“We never cheated. » The sailing couple Clarisse Crémer and Tanguy Le Turquais strongly denied, Thursday February 15, having violated the rules for assisting skippers during the last Vendée Globe (2020-2021).
Last Sunday, an anonymous email was sent to the French Sailing Federation to accuse Tanguy Le Turquais, who remained on land during the event, of having provided Clarisse Crémer with routing (advice on choice of trajectory), which is strictly prohibited by the regulations of this solo monohull round-the-world sailing race. An international jury was formed to hear the case.
“We have never cheated,” the sailors wrote on their social networks, “nor ever had any desire to break a rule during this 87-day world tour.” “During our exchanges which essentially concern the intimacy of a couple, Tanguy never gives me the slightest information that I do not already have,” assures Clarisse Crémer, who finished twelfth (out of twenty-five), on the sailboat Banque-Populaire.
“I have always made all my performance choices alone”
“No conversation with him contributed to me changing course or making a strategic choice that would have had an impact on my race. I have always made all my performance choices alone and without assistance, in accordance with the rules. » The anonymous accusation is based on screenshots of WhatsApp conversations during the race.
“Three years after the end of the Vendée Globe, we can only wonder about the motivations and timing of this anonymous disclosure and we reserve the right to file a complaint if necessary,” adds the couple, who specify that they stand “ available to the French Sailing Federation and the Vendée Globe in order to analyze [their] exchanges in complete transparency”.
The two skippers are currently candidates for departure for the next Vendée Globe, which will take place in November in Les Sables d’Olonne. Forty-four boats are pre-registered, but only forty will be admitted to the start. Four will therefore be eliminated, based on their performances.