Benjamin Ferré is first daggerboard skipper home - chased all the way by Tanguy Le Turquais
by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 5 Feb 02:02 AEDT
4 February 2025
Benjamin Ferré and Tanguy Le Turquais after the Vendée Globe © Jean-Louis Carli
It will go down as one of the great battles in Vendée Globe history that featured a fun-filled but competitive "bromance" between two young French sailors who ended up finishing just 16 minutes apart.
Benjamin Ferré, at the helm of Monnoyeur-Duo For A Job, reached the finish 16 minutes ahead of his compatriot and his "shadow," Tanguy Le Turquais, after a battle that saw them fighting it out in daggerboard-configured IMOCAs all the way around the world.
This was pure sport, and sport with a wonderful sense of fun, as two of the IMOCA fleet's biggest characters pushed each other all the way, at the same time messaging each other and winding each other up, a pattern that continued right until the race's final few hours and minutes.
Ferré reached Les Sables d'Olonne in 16th position on his 2010-vintage VPLP-Verdier design, becoming the first skipper of a daggerboard boat to finish the race. He had been at sea for 84 days, 23 hours and 19 minutes during a voyage of 28,167 nautical miles completed at an average speed of 13.81 knots.
The 34 year-old Vendée Globe rookie came ashore after shedding tears of joy and explained how Le Turquais had hunted him virtually the entire race on board his 2007-built, Finot/Conq-designed Lazare. "He got into my head," admitted Ferré. "He has all his experience from his years on the Figaro circuit. He kept making strategic shifts just to make me doubt myself. I kept telling myself 'as long as I stay between Tanguy and the finish line, I'm good.' But every time he made those moves, he knew it made me question everything."
Le Turquais, whose partner Clarisse Crémer, finished over a week ahead of him on board L'Occitane En Provence, had exactly the same analysis. "I couldn't have said it better," he said, sitting alongside his rival at their post-finish press conference. "Before setting off, we knew each other a little, we got along. But honestly, I really wanted to finish ahead of him." Later he joked about his biggest frustration. "(Benjamin) really improved during the Vendée Globe - his trajectories, his risk-taking. At some point, I just knew I wasn't going to catch him."
And Le Turquais, 35, who wears his heart on his sleeve and said this would be his first and last Vendée Globe, talked about the special relationship he and Ferré enjoyed during 84 days at sea.
"For three months, we exchanged messages - it was really special, building a relationship without seeing each other. It didn't feel like we were alone; it felt like we were a team facing the elements together. We were in the same weather systems, so we understood each other. That created something exceptional," he said.
Ferré, meanwhile, revealed that after watching wildlife documentaries on board he started to think of his competitors as animals. Guirec Soudée, who is on course to finish in 23rd position on board Freelance.com, became a little monkey "always trying to get attention," while Le Turquais became a kangaroo. Ferré said it took him a while to work this out.
"But then, at one point, there was an episode about kangaroos. And actually they seem friendly, welcoming and cheerful - you just want to give them a hug. But in reality they are space fighters. And so for me, Tanguy was my little kangaroo, always hopping along, trying to stay right next to me. And that went on for an entire Vendée Globe."
The daggerboard race was not just about these two. Ferré's mentor Jean Le Cam, the oldest skipper in the fleet on his sixth Vendée Globe at the age of 65, dominated the race until well past Cape Horn before light winds saw him drop back. He finished 20th on board Tout Commence En Finistère-Armor Lux. Other skippers who were in this fight included the Kiwi-American sailor Conrad Colman on MS Amlin who finished 21st, and the youngest skipper in the fleet, the French sailor Violette Dorange on DeVenir who has yet to complete her race.
But at the front, and with Le Cam dropping back, Ferré and Le Turquais were left to fight it out in a fascinating match race up the Atlantic. Both men had overcome big issues on board. Ferré thought his race was over in the Southern Indian ocean when his hydraulic ram cylinder failed. He also had to deal with two broken halyard locks and numerous other issues which forced the famously untechnical Breton skipper and entrepreneur to deploy his DIY skills.
Le Turquais, meanwhile, had to do a major bulkhead repair to keep his race and his boat in one piece and, at one point early in the Southern Ocean, broke all the battens in his mainsail. This produced one of the best on-board videos in recent Vendée Globe history when Le Turquais recorded all his emotions - ranging from cold fury to utter joy - as he confronted the damage and then made repairs.
Le Turquais was philosophical about a challenge that, he said, has redefined what he is capable of. "What I discovered the most was myself - my abilities, my limits. I wanted to see how I'd react when backed into a corner, alone. When you're alone, you have no choice but to find solutions. I'm a reckless guy," he added, "I don't have limits. And with this Vendée Globe, I feel like I've finally reached them."
"There were tough moments," reflected Ferré, "I think I'm naturally cheerful and upbeat, but the struggles were real. The tears, the hardships - they were all there. That's what makes the Vendée Globe magical."
The banter - so refreshing and enjoyable - continued even after the race had finished, with Le Turquais making a big play about how bad Ferré's boat-mending skills were. "He doesn't even know the difference between a Phillips and a flathead screwdriver," he joked. "His team handles that stuff. Whereas I'm super-handy, I'm a mechanic by trade. So yeah, I really wanted to beat him because this guy, who barely knows how to use tools, was not going to teach me how to sail!"
In and amongst all the joshing, Ferré paid a nice tribute to Le Cam. He revealed that Le Cam was one of five people he called when he passed Cape Horn. "Four years ago, no one would have imagined I'd do the Vendée Globe, but Jean believed in me," he said. "He opened doors, helped me find sponsors, shared his knowledge. Yesterday I was at my limit against Tanguy. I asked myself: 'What would Jean say?' And I knew - he'd tell me to sail, like it was day one. To be slow but precise in my movement. So, in a way, a part of Jean crossed the finish line with me," he added.
Le Turquais clearly understands himself well enough to know that this Vendée Globe could never be bettered. "For me, the Vendée Globe is a unique adventure - and it should stay that way," he said. "I won't be back in four years. What we lived through in these three months was one of a kind. I don't want to top it.
"We finished. How many others tried and never did? This was a once-in-a-lifetime Vendée Globe, and I'm incredibly happy about it," he added.
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