On the Route du Rhum which boats could be your main competitors?
There are 6 of us and there are 5 who can win because the 6 e Romain Pilliard is on an old boat. It is certain that today our boat is the one that has sailed the least, that has the least experience in terms of use. So clearly we're not in the favorites.
When you look at the experience of Sodebo or Macif and their skippers, you're not necessarily in the same boat. Gitana is also a boat quite close to ours in terms of technology and launching and has had time to sail much more than we have. Idec is an old generation boat, but well controlled and reliable.
We know that the boat (NRDL : Maxi Banque Populaire IX) itself has potential and can go very, very fast. He can win somewhere on paper, it's just how to use his potential that has to be taken into account. What percentage will I manage to control it for a week? It's a bit unknown because it takes time, hours, experience and it doesn't happen in just three training sessions that I've understood everything. So, today, I don't have the answer yet.
We know that we will work to do the best we can and when we get to Saint-Malo on October 24 we will have more answers to this question. We'll know where we stand in relation to our opponents.
We're certainly not the best off today. But we are happy to have the boat, ready to sail and to find the navigation part, which is essential.
What is the program for the coming months?
It's going fast! 65 days ago until the start of the Rhum. We will be sailing this weekend and next week with a reduced crew to test the boat in longer conditions and in seas with strong winds. We'll try to solicit the boat.
If all goes well, we'll start on a solo qualification ( NDRL : 1200 miles to go for the Route du Rhum) around mid-September.
We will continue to train, notably in Port-La-Forêt (NDRL: Pôle Course au Large) at the beginning of October with three other competitors present. It's interesting to see the others because we haven't had time to confront them directly so far. So today we only have pontoon noises or theoretical figures and it will be interesting.
