When I met Arnaud Boissières a few years ago, he asked me to give him a hand in telling the story of his 2012-13 Vendée Globe. I replied to him in the text: "Whatever you want, but you have to promise me one thing: I'll be with you on the start line for the next one. Top there?". He was top. And as the boy, beyond his qualities as a sailor, which are no longer to be demonstrated - as a reminder, he has to date completed two Vendée Globe races in a row and set out on his third this morning - is a man of his word and a loyal friend. He has never forgotten this promise, even though it was made on a piece of paper.
8h00
So here we are this morning with Julia, his wife, and David, his sponsor, at the Harbour Master's Office in Port Olonna, a fief in the middle of the fief (for the record, Arnaud lives and trains in Les Sables... Is it worth mentioning that he is the public's favourite?) In all simplicity, he came on foot, perhaps just to take a few steps before finding himself on the 18m of his boat? The public, already massed for hours in every nook and cranny of the quai de la Chaume, has their eyes turned towards the channel, waiting to see these adventurers who make them dream so much, and doesn't realise that just behind their backs is the stage venue. Last moment of calm and intimacy before the big walkabout.
8h10
We've got to get going. A semi-rigid from the organization is waiting for us on the dock to take us to La Mie Câline waiting at the pontoon. I'm on my little cloud to live this already strong moment as closely as possible. When the public realises that it is "his" Cali that is splitting the crowd, the rumour spreads and the shouts of encouragement start to get louder and louder. The foghorns mingle with the cheers in a Carnival atmosphere. Arnaud bends willingly to the game and greets everyone with kindness.
9h00
Here we are on the boat where the technical team has been working on the final preparations since the early hours of the morning. On the pontoon, reserved for officials and journalists on this departure day, it is the incessant parade of people who have come to cheer on the skippers one last time. Tanguy de Lamotte, Vincent Riou, Alain Gauthier or the priceless Enda O'Coineen came to greet Arnaud, who was sitting at the helm. Then came the officials, led by HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, who in turn came to touch the dream of these sailors.
9h30
"We'll start the engine in four minutes." Our departure from the pontoon is planned precisely at 10:10 am, Arnaud kisses his family who has come in full. His mother gives him the traditional small grooves that she prepares for him before each departure. And the man turns into a sailor, leaving the pontoon to join his horse.
10h10
It's the start of the pontoon. In a rain of applause. Arnaud's family is gathered, as if hypnotized to see him leave once again. "You can't get used to it," his father confided to me last night at the farewell dinner. The boat barely moved, the first groups singing "Aller Arnaud" appeared from the boats left at the pontoon, all overloaded with spectators.
We are already alongside the pontoons of 2/3 of the orphans of their IMOCA boats, which had been proudly exhibiting themselves to the public for 3 weeks. On arrival in the channel, the atmosphere becomes crazy. The brass bands are competing with the groups who give voice by singing "Arnaud, Arnaud". Dozens of banners proclaim the love of the sands for its skipper.
When you arrive in front of the captain's office, you'd think you were at the Stade de France on a match night. On board, we are pierced to the bone by this cheering. When Arnaud can no longer hide his emotion and drops a few tears, the crew members also allow themselves to let go, even the most hardened Bretons on board can't resist it.
And the fervour doesn't wane, quite the contrary when you go along the yellow-clad group, which has massed at the invitation of its sponsors under a huge photo of the boat hanging from a façade. All the way to the end of the channel and the arrival on the open sea, the public is noisy and relentless. "I'm storing all this up, and I remember it in difficult moments", Arnaud tells me.
10h30
We're out of the channel. Everybody jokes outside for a few minutes, then the race starts again. Let's hoist the mainsail. And there's a discussion about which sail to send for the start. We've got everything on starboard yesterday, as the first few days are shaping up to be a starboard tack sprint.
Alex, on the stand, run inside and join the rest of the team and say, "You're looking good." Here I am in charge of an IMOCA in the Vendée Globe start area. Gobble, gobble, gobble! Luckily, Arnaud comes back quickly, I wouldn't have liked to have had to make a decision!
10h50
Guillaume plunges the propeller and sends a photo to the organization. We meet the other competitors who are all on the deck. I still can't believe I'm standing here in the middle of this concentrate of legends (and future legends) of sailing.
11h30
"Anybody want a fluted one of my mama's?" The atmosphere on board is still relaxed, we're having fun, we're taking pictures, but vigilance is called for, because there are people on the water. It's true that the light 12 knots of wind and the big sun lend a holiday atmosphere, but you have to stay focused.
12h30
That's it, it's time to say goodbye, Arnaud is not the type to keep his team on board until the very last moment, he prefers to get into the game quietly half an hour before the start. So we board the support tyres after a final hug. It's hard to leave a friend, but it's nice to see him happy, finally alone on his beautiful bird.
13h02
"Good Start." Arnau's in the game, we're excited in the support boat. The start couldn't have been more spectacular. We follow him as closely as possible for a few miles, then a last goodbye makes us understand that he prefers to be alone in his race. So we leave him with his companion, for this trip he has prepared so much for and around which his life has been organised for more than 12 years now. A beautiful story whose new page that opens will be, I hope with all my heart, as beautiful as the previous ones. Have a good trip friend, good race Cali, we'll be here when you get back. And in 2020.
