What is your objective on this Route du Rhum?
Finish my race. Take the whole boat to Pointe à Pitre with the whole man on it. And then, to make the best performance. Knowing that I'm leaving on a boat of 3 e generation. Compared to the new ones[Editor's note: the last Class40s built are the 4 e generation], we know that it is slower, but we will try to fight as hard as we can. I have some direct competitors with whom I have the same performances: Morgane Poupon, all the RC2s and some boats I know from training with them.
But my main objective is to do better than my previous Route du Rhum, which I did in 21 days. If I finish between 17 and 20 days, I will be quite happy with my performance.
You have changed boats since your last Route du Rhum, can you present us your new mount?
My old boat was a Pogo 1 (number 22) so I was running in Vintage (2 e in this category). I wanted to continue in offshore racing and in the Class40, but I needed a faster boat. The Pogo 1 was a great boat, but we were dumped from the start. I had the opportunity to take over the old Matouba for a low price[Editor's note: Pierre Brasseur's Class40] which is 5 e to the last Route du Rhum. I took the plunge. Now we'll see what he's got in his stomach.
Pierre Brasseur's team had already optimised the boat well, almost 90%. They removed the front ballast and installed it at the rear to make it a little more powerful when reaching. As my boat is quite pinched in front, it develops less power than the others. They had changed and moved the mast back, advanced the engine - now the sail-drive is stuck to the keel. For the flows it's not bad. The battery fleet had also been modified. I wanted a boat where I didn't have much to do but sail.
We added higher mattress balls and rail-mounted mattress balls at the rear to further reduce the weights - that's not bad. The equipment is well stored inside, it doesn't move, it doesn't hang around. To keep me alive, we put foam on the edges of the walls because I don't tell you about the chtars we took at first. Foams and anti-skids on the floor are the two things that have changed our lives. Before you were blowing your brains out and then you were on a flight to the bottom.
Plus a little electricity and electronics, we were in B&G, but well... B&G fuck, it only works well when it wants to work. Nobody knows how to make it work anymore and I had a bad experience with it. On the 1000 miles from Les Sables, I was 5 miles from the finish, well placed under spinnaker. The wind is increasing, it was starting to go fast: 17-18 knots. So I'm doing the job, I'm going to the front, I'm putting myself in a good tailwind, listening in shock. As a result, the pilot no longer feels any pressure, so he gets some support and starts to luff... impossible to do anything, I was in front of him holding the sock, trying to hold myself. I had to drop everything. It vaccinated me
NKE I knew, I came back. I hadn't budgeted for that, it made a big financial hole, but the reliability of electronics makes life easier.
We mainly reviewed the deck layout. The cockpit is very large. It didn't bother Pierre too much, who was also tall, but for me, who am small, I drowned. So we brought all the manoeuvres back as far as possible to the centre with diverters everywhere so that everything would go back to the central winch and everything in the centre could go back to the winches on the sides. For example, downwind I can put the spinnaker sheet on one winch, the GV sheet on the other and me at the helm. I have everything at hand. We added a spinnaker halyard and a tack to add a spinnaker in addition to code 0 to be able to do pilling. Finally we made a 3D adjustment of the jib clew point. It's a little bit of string, but the adjustment level is really good, especially when reaching. I can twist, put volume in the sail... Before, there was no upwelling and it was live. Each time it was necessary to release the winch, muler, resume listening. You were wasting time. Now, with the gear ratios, even under load you can adjust it. You're always playing with it.
Can you tell us your personal story about the Route du Rhum?
I am Guadeloupean, so I grew up with this race since I was a child. I've seen a lot of arrivals at Pointe à Pitre. I always found it magical even if it didn't necessarily make me want to immediately. I was on other supports (dinghy), but as I grew up it started to interest me. In 2010, I had the opportunity to get a closer look at ocean racing. In 2014 I had a boat and a budget that allowed me to do my first transatlantic race. Finally I thought I liked it, I like to make myself suffer alone in my boat. I have set up another project a little more sporty.
What is your best memory on the Route du Rhum?
All the arrivals are magical. But my best memory in the race is the start. You realize: I'm there! All this preparation, sacrifices, money, all these obstacles in the wheels, all these things that could have gone wrong... but you are at the beginning. It's magical!
When you cross the finish line... There's no more words... it's just "wow, I made it". Even if you're not first, it's so huge to set up this type of project. People don't realize it. Getting to the end is a way to thank all the people who believed in you, who helped you, who supported you, who financed you...
How would you describe the Route du Rhum in a few words?
"Still want to go." This thing is really addictive. It's not just the Route du Rhum, it's all the offshore races. No matter how much you hurt yourself, pester when things don't go well on the boat, tell yourself "but why I sent myself there...". I think it's like giving birth to a woman: when you've crossed the finish line, you say to yourself, "but I still want to go".
This addictive side comes from the fact that you have put so much energy into preparing, setting up the race, finding the budgets... It's 4 years of my life on break for 20 days at sea... The report it's not cool... so you still want to go back, to spend a little more time on the water. "I put four years of my life on hold just for that. Is it over already?!?!? Where's the next step?!". The day after I arrived, I woke up and... I had nothing to do!
What is your programme after this Route du Rhum?
Then I set up a Vendée Globe 2024 project: bigger, faster. In 2014 I didn't think I'd leave again. But the next day I realized: "I'm going back to work like everyone else, back from the life plan-plan". I love my job - I am a specialized educator, I do integration through water activities - I am always on the water. But having been through all this and going back to work like the average person. It was hard. I made my baby blues, my "blue boat". So after this race I move on to something else. I put the boat up for sale.
If I can't set up the project: I'll stop. I stay with my wife and daughter. I would have done two Rum Routes in Class40, but I won't spend my life doing that.
Why did you set up this project in Les Sables-d'Olonne?
It's a combination of circumstances. I did Les Sables-Horta with Stéphane Bry (from Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and I found the welcome very nice, very nice people. They wanted to develop an offshore racing centre and as I had a house in Les Sables it was a good idea. Logistically it was much better for me than Lorient or elsewhere. I'm really happy here. There are fewer people - although there are also disadvantages. I was able to set up this project quietly, get to know my boat... I met really nice people like Arnaud Boissière's team, Manu, the other Class40s and the Mini army. And of course I also wanted to find out how it was going in an IMOCA team in order to set up my future project.
