On July 16th, Christophe Maupaté, passionate sailor will take the helm of his Zeppelin X VPRO 750 from Bordeaux towards New York. To carry out his journey, single-handed, the man has chosen the northern route, the only possibility of refuelling and will make 9 stages, the opportunity for him to get fuel and rest. He will sail 4340 miles and should reach the Big Apple around August 3rd (variable depending on the weather). Once there, the boat will be sent back to France by cargo ship.
This habitual sailor and semi-rigid sailor is also used to long crossings. He frequently goes on long voyages in RIBs with friends, in summer and winter, testing delicate and difficult conditions. It is then that the idea of crossing the Atlantic in a RIB came to him.
"The challenge was to make the crossing single-handed and in a single-engine boat to prove, if it was still necessary, the extreme reliability of the 4T, and of the semi-rigid as a real 4×4 of the sea" says Christophe. So, after having imagined his project in the smallest details, the adventure takes a new turn on the Nautic of Paris. He met Zeppelin and Suzuki who agreed to accompany him on this journey.
For his crossing, Christophe will sail on a Zeppelin Command X VPro 750 of 7,50 m length. This standard model has undergone some slight adaptations to be able to support a navigation of 4 340 miles. The deck tank is 300 L (instead of 200), the boat will be equipped with a stainless steel bow protector for the ice, the electronics and the finishes have also been adapted.
On the engine side, the semi-rigid will be equipped with a Suzuki DF300 engine with a capacity of about 1100 L. "The biggest leg is 800 miles and we need to average 1.1 L per mile. Currently, tests are underway on propellers with 2200 to 2300 revolutions at an average of 20 knots. We are looking for the propeller that will guarantee the best efficiency."
The stopovers have been calculated as precisely as possible in order to arrive at the right place. At each stop, Christophe found a contact who will be waiting for him with the necessary amount of fuel. "It's difficult to find a significant amount of fuel in some places, especially in Greenland, so I have local contacts who will be there."
CÃ'té security, Christophe will have a positioning beacon on the boat (we will be able to follow his route), as well as a satellite phone, an individual security beaconâeuros¦ He will also be able to make longer stopovers in case of mechanical failure or bad weather, because as he says, this is not a race.
Its crossing will depend on the weather conditions. "I have a weather router that will allow me to know the weather, especially for Greenland where there will be ice. The radar will also allow me to detect the big ice blocks. For the small ones, subject to wind and current, we will have to trust the router."
Each stage will last between 24 and 48 hours, so it will be necessary to manage his sleep, since Christophe will be sailing day and night. At the bottom of the boat, a special mattress that allows him to recover more quickly will allow him to take micro naps of 10 to 15 minutes. On the legs, he will be able to rest thanks to a tent that covers his boat entirely. This solution is especially planned for stopovers where he will not necessarily find other places to sleep.
In order to be able to support these 3 weeks of sailing, Christophe trains regularly, especially on his back and neck. "The boat is equipped with a suspension seat that works very well, but physical fatigue may be difficult."
To put all the chances on his side, his boat âeuros which has just been launched a few days ago âeuros will be tested in real conditions. "I'm considering a Bayonne-Porto round trip or a Bayonne-Brest round trip. It's still to be defined."
The course
| Step 1 | Bordeaux - Brest (293 mn) |
| Step 2 | Brest - Dublin (338 mn) |
| Step 3 | Dublin - Kirkwall/Scotland (443 mn) |
| Step 4 | Kirkwall - Thorshavn/Feroe (215 mn) |
| Step 5 | Thorshavn - Reykjavik/Iceland (505 mn) |
| Step 6 | Reykjavik - Qaqortoq (787 mn) |
| Step 7 | Qaqortoq - St Anthony Port (649 mn) |
| Step 8 | St Anthony Port - Halifax (530 mn) |
| Step 9 | Halifax - New York (576 mn) |
