The skipper
Yann Guichard followed a sports-study program (Optimist, 420) in La Rochelle, then discovered the Tornado at the age of 20 and became passionate about multihulls. This was a real turning point, which was followed by his first Olympic preparation on board a catamaran, which resulted in a 4th place in the
Olympic Games in Sydney. After a trial on Marc Guillemot's trimaran and a Transat Jacques Vabre, he continued in the Olympics, but also turned to offshore multihull sailing, as a crew member and helmsman in 60-foot boats (La Trinitaine, Gitana 11) and maxi boats (Orange
II, Groupama 3). He became skipper of Gitana 11 and competed in the Route du Rhum in 2010 before creating the Spindrift racing team with Dona Bertarelli, his partner.
Yann Guichard - credit: Yann Riou
The helmsmen
Dona Bertarelli is a company director, owner of several hotel and sports complexes, and has always been involved in sailing. At the end of 2006, she started competing with a female crew on the Decision 35 catamaran circuit on Lake Geneva, and in 2010, at the helm of Ladycat, she became the first female sailor to win the prestigious Bol d'Or Mirabaud. She discovered offshore sailing in 2013, aboard Spindrift 2, on the Route de la Découverte.
Sébastien Audigane has a solid experience of large multihulls and the Jules Verne Trophy. He started sailing in Brest, then joined the Olympic circuit before switching to the Figaro. He discovered the Jules Verne Trophy in 2002 with Olivier de Kersauson on Geronimo, an aborted attempt off Brazil. In 2005, he tried again with Bruno Peyron for a record on Orange II which was close to 50 days. In 2008, he set off again on Groupama 3, but the adventure ended under New Zealand, due to a capsize. Sébastien then joined the crew of Banque Populaire V, for the North Atlantic Record.
Antoine Carraz left skiing for sailing as a child. After studying engineering and learning 420 and match racing, he entered the world of ocean racing through an internship at Mer Agitée. He then got a job in the design office in charge of the construction of the 60-foot monohull Foncia, at the helm of which Michel Desjoyeaux won the 2008 Vendée Globe. He then discovered multihulls with the MOD70s and met Yann Guichard in 2013, to take over the technical management of the maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2.
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent holds the Jules Verne Trophy, since he was part of the adventure in 2011-2012. He discovered liveaboard sailing in his late teens on Lake Annecy before becoming an instructor and then director of the Cancale sailing school. In 2008, he started ocean racing by taking the helm of Gitana IX. For 10 years, Thierry will be racing in the ocean before becoming a renowned crew member.
Jacques Guichard is Yann's younger brother, but their professional paths did not cross. Indeed, the latter discovered the open sea late in life via Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, owner of the Incidences sailmaker in La Rochelle, who introduced him to the profession of master sailmaker and opened the doors to the Orma multihull class. In 2005, he joined North Sails in Vannes and has been responsible for the sails of the Spindrift Racing team since 2012. He is the onshore specialist for the 1,230 m² of canvas on board the Spindrift 2 trimaran and at sea, for the adjustment of the sails as well as their maintenance.
Loic Le Mignon
François Morvan is a true multihull specialist. He started sailing at the age of 8, and sailed almost exclusively on two or three hulls. He showed all his talent on the Hobie Cat 16 with a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2000, at only 16 years old, but also a World Youth Championship title in 2001 and a European title in 2006. With the disappearance of the Tornado from the Olympic program, Loic left the Olympics. He turned to the F18, then the Decision 35 and the MOD70 with Steve Ravussin. He then embarked on the Krys Ocean Race and the Tour of Europe. This year, he won the Tour de France à la Voile in Diam 24. He is also responsible for the D35 Ladycat.
François Morvan is a real specialist in mullticoque. Since he started at the age of 8, he has sailed almost exclusively on two or three hulls. The teenager quickly showed his skills in the Hobie Cat 16, with a bronze medal at the World Championship in 2000, at only 16 years old, but
he also won the World Youth Championship in 2001 and the European title in 2006. When the Tornado disappeared from the Olympic program, François turned to the F18, then the Decision 35 and the MOD70 with Steve Ravussin. He then embarked as tactician on the Krys Ocean Race and the Tour of Europe. He then joined Spindrift Racing, where he was responsible for the D35 Ladycat.
Xavier Revil has had a passion for multihulls since 1989, when he discovered the Tornado. He continued with twelve years of Olympic preparation. He turned the page after the Beijing Games and approached Pascal Bidégorry to sail on the brand new Banque Populaire V. After a successful trial, he never left the trimaran and participated in the Jules Verne Trophy in 2012, which he won.
The front crew helmsman
Christophe Espagnon met Yann Guichard in 1991 during their sailing studies in La Rochelle. Ten years later, Christophe made his debut in Tornado and ocean trimarans aboard the 60-foot La Trinitaine, with a crew that also included Yann Guichard. He competed in the Beijing Olympics alongside Xavier Revil. In 2012, he raced the New York-Brest transatlantic race in the MOD70 with Sébastien Josse, finishing second behind Spindrift led by Yann Guichard, whom he joined a year later, within the Spindrift Racing team. On this Jules Verne Trophy, he will be one of the n° 1 on board the maxi-trimaran, medical and security referent and will also assist Yann Riou in the shooting.
Thomas Rouxel discovered sailing as a child. With his brother Mathieu, he finished 7th at the 420 World Championships in Athens in 1997, before moving on to the 470 and joining the training center in Brest where Thomas also entered a sports university. The rest is classic for this generation of sailors, with a start in liveaboard and then the apprenticeship of the Figaro, including a victory in 2011 in the single-handed transatlantic race between Bénodet and Martinique. The following year, Sébastien Josse introduced him to the joys of multihull sailing in the MOD70. In 2013, he embarked on Spindrift 2 for the Route de la Découverte and then embarked on the Volvo Ocean Race with Dongfeng Race Team.
The Navigator
Erwan Israel has been immersed in the world of sailing since childhood as his parents were competitors. He has been involved in all types of monohulls: Optimist, 420, Laser and Tour de France, an event he won four times overall and which opened the doors to the Figaro class and high-level match racing, on the world circuit and in the America's Cup Class. In 2011-2012, he embarked on the Volvo Ocean Race aboard Groupama and won the race. He is responsible for the electronics and performance analysis upstream of the Jules Verne, and will be an off-watch navigator on board.
The Frontman (No. 1)
Sébastien Marsset discovered sailing as a teenager. He took his state certificate at the National Sailing School of Quiberon, participated in the preparation of a Class 40 for the 2006 Route du Rhum and then raced on the Mini circuit. He then joined the Groupama team in the midst of preparing for the Jules Verne Trophy before taking part in the victorious campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race, an experience he repeated three years later, called up at short notice by Team Alvimedica (USA). In the meantime, he started with Spindrift Racing, first as a winchman on the MOD70 and then as a technician, in charge of the fittings on Spindrift 2. On the Jules Verne, this solid athlete will be n° 1, a position that requires, according to him, a lot of attention to detail.
Mediaman
Yann Riou is the specialist of onboard electronics. He joined the Groupama team at the beginning of 2006, then it was during a meeting with Damian Foxall, in charge of the Volvo Ocean Race crew for Franck Cammas, that he became mediaman. He discovered sailing at the Glénans school before going through the Mini 6.50 and found himself on board a VOR 70 to tell, photograph and film the victorious round-the-world race of the French team. Three years later, after an experience on the filming of the feature film En Solitaire with the actor François Cluzet, he set off for a second Volvo Ocean Race with the Dongfeng Race Team. Aboard Spindrift 2, he will be the first crew member to be a reporter 100% dedicated to this mission on a Jules Verne Trophy.
The Router on the Ground
is both a navigator and the world's leading expert in weather routing for ocean racers, Jean-Yves Bernot studied mathematics and oceanography. He began routing in the 1980s with Loïc Caradec on the North Atlantic Record. He then participated in the success of Philippe Jeantôt, Christophe Auguin, but also Michel Desjoyeaux, Ellen MacAthur and many others.
