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Benjamin Ferré overcomes challenges to finish 15th in Route du Rhum
SKEMA alumnus Benjamin Ferré has finished 15th in the Route du Rhum transatlantic sailing race. He completed it in 13 days and 15 hours, without much respite or sleep. With this finish in Pointe-à-Pitre, the graduate of SKEMA Business School's Master in Management (PGE 2015) can now add a new achievement to his impressive sailing CV. A look back at this exceptional sporting achievement.
To say the least, the technical elements were not on Benjamin's side for most of the Route du Rhum race. Deprived of weather data, victim of a torn sail, and with a taciturn Internet connection after two hours of racing, he was unable to know where the wind was.
For many days, he sailed blindly in the Atlantic Ocean where the wind was sometimes slow. "After two hours of racing, I had no Internet. That meant no connection with the outside world and no weather forecast. It reminded me of the Mini Transat, which helped me. I got back into Mini mode but I was in an Imoca boat! It was a permanent tension because there were three fronts to pass," he explained on his arrival in Guadeloupe on 23 November.
"You have the impression that the world can stop spinning and you're there, you're fine".
After 13 days of an epic Atlantic crossing, the sailor from Saint Malo has some nice memories. "You experience things at sea, it's magical, this spell is incredible. I don't know of anything that takes you so far. You go from laughter to tears, and tears of joy too. There are incredible things. While surfing at 19 knots under spinnaker, you are alone in the world. You have the impression that the world can stop spinning and you're there, you're fine," he said.
According to the famous French sailor Jean Le Cam, nicknamed 'King Jean' due to his impressive track record, Benjamin had a "superb race" despite the problems he faced. "He made an extraordinary comeback. In 4 days, he overcame up to 5/6 boats, so he had a superb race," said King Jean, going back over the performance of his protégé.
Welcome back Benjamin and congratulations on this achievement!
