Yesterday, still in the desperate wind conditions which are bogging down the seas along the Moroccan Oriental coast, the last three Clas40s reached the MED MAX I Saïdia Resorts line. Unfortunately too late. DNF, therefore, on the race (do not finish) but welcomed in front of the harbour master's office of the Saïdia marina, as a family, like all the others: atmosphere and respect.

A huge surprise awaited Nasser Arrais, Goulwen Marie's co-skipper on "Qwanza- Beixa". A native of Nador, near Saïdia, it was his mother who welcomed the local boy, now a company director based in Béziers. The emotion on his sunburnt face as he embraced his mother had the media and members of the organisation in attendance over the moon. "I didn't know, it's very emotional. Thank you Kito for organising this race between France and Morocco".The man who, along with Goulwen Marie, will be explaining the little mistake that costs so much, the option that you think is wise but turns out to be catastrophic, will stammer. "We were doing really well, in the pack, before Minorca. Then one option and we're in trouble all the way here. The Moroccan welcome will at least try to calm the duo's disappointment.

Next up is the man whose Class40 has long been well placed to take his place on the 'pointus' podium. And once again, fate was on his side. "In a strong wind, on the way down from the Calabrian Islands, the spinnaker made four turns on the forestay," grumbled Matthieu Foulquier-Gazagnes on Sotraplant - TRS, skippered by his Belgian accomplice Xavier Brohers. After that, an engine block prevented him from leaving the harbour where he had taken shelter, and a fisherman's net forced him to dive to free the keel. The accumulated delay sent her into that damned calm between Spain and Morocco. " The hellThis native of Cabrières, in the Hérault region, now runs a wine estate in the Var. But all the wine in the world won't be enough to make him forget". this huge mess ".

The third skipper to arrive, Joël Paris, has plenty to put into perspective and recover from an ocean race that has not yet been completed. Visually impaired, he prefers to speak positively, with humour in his voice. Skipper of the Class40 "Rêve à perte de vue", the sailor from Marseilles is supported in his quest for a dream by Thibaut Lecarpentier, who was given a "rather lost sight of" when his very random trajectory in the middle of the race worried the race committee. He arrived just in time for the prize-giving ceremony and received a magnificent ovation, rewarding his tenacity and showing that anything is possible. "Yes, but we're still fed up". Humour, always.