The skippers
Sébastien Josse discovered sailing as a child, on the shores of the Mediterranean, during family cruises. He joins the local club where he practices the 420 and goes to Monaco to follow his trainer. At the Monaco Yacht Club, he started to sail the J24, the typical one-design boat of the time. But for the moment, it was mainly for leisure and travel.
In 1993, the year of his 18th birthday, he made his first Atlantic crossing during the Transat des Alizés, a race for enthusiasts, which he did double-handed with his father, aboard a Sun Rise 34. At the end of this first navigation, he offered himself a sabbatical year between Grenades and the Virgin Islands aboard the sailboat his father entrusted to him. Back in France, he decided to make a career at sea.
In 1997, he started his career in competitive sailing, like two other southerners, Franck Cammas and Nicolas Bérenger. At the age of 22, he went to Port-la-Forêt, in the Finistère, to compete in the Challenge Espoir Crédit Agricole, to try to get a Figaro for a full season. He won the selections and joined the Finistère ocean racing club in 1998. That same year, he competed in his first Solitaire du Figaro, where he finished 2nd rookie, and won the title of French Solo Champion Espoir.
He successfully tried his hand at the Figaro Bénéteau class and in 2001, less than four years after his arrival in the world of professional sailing, he came second in the Solitaire du Figaro.
From 2002, and for 5 years, Sébastien Josse sailed around the world three times and changed dimension. Thanks to his performance in the Solitaire du Figaro in 2002, he began to make a name for himself in the "milieu He then left with Bruno Peyron aboard the maxi-catamaran Orange to set the absolute record for the round-the-world sailing race: the Jules Verne Trophy and became the joint record holder.
After his return to shore, the Vendée-based company VMI offered him the helm of a 60' monohull, culminating in his participation in the 2004 Vendée Globe âeuros 2005, where he finished in 5th place e position. But before that, a Dutch bank wants to entrust him with the helm of its second VOR70 in the next Volvo Ocean Race. No Frenchman since Eric Tabarly has had access to such a position in this Anglo-Saxon event and Sébastien Josse became the youngest skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race. In 2005, he found himself at the head of a crew made up of amateur sailors under thirty years old and bringing together several nationalities, and achieved great performances. They finished in 4th place e position in the final ranking.
Following this experience, he joined in 2008, the English offshore Challenges team created by Ellen MacArthur and Mark Turner, to take the helm of a last generation monohull and sign his return to the Imoca circuit. In 2008, while leading the famous Transat, he was forced to retire after breaking the masthead of his monohull. A few months later, he was at the start of the Vendée Globe 2008 - 2009 and was one of the favorites for this edition. Once again, the sailor from Nice had to throw in the towel after 48 days at sea while in 4th position following a serious damage.
In 2011, after 14 years of sailing the seas of the globe in monohulls, both single-handed and crewed, Sébastien Josse will change stables. Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild are looking for a new skipper for their multihull project and are going to trust the skipper, despite his lack of experience on this type of boat. After 4 seasons at the helm of Gitana, Sébastien Josse has proven his talents in oceanic multihulls by winning the 3 e place on the Route du Rhum 2014.
Charles Caudrelier is a graduate of the Merchant Navy, but it is in ocean racing that he decided to make his career. A formidable sailor, he made his mark in his first participation in the Solitaire du Figaro, in 1999, by winning the 1st re place in the rookie ranking and the 9th e place overall. Two years later, while winning his first transatlantic race with Gildas Morvan, he entered the Top 5 of the Solitaire.
But it was in 2004 that his work was finally recognized when he won the Solitaire du Figaro, at just 30 years old. Charles Caudrelier put his name alongside those of other great skippers: Desjoyeaux, Le Cam and Cammas.
This victory allows him to enter the big league, but also to sail on other boats that have always attracted him: trimarans, Imoca monohullsâ??
Thanks to his multiple skills: on the deck of a boat, at the helm or behind a computer to decide on the weather strategy to adopt, the sailor became a sought-after and coveted crew member that the biggest French ocean racing teams were after. He then multiplied his experiences with success: 2005 Orma champion with the Banque Populaire crew, 2nd in the 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre on Safran alongside Marc Guillemot before winning it two years later, big winner of the 2011-2012 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race with Franck Cammas and the men of Groupama 4, 1st in the MOD70 European Tour alongside Michel Desjoyeaux before repeating the performance with the Gitana Team one year later and of course the scratch victory in the 2013 Transat Jacques Vabre with his accomplice Sébastien Josse.
In 2014, on his 40th birthday, the Frenchman was given the helm of his own project. He will be the skipper of the Chinese-French crew Dongfeng Race Team for the 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, which will start only a few months later from Alicante. A challenge that he is passionate about because it is difficult, as it will also serve to train young Chinese in ocean racing.
By surrounding himself with a dream team, Charles demonstrated his leadership qualities and offered China two stage victories and a magnificent third place overall for his very first participation.
The boat
Technical specifications
| Class | Imoca |
| Sail number | FRA 16 |
| Length | 18,28 m |
| Width | 5,70 m |
| Home port | Lorient |
| Architect | Guillaume Verdier - VPLP Yacht Design |
| Job site (manufacturer) | Multiplast (Vannes) |
| Year of launch | 2015 |
| Upwind sail area | 290 m2 |
| Sail area downwind | 490 m2 |
| Source of energy production on board | Generators coupled to diesel engine + Hydrogenerator |
Photo credits : Gitana Team
