Vendee Globe - The skipper of MACIF, François Gabart, 2012 IMOCA World Champion

Last night evening, on the main beach in Les Sables d’Olonne, François Gabart, the skipper of MACIF received his trophy from the President of the General Council, Bruno Retailleau. As for the ten other skippers who have finished the race, they have received a reward. The nine others were also acclaimed. Earlier, François Gabart inaugurated his Vendée Globe seventh edition fingerprints plate on the Sables d'Olonne “Walk of Fame”.

AWARDS CEREMONY UNDER THE STARS
It is undoubtedly in the world of sailing (and even in the world of sports), the awards ceremony that gathers the most people.

On the main beach in Les Sables d’Olonne, Bruno Retailleau, Louis Guédon and several members of the General Council of the Vendée handed prizes to the eleven skippers who have completed their round the world race. From Bernard Stamm to Alex Thomson, Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart, each one of them had his little moment. In addition to their trophies, Jean-Pierre Dick and Tanguy de Lamotte received respectively the Fighting Palm and the Emotion Palm, awarded by Sodebo and the Internet users.


For the fourth time, the awards ceremony took place on the main beach in Les Sables d'Olonne. About 100.000 people attended the 1h30 show, where they were able to see on giant screens (over 500sq meters) the most beautiful images of the Vendée Globe and a 15 minutes retrospective film of the race.

For the first time, images of the film “En Solitaire” were presented with the exceptional presence of the main actor François Cluzet.

The show ended with a huge ten minutes firework.

FRANÇOIS GABART IMMORTALIZED ON THE REMBLAI
May 11, 2013 was a busy day for François Gabart. At 5pm, the sixth winner in the history of the Vendée Globe has left his fingerprints on his “Walk of Fame” plate, just like the five previous winners did before him (Titouan Lamazou, Alain Gautier, Christophe Auguin Vincent Riou and Michel Desjoyeaux twice): a strong moment for the youngest winner of this event, surrounded by some of his predecessors and several competitors of this year edition.