Vendee Update again: More finishers.

After the rich emotions of their very different arrivals there was Le Cam, flitting between acute introspection and pantomime pomp. Golding was disappointed but delivered from a frustrating race but almost euphoric when he reflected on his experiences across his 14 years and four Vendee Globes and Stamm disqualified but not defeated, charismatic, objective, his sparky, renegade spirit unbowed. All three, in their own way, proved hugely popular as they connected with the public, the Vendée Globe fans.

Wednesday saw Le Cam finish his Press Conference dancing on the table, another Vendée Globe first. Golding today was patient, informative, no less passionate for keeping his feet on the ground and really revealed the reasons he has been back to the race so many times and finished three times. He spent a long time answering questions from schoolkids. And Stamm was expansive, open, truthful and showing immense integrity. Inevitably he questions a fundamental rule which is either black or white, but his question seemed as much catharsis as seeking a change for the future.

For Le Cam – who has a second place under his belt - the dream of winning is probably to be reconsidered another day. For Golding it is conclusively over. Given the opportunity Stamm would likely take the start line tomorrow if he were guaranteed an official ranking.

Meantime the third member of the 50-somethings, Dominique Wavre on Mirabaud is set to finish his third Vendée Globe this Friday around 1300hrs to 1500hrs. The Swiss skipper has sailed a typically assured race, pleasingly devoid of drama and one which he has clearly enjoyed almost all of. He has proven himself to be at one with his boat in all its different environments and has visibly enjoyed sharing the challenge.

Around 24-36 hours later Arnaud Boissières homecoming on Saturday should be big as the first Les Sables d’Olonne based skipper. He will be suffering with slightly lighter winds than Wavre who was pointed at Les Sables d’Olonne today.

Bertrand de Broc is due Sunday late afternoon. Tanguy de Lamotte is back up to close to close to full speed after making his successful repairs and Alessandro Di Benedetto is climbing slowly out of the Doldrums.

Stamm: On whether he deserved to be disqualified:
I can’t see how I could have done things differently. If the Russian boat hadn’t been around, I wouldn’t have moored to it, obviously, but I would have been disqualified anyway because I would have wanted to save my boat anyway. You’re in a place you don’t know, you are anchored but you feel the boat drifting, you have to do something. I lost a boat in 2008 in similar circumstances. I think I did what I had to do, that’s it.
Mike Golding:
It did seem like destiny that the two of us [Jean Le Cam] would be glued together not necessarily a good destiny! But to be honest I am and have always been a great admirer of Jean and it was a relief to me to be next to Jean because in a way it validates your own performance.

It’s a relief to be back and to do the race, everyone is now saying that I have done the race three times successfully, I never did it for that reason, I never do things to accumulate numerical supremacy. I set out to try to win the Vendée Globe and I suppose in that regard I failed but along the way I have had many other dreams have come true. I’ve had a lot of good things have happened even though you strive towards one goal and you achieve others along the way.

I’m very satisfied. I feel very fortunate to have had four opportunities to compete in the Vendée Globe, I know I’m lucky to have had such opportunities, but I don’t think I wasted any of them. This race I may not have got the result I would have liked but in my heart I know I sailed a good race. I don’t see many mistakes that I made in the race. I couldn’t compete with the lead group but I don’t think I did too badly all things considered.

There’s nothing left to leave out there. I gave the race, as I have every race I’ve done, not just the Vendée, I give the race the maximum attention. It doesn’t always deliver the perfect dream. It delivers a dream. I am thinking almost of Jean Pierre when I say that. His story was not the story he intended, but the story he created was almost better than the story he envisaged. Maybe it is a little bit like that for me?