Eight years of collaboration
It is in 2011 that Sébastien Josse joins the Gitana offshore racing team. A specialist in monohulls, he has done his ranges on several round the world voyages, such as the Vendée Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race. But with Gitana, he will be able to discover the world of multihulls aboard the Multi70 Edmond de Rothschild, but above all that of the Ultimate, with the Maxi Edmond de Rotschild
For eight seasons, the sailor has been involved in a series of seasons and competitions, whether crewed, double-handed or solo: victory in the Multi70 on the Tour of Europe and the Transat Jacques Vabre 2013, a 3rd place finish in the Route du Rhum 2014, the Vendée Globe and the first steps of the giant Gitana 17.
Gitana now wishes to continue its commitment to an ocean optimisation campaign and align itself with the start of Brest Océans (the date of which will be announced shortly), a solo round the world race in Ultimate, postponed following the damage caused by the Route du Rhum to the 32/23 Class fleet.
But this new campaign will be done without Sébastien Josse, then the team decided to end its partnership with the skipper.
Divergence of views
It is not a sporting reason that pushed the team to part with Sébastien Josse. The owners of Gitana Team are well aware that this is a new boat and that it takes more than a year to apprehend it. This decision is the result of a divergence of views that has emerged in recent weeks and which made collaboration difficult.
Tiphaine Combot-Seta, communication manager of Team Gitana, completes these explanations: "There are differences with the skipper. The Team has its own reasons for stopping the collaboration with Sébastien Josse. They are very respectful towards the skipper, but the team does not want to talk about this today. Over time, they will probably be more inclined to explain these reasons, which are quite simple to understand."
Abandonment on the Route du Rhum
Sébastien Josse abandoned the 2018 Route du Rhum due to a bow damage to his starboard float, while he was one of the favourites for the event. Since then, the Maxi has been under construction in the team's base in Lorient, which has worked to understand the causes of the breakage in order to remedy it
Gitana joins the Ultimate class
Gitana was not part of Class 32/23 because of a difference of opinion with it on the enslavement of the Ultimates. "Gitana advocates enslavement for safety reasons - especially when you are alone at sea - but also for performance reasons. This is the main reason why they did not want to join the collective. They haven't changed their point of view, but in view of what happened on the Route du Rhum 2018, they understood the relevance of joining the class to share their point of view and exchange their ideas" adds the press officer.
"They will now be able to participate in decision-making and move the sector forward, in the same direction, alongside the four founding shipowners, Sodebo, Macif, Actual and Banque Populaire" explains Gitana's press service.
