Is there a plot in France against sailor Clarisse Cremer?

Another media case seems to have broken out in France involving Clarisse Cremer, the talented 34-year-old Parisian sailor who has ended up at the center of a new storm. After the ugly story of the lynching from Banque Populaire . comes news of a Investigation by French sailing federation into Cremer’s 2020 Vendée Globe, who had finished in 12th place with a time of 87 days, setting the new benchmark for women on the nonstop, unassisted world tour.

In fact, the French Federvela has allegedly received a series of anonymous missives, reporting WhatsApp conversations between Cremer and partner Tanguy Le Turquais, where the latter allegedly gave weather and routing directions that would be prohibited by the rules as they foreshadow outside help. Truth, conspiracy, or has Clarisse Cremer, after going face to face against a behemoth like Banque Populaire, become an uncomfortable sailor in France?

L’affaire Cremer and the Vendée Globe’s nonsense.

Clarisse Cremer allegedly received some screenshots of the well-known routage program Adrena from her partner, this reported the anonymous emails that accused the sailor. The use of custom weather assistance and routing from sources outside the boat is prohibited in the context of IMOCA racing.

One thing should be specified right away, however: the routage software in question was already available to the Cremer, which had no electrical problems on board; any information received from Tanguy Le Turquais therefore did not add information that the Cremer did not already have .

Vendée Globe, a regulation with gray areas

We also raise a thought: it is a well-known fact that Vendée Globe skippers at the end of the round-the-world race pay hefty bills, we are talking thousands and thousands of euros, in satellite phone calls. What control is there over these phone calls and how do you determine that no information is provided in these communications that might foreshadow outside assistance?

The issue is, in our opinion, one of the Achilles Heels of the Vendée Globe: a skipper is allowed to be able to make a technical repair on board assisted by a team of engineers via satellite, but Cremer for a couple of Adrena’s screenings risks a Rule 69 disqualification that would exclude her from the upcoming Vendée Globe.

Leaving aside the method of anonymous reporting that is rather unpleasant, there also remains the gray area of a regulation with counter senses, where the criterion for defining outside assistance has revisable boundaries.

Mauro Giuffrè