A late career as an ocean racer
Manuel Cousin is a long-time enthusiast. If he has been sailing since he was a child, sailing his first Optimist sails, he is above all a lover of sport and competition.
"I've always done a lot of boating, sports in general, since I was very young. It's the common thread in my life, even if I became a professional skipper late on. It's never left me, I've always loved it and I've been fulfilling a dream by doing this job for three, four years."
This former sales executive at Toyota started in Class40 in 2014, before embarking on a Vendée Globe 2020 project with his sponsor Groupe Sétin.
"It's Graal?! There is no higher and stronger for a professional skipper, for an offshore racer. This is the race ultime?! I've already taken part in the Transat Jacques Vabre, the Route du Rhum and other transatlantic races, but the solo Vendée Globe is sommet?! We're entering the Vendée Globe to look for the best in sailing racing."
The thrill of the South Seas
Although he more or less knows who to expect for the first part of the route - having several deckchairs to his credit - he is eager to discover the Deep South.
"I hope I don't live through too many hardships even though we know there'll be some. But mostly I'm going to discover fantastic things. On my deckchairs, I've sailed all the way to Brazil, but the whole southern part is new. That's what "tickles me": going to discover what it's like in these seas with a huge swell, storms, the cold, the dullness... I've had echoes of skippers who have sailed there before me, but I want to discover it with my own eyes, come back from it and discuss it around me to tell my story."
A 2007 IMOCA with straight drifts
He will be setting sail on Groupe Sétin (formerly Paprec-Virbac2 built for Jean-Pierre Dick in the 2008/2009 Vendée Globe). This Farr design built in 2007 is fitted with straight daggerboards and was one of the most successful IMOCA boats of its time, which distinguished itself in particular in the Barcelona World Race.
"My boat is 13 years old, and in 13 years things change, especially in terms of technology. It's still a very reliable boat, but it's still a pretty strong boat."
With its sponsor, they chose to work on making the IMOCA more reliable, leaving aside fundamental changes.
"We haven't changed that much structurally speaking. For this first Vendée Globe with Groupe Sétin, we wanted to make the boat more reliable and give ourselves the chance to go all the way. And not revolutionise things by fitting foils for example."
Confident in his boat on which he has been sailing since 2017, he has covered a lot of miles and nearly 7 deckchairs on board.
"We get along well. I know him well and I feel good on this boat. I'm confident, which allows me to go further in terms of performance. I know when he needs to slow down. I have a technical background and I've been involved in the work so I'm technically comfortable. Afterwards, I'm always a bit superstitious, like any sailor."
Around the world in 100 days
His main goal, in agreement with his sponsor and his team is to complete the boucle?! If this is the most important thing, Manuel is still a competitor.
"The last owner, Arnaud Boissières finished the 2016 Vendée Globe in 103 days. So my goal is a round the world in less than 100 days. I promised my wife I'd be back by 12th February 2021, so we'll make sure it's cas?!"
Successful preparation in a particular context
It is in this particular context that this 2020 edition of the Vendée Globe will be held, marked by the health crisis. However, the confinement imposed during the spring has not jeopardised the sailor's preparation.
"It was a pretty curious season for everyone. It didn't hamper our preparation very much. When the confinement was decreed, the boat was almost ready, as she was due to be relaunched at the end of March. We were pretty calm, there wasn't much to do."
Manuel therefore took advantage of this imposed break to fine-tune his preparation in other equally important areas.
"I've done things I wouldn't normally do: sport, physical preparation, weather... In a normal year, I'll probably have worked less on these different points. Already, we had two deckchairs scheduled, so it would have taken up a lot of our time.
For sure this edition will be different. Especially on the departure village, which will be less festive. But we must be positive. We are lucky to be able to start, like Rolland Garros or the Tour de France, which were also held, which was not the case for the Olympic Games. Even if there are fewer people in the village, in the end it doesn't change anything for us, because once we leave, we'll be alone at sea.
With this special year, people may be looking for adventure and sport this winter. I prefer to think of it this way. The fans will be behind their screens and today we have ways to get our sport in the media."
Sharing above all, in the good times and in the bad times
In fact, Manuel is hoping to introduce people to his sport and the life of a solo sailor on an adventure like the Vendée Globe.
"We have huge ways today to share, it's up to us to do the right things. Sharing is key. I've done a lot of PR work this year. About 300 people sailed with us, and I was happy to show them our sport and share our emotions. That's very important to me.
We have more and more technical means to send videos, images, to share with people what we are experiencing, in good times and bad. It's easy to share when things are going well, it's less so when you're having a hard time. But it's important too. It's important to show that you can surpass yourself almost every day.
That's what people expect and want to see. The public doesn't realize what we're going through. It's still a great mystery. People who visit my boat ask a lot of questions about life on board. How do you eat, how do you lavez??"
His prognosis for the podium
"I wish Jérémie Beyou to finish on the highest step of the podium. He knows his boat well, he's doing well, and so is the man. It's one of the most successful IMOCA boats. I would also like to see a woman on this podium. There are six of them competing this year and they are at the top. Samantha Davies in particular has a lot of experience and the boat to do it. Finally, for the 3rd place, I don't really know, but I would say Charlie Dalin on Apivia, in addition it is a Norman aussi?!
This year, it's going to be intéressant?! There are at least 10 boats capable of winning. We know that some boats are more fragile than others, it will depend on the first few days, the weather."
