Guillaume Pirouelle: “If someone had told me before setting off that I’d finish second, I would have signed up for it straight away.”

The fierce battle around the island

“This circumnavigation of Guadeloupe turned out to be less difficult than I had expected. Achille was outstanding. I managed to close the gap on him a little, and for a moment, at the Basse-Terre mark, I thought I had a chance. But he pulled away again, so congratulations to him. I enjoyed chasing him down. I would have loved to overtake him, but I'm happy for him. If someone had told me before the start that I would finish second, I would have signed up for it straight away. Given all the things that can go wrong on a transatlantic race like this, I'm extremely satisfied.”

Challenging conditions

“We were pushing hard from start to finish. The only slightly more restful period was the two or three days of trade winds towards the end. We had strong winds right from the outset. The pace was relentless as we fought to stay with the leading group, especially after that depression intensified so dramatically in the Azores. I'm glad I made it through all of that because there were some difficult moments. At one point, I genuinely thought I might not be able to continue the race. I'm just happy to be here at the finish.”

Structural damage

“I had a structural problem with the bottom of the hull during the first depression, so I managed to reinforce it in the period between the two depressions. Fortunately, everything went well after that. The boat was solid again, and I was able to continue. But there were certainly a few hours during the first depression when I had to slow down because the boat was taking too much punishment.”

Chasing the leader

“Achille Nebout (Amarris) was very fast in all conditions. Once he took the lead, he didn't make a single mistake. He has one of the best boats for the final leg, which involved reaching in the trade winds towards Guadeloupe. I tried to claw back some ground, but he kept pulling away. The conditions were also favourable for making a move towards the end, but I simply wasn't fast enough to challenge him.”

Keeping an eye on the competition

“I was surrounded by some very fast boats on that reaching leg, and I had a few long hours because my boat is more suited to downwind sailing. I exchanged a few words from time to time with Pierre Leboucher (Institut Imagine), but neither of us is particularly talkative. It was nice to be racing alongside him again after what we did together last winter in the Jules Verne Trophy. And honestly, he sailed brilliantly. Despite taking delivery of his boat relatively late, he was absolutely competitive in terms of performance, and I think he pushed hard throughout the race.”

A remarkable year

“The Jules Verne Trophy, but also last year's Transat Café L'OR with Cédric Chateau. Of course, finishing first today would have been exceptional. But I see this second place as a victory in its own right. I set off telling myself that I didn't want to have any regrets, and I have absolutely none.”