Vendee Globe..fourth boat finishes

by Philippe Jeantot on 21 Feb 2001 Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe in 4th position at 1248 hrs and 49 seconds.

The French skipper has spent 102 days, 20 hours, 37 minutes and 49 seconds at sea. His elapsed time after winner Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) is 9 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 17
seconds.


First Impressions

Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) : 'I always bring the sunshine with me, it was exactly the same 4 years ago! This time though was much harder, happily there were some great moments,
it¹s been a fantastic race.

'It remains a great adventure. More an inner voyage than one with the elements this time, in fact. I will never forget the Doldrums and the North Atlantic. I really want to get back to the
Southern Ocean, it was just incredible. The last Vendée Globe was more physical, this one much more tactical. All three of my circumnavigations have been totally different. It was my
dream to arrive without any other raceboats on the pontoon but it didn¹t happen, and I accept that.

'Just for the public, this race is worth the trip. It is unique in its concept. It¹ll take me a few months to absorb it all. Since the Azores, I just haven¹t understood what has happened to
me. When Nature decides to play games she can cheat. I was afraid I¹d have to stay out there for ages. But I¹m happy to be here.

'The rookies got to the podium, good on them. It¹s one heck of a race, and I¹ll try to recount it all bit by bit. The last stage was interminable. Whatever direction I headed in, the wind
was always on the nose. My first circumnavigation was idyllic, just pure fun. I have lasting impressions from it still. The second was very tough. The third testing, tactical. The guys
ahead got all the breaks, but not those behind.'

Latest Ranking* polled at 0850hrs (UT):

Psn Boat Skipper Lat Long Headg Av. Speed** DTF***

1 PRB Michel Desjoyeaux Arrivé le 10 Février à 20 Heures 08 Min 32 sec
2 Kingfisher Ellen MacArthur Arrivée le 11 Février à 20 Heures 36 Min 40 sec
3 Sill Matines & La Potagère Roland Jourdain Arrivé le 13 Février à 17 Heures 13 Min 33 sec
4 Active Wear Marc Thiercelin 46°26'N 01°54'W 129 5.68 6
5 Union Bancaire Privée Dominique Wavre 45°06'N 07°55'W 119 9.06 276
6 Sodebo Savourons la Vie Thomas Coville 45°17'N 09°46'W 116 8.7 348
7 Whirlpool Catherine Chabaud 42°39'N 13°31'W 224 0.67 551
8 Team Group 4 Mike Golding 32°34'N 31°01'W 34 10.5 1577
9 EBP - Défi PME - Gartmore Josh Hall 25°40'N 35°41'W 33 9.33 2040
10 Voilà.fr Bernard Gallay 24°43'N 36°50'W 29 7.22 2124
11 Nord Pas de Calais - Chocolats du Monde Joe Seeten 18°25'N 37°40'W 349 2.83 2440
12 VM Matériaux Patrice Carpentier 19°42'N 42°03'W 96 3.15 2539
13 Aquarelle.com Simone Bianchetti 02°04'S 32°31'W 0 7.45 3406
14 Aquitaine Innovations Yves Parlier 19°47'S 35°29'W 357 8.42 4460
15 DDP - 60ème Sud Didier Munduteguy 34°18'S 39°16'W 339 3.24 5374
16 Wind Pasquale de Gregorio 48°09'S 59°48'W 102 9.66 6921
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For further information:


Go to the official race website: http://www.vendeeglobe.com - click on the English flag
Positions are updated at 0830, 1230, 1730hrs GMT daily on the site.