When Michel Desjoyeaux was forced to turn back to Les Sables-d’Olonne just a day into the 2008–09 Vendée Globe, few gave him a realistic chance of mounting a comeback—let alone winning. A leaking ballast tank and serious electrical issues delayed his restart by 40 hours, leaving him 419 miles behind the leaders of – at that time – the most competitive fleet ever assembled for a solo round-the-world race.
Staging a comeback after handing an almost two-day head start to the likes of Yann Eliès, Jean Le Cam, Brian Thompson, Armel Le Cléac’h, Vincent Riou, Mike Golding, Roland Jourdain, Loïck Peyron, and Sébastien Josse (to name but a few) – even for “Le Professeur,” it seemed an impossible mountain to climb.
And yet, on February 1st, 2009, Desjoyeaux crossed the finish line after 84 days, three hours, and nine minutes at sea—not just as the race winner, but as a Vendée Globe record-breaker. Averaging 14.02 knots over a 28,303-mile course—made longer than usual by high-latitude ice gates—he shattered the Vendée Globe course record by over three days and became the first skipper to win the race twice.
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The 43-year-old Breton skipper's comeback was not just improbable; it was spectacular. After his restart, he drove his IMOCA 60 Foncia relentlessly, pushing through the field with tactical brilliance and relentless determination. From the back of the fleet, he reeled in one rival after another, his relentless pursuit marked by grit, guile, and a deep understanding of ocean racing dynamics.
“I had nothing to lose at that point,” Desjoyeaux later said. “I just put my head down and sailed as fast and as smart as I could.”
It worked. By the time the leaders approached 40°S and the Southern Ocean, Desjoyeaux had clawed his way into the front group of 10 boats. Knowing that staying in the same weather system was critical, he helmed for 20 hours a day over two punishing days, under full main and big spinnaker, to close the gap.
When the first big Southern Ocean blow scattered the pack, Desjoyeaux seized the moment. As others were forced to slow down or retire due to damage, he charged ahead—taking the lead when Britain's Mike Golding was dismasted on December 16.
From that point, Desjoyeaux’s performance was near flawless. Only Roland Jourdain managed to keep pace, but even he couldn’t match his fellow countryman’s consistency. Desjoyeaux led for the final 46 days of the race.
There were moments of near disaster. On Christmas Day, a wave struck Foncia’s port rudder, already weakened, and snapped the attachment. Incredibly, the rudder swung under the hull and slotted itself back into place. That stroke of luck allowed Desjoyeaux to jury-rig a repair, but he told no one—not even his shore team—until the final days of the race.
“I knew there was no point in me sitting around crying about what had happened,” he reflected after the race.”Everyone knows the Vendée Globe is hard—it’s the hardest race that exists.”
The 2009-09 edition proved that fact in spades. Of the 30 skippers who started, 18 were forced to retire. Some of the most dramatic moments included Yann Eliès being airlifted off Generali with a broken femur, and Jean Le Cam being rescued from a capsized boat off Cape Horn by Vincent Riou.
Desjoyeaux’s experience gained in several years of multihull sailing following his 2000–01 Vendée Globe win had sharpened his instincts, but returning to monohulls and claiming victory in the Solitaire du Figaro and then winning the Transat Jacques Vabre (with Emmanuel Le Borgne) in 2007, showed he was very much still a force in the IMOCA class.
Looking back on his extraordinary victory, Desjoyeaux remained characteristically grounded. “I never really worried about being behind,” he said. “I won this Vendée Globe before the start—with the choices I made, with the team, and the experience I have built up. Eighty percent of the end result is before the start of the race.”
For Desjoyeaux, success was the culmination of meticulous planning, a deep well of solo ocean racing experience, and an unshakable mindset. “The other twenty percent is during the race itself—in believing, having faith, in doing it, manoeuvring, in punishing yourself when you have to push a bit. But I never really suffered. I am always in the action, making the boat go fast.”
It’s this unique blend of calm intensity, clarity of purpose, and pure sailing instinct that set him apart. “I don't think I have been cocky,” he added. “We’ve had rough conditions in the south but I felt I was at ease and enjoying it a lot. Everything feels a lot easier that way—just not being too hard on yourself, and just keep going.”
And that, in the end, is the essence of Michel Desjoyeaux’s legendary comeback victory: a sailor so completely at one with his boat, his team, and himself that even a 40-hour deficit at the start was never going to stand in his way.
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