With less than a month to go, what is your state of mind?
It's the final stretch. There are still a lot of things to do and to validate before the start. We put a new pair of foils on the boat less than 15 days ago. They fit the new rules and can go deeper into the boat than before.
We still have to do the last few sails to validate the choice of leaving with or without it for the Transat Jacques Vabre. We've already done some tests over the last few weeks and they're encouraging. We really want to continue and validate the systems and the foil structure before leaving. We will make our choice with our sailing this week, with more wind and sea (Editor's note: Interview conducted mid-October).
What are your ambitions for this Transat Jacques Vabre?
We are realistic. We saw the boat's performance, we compared ourselves to the others in the other races. We finished in the top 5. We'll see what the race has in store for us. If we start with the new pair of foils, with luck, our goal is to be in the top 5. We will try to do better if possible.
Launched at the beginning of the summer of 2020, shortly before the Vendée Globe, how are you getting to grips with your boat? In particular after a crewed participation in The Ocean Race Europe?
Everything is going very well on this side. We've had a quicker start on the boat with a few things to sort out. We set out on the Vendée Globe with a lot of confidence in the boat, and what happens is what happens.
This winter, we consolidated it in anticipation of the violence with which we sail these boats. Now, we're getting into pure performance. We are happy to have sailed around Europe and to have finished this first race with the boat.
Since then, we have modified things for performance before the foils. There is no guarantee that we will have them to start, but we have made good progress with the boat.
We also restructured the team with a new design office. We have also equipped ourselves with a good strike force for the future.
After the damage in the Vendée Globe, what work was done on the boat?
We have modified the mast search and the ergonomics, and improved the fittings. These are small issues, but there are many. We have a fairly large team and we've done a lot of work since the beginning. We try to sail as soon as we can, but there are also a lot of little things to do on the boat to improve performance, life on board and the sails for this Transat Jacques Vabre.
Can you tell us about your co-skipper, Sébastien Josse, and this choice?
I'm leaving with Sébastien who knows the boat very well and with whom I sailed last year. It's more comfortable to be with two people if we get caught in bad weather. He has been with us since the beginning of the year. We try to sail whenever we can. The boats spend a lot of time on the pontoons, in the yard, in preparation. So we sail as soon as we can. We analyze our races, we look at the competition. We also have to plan ahead.
What are the constraints and advantages of a double-handed race format compared to solo or crewed racing?
When sailing double-handed, you are often more serene on a transatlantic race than when sailing solo. But there are not only advantages.
What do you think of the new race courses? What will it change?
It opens up and extends the game, it's interesting. It's only positive! The best thing would be to make the return in the wake of the race. But I would do it with part of the technical team.
How do you feel about the competition, both in personal and material terms (boat)?
I don't look at it too much. I'm focused on my project, my boat, my duo. We make a great duo. It's going to be an exciting race. There are quite a few boats that have been built. And a lot of high performance boats. Apivia is the big favorite this year. Depending on the weather conditions, we will see some very fast boats and some very nice duos. The level will be very high.
After the Transat Jacques Vabre, what are your plans?
After the Transat Jacques Vabre, we will bring the boat back for delivery if it is not too damaged. We will take advantage of this to learn more about the boat, and share with the technical team to try to build the next steps and plan things before putting the boat in the yard. We are also preparing for the next season with 3 solo races planned. 2022 will be the year of the solo race.
