euros less than a month before the departure, in what state of mind are you?
We are ready, even if we are never really serene. Everything went really well for this first year on the water. We sailed a lot, in delivery trips, in races. We prepared the boat for the Jacques Vabre at the end of the summer. We are ready to leave for the delivery trip.
We can't wait to be in the race with Lalou on the double. It's a great adventure. I'm going to learn a lot. He's very keen to pass on everything he knows to me. This will be his 10th Jacques Vabre. He will be able to tell me a lot of things.
This will be my first time in Ecuador. I'm going to discover all this with him. I have already done two solo transatlantic races, but I am happy to be with him.
What are your ambitions for this Transat Jacques Vabree for your first participation?
First of all, to continue the transmission with Lalou. Continue to understand this new boat and learn as much as possible for when I am alone.
I also have a result objective, because the boat is going fast. Even if the 7 boats can do well. From the outside, the fleet may not look homogeneous all the time. On paper, depending on the weather, it is very homogeneous and each boat is typed for the conditions we will encounter.
Can you introduce us to Arkema 4 and its features?
We built the whole boat in composite, except for the mast and foils. We weren't starting from scratch, since we already had Arkema 1, skippered by Lalou for five years. We made a few modifications compared to the old boat. The result is visually different. We started out very cautiously on the Pro Sailing Tour, but we quickly realized that the boat worked well. We sailed quite a bit at the beginning of the year after the launch. Besides working well, the boat looks good and we are showing that our sponsor's materials work.
We're really happy. There were no big problems. After all, these are still prototypes. There are always things to adjust. It was a great reward for the whole team that built it. It goes fast, it works well. It has a great potential of speed. We are still careful, because we built it ourselves. When there is wind and sea, we don't attack immediately. But we have gained confidence in the boat and the structure.
We improved the living and maneuvering area. We worked on the aerodynamics and nothing stops the waves anymore. It accelerates harder, it's steeper and goes into the waves faster. It gets wetter. We took a lot of oilskins with us!
Your boat is one of the newest in the fleet and the Pro Sailing Tour was the opportunity to face the Ocean Fifty for the first time. With a 2nd place overall, how do you feel about it?
We were very consistent, Leyton ( Editor's note: winner of the Pro Sailing Tour ) even more. We didn't let up. On the final rush, we were not always well placed, but we came back into the game as we had to. Not much was missing for the result to be different.
To be able to do these 3 Grand Prix and the final rush, we couldn't have dreamed of anything better for our first year. We sailed more than 10,000 miles in one year. We learned a lot on the boat. We have spent many nights at sea, we have done 24 hours challenges, neck and neck. We learn a lot about the boat and the driving by sailing in contact. It's been great.
Have you made any optimizations on it since the end of the Pro Sailing Toureuros?
We took her out of the water for 3 weeks in early September. We dismantled everything, checked the wear and tear of the parts, brought the sails to the sail loft, installed solar panels, improved the roof and the door system to be safe, did an antifouling and a surface treatment on the appendages. We didn't reinforce anything, there are bigger jobs on the boats in the fleet this summer.
We took time to rest, time for ourselves. After the Canary Islands leg, we didn't come back for two and a half months. We stayed in the Mediterranean. Last week, we did some sailing with Koesio, we did some small sailings again. Today, we are managing the logistics.
You are teamed up with Lalou Roucayrol, who has accompanied you in your project. It was an obvious choice?
On this first transatlantic race with the boat, Lalou had to be on board. It was important that the first transatlantic race was not solo. The deal with Arkema was to start the project with crewed and double-handed transatlantic races before tackling a solo program.
I will learn a lot. We don't have the same way of sailing. I'm still very calibrated. I listen too much to the computer at times. He goes by feel.
You sail differently on an Ocean Fifty. It can be dangerous. You have to be careful, anticipate the maneuvers. euros two on board, we can pass all the maneuvers more easily. Lalou won the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2017 with Alex Pella. We'll see if we can do the same. We're going to sail the best we can.
With Lalou, the fact that we have known each other for 10 years works in our favor. We are not only a pair on the boat and on land to maintain it. We also do our sport together, we know each other well. We don't need to talk much. This is the strength of our pairing. After the return from the Canaries, he was on every sailing trip with me. I'm taking my place as skipper and I'm going to take on some big sails without him.
What are the constraints and advantages of a double-handed race format compared to solo or crewed racing?
There are not many constraints. You can be 100% on the speed and potential of the boat. You can really sleep, knowing that someone is at the helm. You trust him, whereas with an automatic pilot, it can be difficult. Especially in a trimaran. You can also discuss the race. It's a disadvantage when you don't agree, but we usually manage to agree. We also have a routing cell in Ocean Fifty that helps us. We focus on running the boat and going as fast as possible.
Double-handed, the maneuvers are easier and safer. We'll be at the helm every two hours. We can make small adjustments and especially steer, while the other one rests. The only thing more complicated to manage with two is the weather.
What do you think of the new EuroRace courses? What will it change?
Compared to the old one, the course is interesting. There are lots of transitions and a good chance of wind at the start. The boat doesn't go through the sea very well. It's going to be a nice time for our stomachs as well as the equipment!
The advantage of extending the miles is to have changing conditions. The zones pass very quickly. We go from downwind to the doldrums, then a transition zone, then upwind to reach Fernando, before going back downwind. It's not a straight line at the end of the doldrums. I'm happy to go to the Equator and pass it twice. It's a rare thing.
It's still going to take a long time. At best, it will take between 15 and 17 days. If by chance there is no storm or big gale, it will be a big regatta for the Ocean Fifty. A match race with 7 boats. Nervously it's going to be complicated. All the boats can go fast, so the weather will make the difference. There will be a lot of distance to cover. We're remaining cautious and we're not letting go of anything.
How do you feel about the competition, both in personal and material terms (boat)?
I haven't done any big races yet, but I've been in the team for 10 years. I haven't done a Transat with Lalou yet, but I have participated in all the races when Lalou was skipper: 2013, 2018, 2019. Even though I am the youngest, I don't consider myself a rookie. After 6 days at the most I started to feel good on the boat. They are fun and lively. You have to stay awake and focused all the time.
Lalou's experience will compensate for mine. The competition is very much alive this year. Everyone has something to say. Everyone wants to win. No one is the favorite. It's different from the Pro Sailing Tour. The boats have potential and so do the teams.
It's a long race. But we are quite complementary and we know our boat well.
After the Transat Jacques Vabre, what are your main projects?
We're waiting a bit for next season's schedule. But it will probably be quite similar. With a little more solo racing to prepare for the Route du Rhum. There will also be the Drheam Cup and maybe another solo race before the Rhum. For the moment the partnership with Arkema runs until 2022 after the Rhum.
