Bernard Mortessia was disgusted by the attention and applause that were going to be given to him by other people. He just liked doing things that made him happy. The idea of doing something for another person was disgusting to him so much so that he quit this race and forfeited being the first person to sail around the world.
Episode 2: A look at the lifestyles we all choose to live, with an old story I came across that might be my favorite example of living for the approval and applause of other people vs. doing things just because they make you happy.