.
“We expected some difficulties because the boat went back in the water quite late and we carried out a huge amount of work on her over the winter,” he explained during the race. Yet, as he demonstrated in his previous two Vendée Globe campaigns, Cousin never gave up. There were anxious moments, periods of fatigue and plenty of tough times along the way.
“I haven’t spoken about everything, but we experienced quite a few technical issues, particularly on the way up towards the Arctic Circle.” For the Coup de Pouce skipper, however, the true measure of an offshore adventure lies in the ability to endure and keep moving forward.
“Overall, I’m delighted. We made major changes to the boat and she’s performing well.” Cousin also found time to appreciate the unique conditions encountered near the Arctic Circle, which he said were “reminiscent of the Southern Ocean”.
He remained determined right through to the finish, despite a gruelling final stretch that required long hours of hard upwind sailing. In the end, none of that mattered. Cousin can now savour another hard-earned finish in one of the toughest races on the calendar, having taken an important first step towards the 2028 Vendée Globe while gaining invaluable experience for the challenges ahead.
