Yannick Bestaven

Yannick Bestaven (born 28 December 1972 in Saint-Nazaire in the Loire-Atlantique region) is a French offshore sailor. He won the Transat 6.50 in 2001, was twice winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre, and won the Vendée Globe in 2020-21.

Biography In January 2021, he won the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe for IMOCA 60 class yachts on board Maître CoQ IV, formerly known as Safran 3. He won despite crossing the line in third position, thanks to a time bonus received for participating in the rescue of fellow sailor Kevin Escoffier, whose yacht had sunk, earlier in the race. An engineer by training, he is the co-designer of the Watt and Sea hydrogenator designed by Eric Tabarly.

Key race results