Just under two months after taking fourth place in his fifth Vendée Globe, Jérémie Beyou is currently getting his Imoca project back on track, with his sights set on the Transat Café L’Or at the end of the year and the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe 2026. Tip & Shaft spoke to the skipper of Charal.
At the finish of the Vendée Globe, you said that fourth place sounded like a victory. Can you explain why?
It’s clear that in this edition, I was going for the win. Bruno Jourdren often says that you can’t be everywhere on the water, at some point you have to choose, and if you find yourself stuck on the wrong side, you have to move on, optimize and get out in front of the group you’re in. That’s what happened in this Vendée: with others, we quickly found ourselves separated from the three leaders in the southern oceans, with no opportunity to come back. The goal then became to finish first in this group. That’s what I managed to do with this fourth place, which wasn’t easy, with the likes of Thomas Ruyant, Sam Goodchild, Nico Lunven, Boris Herrmann… That’s why I call it a victory.
Was it mentally difficult to let go of the victory?
There were several phases. When we had to negotiate the famous depression in the Indian, I knew that Charlie was going to come out in front, but I was really in the action. What was more difficult was that behind us, we hit the ridge of high pressure head-on. We didn’t think we’d be slowed down for so long, so this second effect was harder to swallow. Then, I thought that after Cape Horn, there might be a chance of tightening up, especially as when I entered the Pacific, I could see the frontrunners coming slowing down at the Horn. But this scenario quickly became obsolete, we saw that it was going to open up for them, and then it was harder to live with, I knew it was over.
Looking back at the race, do you have any regrets about not having been able to stay in touch in the Indian Ocean?
It really doesn’t come down to much. As for Charlie, he managed to find a good rhythm as soon as he left the Doldrums. Clearly, I wasn’t able to catch up with him in terms of speed, he qualities of his boat and his knowledge of it spoke for him, he was imperial. I could say it was down to bad luck, that the scenario was unfair, with that 80-mile deficit turning into hundreds, but he was a hair quicker than me; so in a way, you could say that all I had to do was be in front. Now, I’m not the only one to have paid for this little gap, Thomas Ruyant went through the same thing when he was in the lead, and to be honest, the sequence of events wasn’t really to our advantage.
“In terms of potential, we had
nothing to be ashamed of”
More generally, what do you remember about this Vendée Globe?
It was the most intense I’ve ever experienced, because the overall level and the number of top-level boats and skippers clearly increased, with fewer technical issues. And as the scenario meant that those behind always came back on us, we had to keep on working to maintain our positions all the way to Cape Finisterre, which was very long and tiring! Especially as the weather was very unstable, and we never had any long periods with stable winds.
Four years ago, you were the first to launch the construction of a new boat, designed by Sam Manuard. At the finish, three Imoca boats of different designs (Verdier and Koch-Finot-Conq) finished on the podium. Were your choices the right ones?
It’s hard to say. I think that if I’m in the fight at Cape Horn, I have every chance of making it upwind. I wasn’t, so we’ll never know, but I’m happy with the choices we made, with the boat’s reliability, and with the settings that gave us good course stability. After that, our boat didn’t win, we can always do better and there are undoubtedly things I’d do differently, but in terms of potential, we had nothing to be ashamed of.
What would you do differently?
We had a powerful hull with great potential above a certain heel. And in the end, as the rudder system worked very well, we ended up sailing flatter than we‘d imagined, which was also the idea behind the V2 foils, but as a result, the hull was perhaps less adapted. Today, maybe we’d do a hull more suited to a slight heel, to make the whole thing work better.
Over the campaign as a whole, you signed many places of honour , but no victories in the major races. What did you need to win?
As I was saying, we’re at a very high level, and the average level has risen considerably; in the previous campaign, with Charlie and Thomas, we were pretty much on every podium, but now it’s even harder to get on the podium, let alone win. So it comes down to details, sometimes very little, a bit of success at times, and a little unreliability at others. In the New York Vendée, it comes down to 5 miles in a front, in the Jacques Vabre, a broken cable, and in the Vendée, an 80-mile deficit that puts you out of the running for victory. But what I remember most is that there were podium finishes and only one retirement, in the CIC Transat. Victory will come in the end, I don’t doubt it for a moment.
“The Route du Rhum is in
a big corner of my mind”
So what’s on the agenda now, given that you’re under contract with Charal until the end of 2026?
We’re already preparing for the double-handed and crewed season, which will be a big breath of fresh air after a year of solo racing. We’re waiting for the final decision on the Bermuda 1000 Race at the beginning of May, then we’ll do the Course des Caps, the Fastnet, the Azimut and the Jacques Vabre [Transat Café L’Or], but we won’t be doing The Ocean Race Europe, because our partner wants to stick with a more French program. The Ocean Race is not on the programme either. And in 2026, there’s the Route du Rhum, which is in a big corner of my mind, and we’re already working on it. We haven’t launched a new boat, we’re not going to make any optimizations this year, but we’re thinking about it for next winter with a view to making a big score on the Route du Rhum, which I dream of winning one day after two podiums.
And in the longer term, what are your aspirations? Do you see yourself setting off on a sixth Vendée Globe campaign?
Unlike last time, nothing has been validated with Charal this time, which gives everyone time to think. Personally, I’d like to continue racing at a high level and be out in front, I’m not tired of ocean racing and round-the-world races. If tomorrow I have the opportunity to do the Vendée again, with a good boat, a good team and the means to do things well, I’ll be back with pleasure and motivation. I also would love to do The Ocean Race twice than no, and why not do the Ultim or the Figaro again, which I’m still dreaming of? But for the moment, everything’s up in the air, nothing’s been decided yet.
Is the Ultim missing in your career? Have you discussed this with Charal?
Yes, it’s the only experience I don’t have. Of course, the Arkea Ultim Challenge really made me think, it changes the game and makes the class much more attractive, and I’d sign up with both hands to do it. Today, it’s not on Charal’s agenda, so I’m not going to speak for them, but my analysis is that with the Imoca and the Vendée Globe, we’ve got a solid circuit that ensures interesting returns on investment for our partners. The Arkea Ultim Challenge is a big plus for the Ultim class, but if you look at it from the partners’ point of view, it‘s hard to compete with the Imoca circuit.
Photo : Marc Lloyd / Alea
