Why start in Class40? Is this a logical continuation of the Mini?
The next logical step was the Class40, the Figaro. It's true that the Class40 suits me better, is more offshore racing, closer to the Mini.
In this project, what is also interesting is that we are starting from scratch. We're designing a boat, with an architect I know and have chosen. We're starting the same story as with Ofcet, with a boat that I would be the first to discover.
Can you tell us a little more about your boat?
It will be different from the other 40 feet, in terms of hull. We're trying to build a new boat that looks as similar as possible to the proto I sailed in a Mini. But you also have to respect the Class40 gauge, so it won't be exactly the same.
We would like the mussels to be started in November. We have not yet decided on the site, it will be Vannes or La Trinité. The boat will be launched in the summer of 2019.
Did you choose David Raison for his specificity on the round bows?
My Class40 will not necessarily have a round bow because the gauge is constraining. But I wanted to reproduce the characteristics I knew on my Mini proto, because there are many advantages. We'll try to reproduce that in 40 feet.
Your objective is the Route du Rhum 2022?
My project goes as far as the Route du Rhum 2022 but I'm going to do all the major races between now and then: 2 Jacques Vabres, the Quebec Saint-Malo and the English Transat. Maybe also the Sables - the Azores - the Sables and also other small seasonal races.
What is your state of mind?
I am extremely happy, I am very lucky. I feel both happiness and excitement, but also pressure. Now we'll have to do everything! I will be the guarantor and responsible for this project. I take the whole dimension of it. That's a step up from what I was able to lead in a Mini.
It's a part of the unknown but it's also what I was looking for. I will lead a complete project and become a beginner again in a category I didn't know, with many new areas to learn.
