A long way to victory
Jérémie Beyou has been immersed in competitive sailing since he was very young. Three times winner of the Solitaire du Figaro - there are few to have this honor - he has been sailing in the IMOCA class for 17 years now and will be taking part in his 4th Vendée Globe in 2020.
"This is a race that I discovered I was comfortable in. It wasn't necessarily obvious at the beginning, but at the end of the third edition, I managed to finish. You see that you are capable of doing the trick, of getting through difficult conditions. I saw that there was still a lot of work to do before winning. In 2016, I was a bit far from Armel and Alex. On this edition, I want to do well, to do better."
For his third participation in the solo round the world race reserved for IMOCA boats, he finished on the third step of the podium, completing his round the world race in 78 days.
"In my first Vendée Globe, the first two weeks of racing went well. I was at ease and I had a great time, especially off Cape Verde, between the islands, downwind, it was quite nice. On the last one, we had quite exceptional weather conditions in the South Atlantic on the way down. The sea was flat, we were at 120° to the wind, with boats that were accelerating strongly, we had small foils, the conditions were magical! The finish was just as magical, with superb weather conditions, flat seas, a northerly wind and the feeling of being all alone at sea."
Charal, a reliable boat that he knows by heart
First skipper to have put his latest generation foiler on the water - it was in 2018 - he knows his machine by heart and is confident about this new start.
"I have confidence in my boat. I have the ability to be reactive on the settings, in all conditions, to know how to adjust the boat well. I've sailed a lot of miles on it. It makes you feel calm. These boats are quite violent, which makes sailing quite intense.
I think I'm able to relax so I can go and rest once in a while. The first year, I was unable to sit down and go to a banquet. I was too stressed and there was a reason. These are fast boats, which are not easy, which are on the verge of breaking everywhere.
I had to learn where the limits were, where to put the cursor so that it didn't break. Today, I'm able to sail the boat at a decent pace while being able to rest. And it's only the hours of sailing that give you that.
We also made it evolve, identifying potential breakages, the degree of maintenance and wear and tear of the various parts. It's an advantage to have launched this boat early."
If Jérémie has been sailing on Charal for two years now, it is not the case for some skippers, whose boats were launched only recently. A difference in timing that does not worry the sailor from a technological point of view.
"The boats remain fairly close to each other. Depending on the geometry of the hull and foils, there are boats that remain more comfortable in certain conditions. After that, there is no one boat that is faster in certain conditions.
We have seen a lot of some foilers and others less, so we have not seen all the boats to be able to compare. We also did some races, especially this year, easy and short races. That doesn't allow us to know how everyone will manage with their boat over time, with difficult conditions.
It is not pure performance that holds the answer. There is also the ability of the soloist to be ahead. There may be surprises.
Charal has evolved a lot since she was launched. We equipped her with a 3rd version of foils, we worked on the sails, the distribution of the masses. We've marked ourselves at the level of the most recent boats."
With flying boats and more and more powerful, everything will be a question of mastering the machine according to the weather conditions.
"Strategically, you have to be able to find the conditions to get the most out of the boat. One of the keys is not to suffer from the weather, to find the conditions to make your boat move forward, to make it fly and to rack up the miles like that. You're going to have to be good and pretty sharp. I hope I'll be up to speed on that."
Big spring construction and version 3 foils
For this Vendée Globe, Charal will be equipped with a new version of foils. The team has also done a lot of work until the launch in August to adapt the boat to the conditions encountered on this round the world race.
"We redid the bows, worked on the ballast volumes, opted for a new set of sails and added options on the onboard electronics and the pilot. It was a lot of work. We also equipped the boat with a version 3 of foils. We left some performance on the V2 on the reach, even if the boat was more constant than with the V1. With this new version, we get back the reaching performance and the downwind stability. It's a hybrid version between the two previous ones, and I'm more comfortable with them. In the end, it's not a big deal, but we made a choice.
We find on the water what we had imagined in theory. They have been tested quite a bit, as they are based on the V1 foils. I don't have too many concerns, I have quite a few points of reference since the operation is quite similar
A competitive pairing
For two years, Jérémie has had the time to put his boat in his hands, while taking into account the constraints imposed by such a machine.
"The boat is capable of going fast in the medium quite quickly. It is quite versatile, ultra light, and above all, in my hand. After that, there are always compromises. The skipper has to adapt to his boat. Particularly in terms of structural constraints, because you can't always do what you want. I've come a long way on this boat, I'm very comfortable and confident. I know when to do things, set the right sails, steer the boat while taking into account the load limits. We make a pretty competitive pair."
Today, he is among the favorites to claim victory. However, the sailor remains very modest about his claims.
"I've never been a favorite on paper. On my 3 previous editions, I had neither the boat nor the experience to win. I know I wasn't sailing to win.
This time I have the experience and the boat to claim victory. It's a given in the sense that we went looking for it. But the final result will have to be found on the water. We've prepared well for our world tour, but it will be decided on the water."
A project started early that makes sense in times of health crisis
With the health crisis, his project, started early, takes even more sense. Indeed, he has been able to sail - a lot - and to develop - a lot - his boat for two years.
"It's definitely an asset to have started early. We've done some committed sailing in the past few winters. Four years ago, we had the New York - Vendée Transat as training. It was a tough race, we had to sail around a very strong depression downwind. It was very sporty during ¾ of the crossing. It's really good to do transatlantic races like that!
This year, the conditions in the Vendée Arctique were very light downwind. It's a handicap not to have done any transatlantic races with big conditions, but we had a lot of them the previous winter and since we launched, so it's less of a handicap for us.
Finally, it gives meaning to our project. I know from experience that things rarely go as planned. Putting a boat in the water shortly before the Vendée Globe is a trompe-l'oeil. Those who did it did it by default, but as soon as there is a grain of sand in the planning, or things that you can't foresee, like this health crisis, it's complicated if you're on the edge of preparation. For our part, it hasn't marred our preparation too much."
Jérémie will share his adventure thanks to a large device of cameras, which will allow him to make and send beautiful sports images.
"I hope to succeed in sending images. To make you feel what you experience on board these boats. The madness, the speed, the commitment it requires, the extreme side of this race."
His prediction for the Vendée Globe podium?
"I don't feel like answering that question..."
