A veteran of 7 circumnavigations, and about to embark on his 5th Vendée Globe Race, French sailor Jean Le Cam began his career as a disciple of Eric Tabarly aboard his 1981/2 Whitbread round the world race yacht Euromarché (ex-Pen Duick IV).
He went on to win the Solitaire du Figaro Race in 1994, 1996 and 1999
Jean finished second in the 2004 Vendée Globe, arriving just a few hours after the winner Vincent Riou
On 6 January 2009, whilst competing in the 2008/9 Vendée Globe, Le Cam went missing 200 miles west of Cape Horn. Trapped in his upturned yacht for 16 hours not known for certain if he was safe inside his boat or notwithout contact with the outside world, he rescued by Vincent Riou, then skipper of PRB, rescued Jean Le Cam from his upturned IMOCA 60.
In the 2020/1 Vendée Globe the roles were reversed when Le Cam conducted a night-time rescue of fellow competitor and PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier, after Escoffier’s 840 miles southwest of Cape Town, Once the rescue was complete Le Cam rejoined the race, with Escoffier aboard. Escoffier was later recovered from Le Cam’s aptly named yacht Yes we Cam, was awarded a 16hr 15min time compensation for the rescue which lifted him from 8th to 4th in the overall standings.
Jean Le Cam was appointed chevalier of the French Legion d’honneur in July 2021
wikipedia link – Jean Le Cam
