Training for ocean racing
Pierre Le Roy was introduced to sailing through sailing schools. After a stint at Les Glénans, he became a sailing instructor on a catamaran and a cruising boat. With his meteorological engineering diploma in hand, he became a forecaster for Météo-France, while continuing to sail, driven by his taste for weather and strategy.
After 3 seasons of crewed racing on the amateur circuit (UNCL and RORC) - he participated among others in the Fastnet Race, the Armen Race on a sailboat based in Dunkerque led by Philippe Bourgeois, he joined the Mini circuit in 2016.
"Integrating the Mini circuit was a way to train for ocean racing. When I bought my first Mini, I already had this desire to realize my ambition to sail solo. But also in mind the idea to train to become a router later on" explains Pierre Le Roy.
Passionate about weather strategy
Because the weather, the routing, the strategy, it's one of the domains of the race that Pierre particularly likes. Is being a meteorologist an advantage?
"To get to the front, you have to be good at a lot of things. In one area (the weather) I am already well equipped. You have to choose your route, make your boat move properly, prepare it well. That gives me an advantage over others who don't have that skill. I've rarely been in windless weather situations. I never take a beating. Over the last 3 years, I have always been in the top 8. Of course, there are other parameters that come into play. But, basically, since I don't make bad route choices, it allows me to always be in the game." says Pierre.
4 years on the Mini circuit
For his 2nd Mini Transat under the colors of TeamWork (well known in ocean racing with his involvement with Justine Mettraux in Figaro and David Raison in Mini 6.50 in 2011 and more recently with Nils Palmieri and Julien Villion, winners of the double-handed Transat), Pierre Le Roy would like to win. Let's remember that he finished 5th in the series category in 2019 and that he has performed well so far, with 4 podiums in 4 races on board his new boat.
Many projects in mind, mixing ocean racing and weather
Pierre intends to use this experience of ocean racing to continue his projects. If the financing follows, he would like to continue on the Class40 circuit.
"I'd like to move to a bigger boat, with an onboard computer to do weather forecasting. The Class40 fits this program well. I like to do long races, with weather strategy. This circuit lends itself well to this with the Transat Jacques Vabre, the Route du Rhum. But it depends on the financing, and not only on the skipper's will" says Pierre Le Roy.
Continuing to sail is also a way to progress in his job as an ocean racing skipper and to refine his routing skills.
"This is my 4th year on the Mini circuit and I'm doing the Transat again at the end of the year. I would like to win it. I'm passionate about it. The medium to long term project is to use these skills to become a navigator/meteorologist and to do routing for the big teams, also by sailing on the water. After 3 years in a production boat and now in a proto, I continue to progress in this environment of skipper and ocean racer. I will then have all the cards in hand to be a good router, a good navigator in the sense that I choose the right route." concludes Pierre Le Roy.
Another possibility for the skipper would be to become a professional crew member to embark on double-handed or crewed races, without losing sight of his weather strategy objective.
