Clarisse Crémer, who finished 12th in the 2020/21 Vendée Globe, has issued a firm rebuttal of anonymous accusations that she cheated during the solo around the world race by discussing routing with her husband ashore.
The accusations did not initially name Crémer, but allegedly included photographs or screenshots of WhatsApp messages sent from a Vendée Globe skipper to their shore team.
While communication systems on board the IMOCAs have become increasingly sophisticated, the fundamental rule remains that no skipper can receive weather routing or navigation assistance from their shore teams.
The images were apparently leaked via an anonymous email. Shortly after, Crémer ended speculation as to the identity of the accused skipper by posting on her social media pages. Her husband, Tanguy Le Turquais – also an IMOCA skipper – echoed her post.
“I want to respond to the recent accusations that have been brought against me in the last few days,” she wrote.
“I learned about the opening of an investigation by the Federation Française de Voile about the WhatsApp exchanges I had with my husband during the Vendée Globe 2020.
“These exchanges took place on my onboard phone, owned by my former team [Banque Populaire], which I left accessible to all as soon as I landed in accordance with the rules.
“I never cheated, I never had any desire to break a rule during this 87-day world tour.
“During our exchanges, which are mainly related to the intimacy of a couple, Tanguy never gives me any information I did not already have. No conversation I had with him contributed to me changing course or making a strategic choice that would have had an impact on my race. I have always made all my performance choices alone and unassisted according to the rules.”
She went on to say that she was “outraged by the response that anonymous denunciations can have without even questioning their regulatory basis. I am scandalised at how these screenshots are exaggerated to draw hasty and false conclusions, which completely bypass official investigations, and are already hurting us.
“Three years after the Vendée Globe, we can only wonder about the motives and timing of this anonymous disclosure and we reserve the right to make a complaint if necessary.
“For my part, I am of course at the disposal of the FFV
