euros less than a month before the departure, in what state of mind are you?
We are in the middle of preparations. It's the final stretch. We are doing the last tests at sea before reaching Le Havre. Everything is going well. The team is focused on the final details. Kevin and I are ready to leave and motivated.
It's a young boat. There is excitement and concentration. I'm looking forward to the start. It's our main objective for the season with Banque Populaire.
With a new boat, launched at the end of April 2021, what are your ambitions for this Transat Jacques Vabreeuros?
The ambition is first to finish the race. It's a fairly important project with a long course. We're going to spend 15 days at sea aboard this Ultim. We've almost doubled the course in terms of distance for us, compared to the Class40s in particular.
It's a great challenge for this new, young boat, which is still in the process of being made reliable and perfected. If we arrive in Fort-de-France with the boat, the objective will be met. If we line up well, if we have a good race, being well placed at the finish, and without any damage, it will be even better.
How far along are you in getting to grips with your euro boat? What is your assessment of the first navigations and of your first place in the Azimuth Challenge?
The handover was done in two stages between the launch and mid-July 2021. We did 7,000 miles with a promotional tour in the Mediterranean for Banque Populaire. We tested the boat on different routes, in conditions essentially with a crew. We made the return trip from Gibraltar in qualification with Kevin. It was interesting and instructive. We were able to make a nice job-list of small modifications during the summer refit.
We put the boat back in the water in mid-September. We are in a performance phase, ready to cross the Atlantic. We had two interesting meetings during this period to confront our direct competitors. First, the Azimuth Challenge, which went very well. We won, but it was mainly a test to see where we stand in relation to the others in terms of fine-tuning. The boat responded very well. We didn't have any particular problems. It's encouraging for the team. A week later, we took part in a training course in Port La Forêt. It ended quickly, because a daggerboard was damaged. We had to go back to do the work for the Jacques Vabre.
It's interesting this 2nd phase of performance. We have already upgraded the boat compared to the launch.
Since the launch, what has been the program for the last few months?
You have to imagine that these boats are both incredible in terms of their potential and require a lot of technology and important mechanical systems for reliability and adjustments. When we intervene on one of these elements, it is heavy, in terms of time and maneuvers. When we take the daggerboard out of the boat, it takes half a day of work! That's why these boats require a lot of time to adjust.
As soon as we sail, we face various wind and sea conditions, to test it in all conditions. After one or two trips, we have to go back to the dock or to the quay to check and start again in good conditions.
If you damage a system, it compromises the program. You can be stuck at the dock for several weeks. Making a foil takes 6 months of work! It takes a long time to build. It requires a lot of energy and money! It requires a compromise between the number of days of sailing and the verifications. But it's worth it! We have great sailing when everything works. We reach incredible speeds, we cover a huge number of miles in 24 hours!
It's a bit like a Formula 1 car. It doesn't run very much in the end. We have the same philosophy, because the boat is very new. We're in a running-in phase, a fine-tuning phase. But our goal is climbing, especially with the Route du Rhum, which we hope to win. In a year, that's what we're aiming for, with the preparation that goes with it.
It's a very different boat from the previous one. In terms of performance, we have a boat with tight points of sail - upwind - that can fly. It's different from what we had three years ago. Upwind, on Banque Populaire XI, we can reach almost 30 knots of speed! It's a real change in terms of sensations on board, of optics, of strategy.
We did it a little on the drawings, on the simulators, but until we tested it in real life, nothing was sure. It's great! With the crew, with Kevin, we had never done 30 knots upwind on a sailing boat. It's a real step forward. We're going three times faster than an IMOCA in the pre-seas! This potential is crazy!
We've always wanted to have a versatile boat, not one that was designed for a particular type of sailing. Versatility is what we've managed to do. We'll see if it's the right option. In any case, today, we are satisfied with the speed potential, the ability to sail her with a small crew and also the reliability on board. The Ultims have great potential, but being able to finish races by being efficient until the end will make the difference in the future.
You chose Kevin Escoffier to accompany you on the race, why? What are the strengths of your pair?
Kevin, I chose him for several reasons. I had imagined a few names that could match the most suitable skipper. Kevin was on the short list. He was first on my list.
He has experience within the team. He was in charge of the Banque Pop design office. He has worked on the last 3 boat designs I have had and on this one. He knows the boat in its structure and in its use. This is important in order to master it and to take it in hand for the solo part.
He is also an excellent sailor. He won the Jacques Vabre in the Multi50 and has sailed on many different types of boats, especially multihulls. He is complete on the maritime part. I get along well with him. He is always positive. Life on board can be difficult because these are stressful and demanding boats, so it's important that I get along with my co-skipper. I wasn't sure he would be available before the Vendée Globe because he could have done the Jacques Vabre with PRB. But with the wreck, things were different and he was 200% motivated to come aboard.
What are the constraints and advantages of a double-handed race format compared to solo or crewed racing?
There are many advantages especially compared to the solitary one. You can count on the other person, especially when you go to sleep. It is an important comfort. Maneuvers are easier with two than alone. There is one at the front, the other in the cockpit. We are closer to a crew operation. There are a lot of advantages to double-euroing!
Compared to a crew, you don't have 100% control of the boat either. Two-handed sailing is a bit like single-handed sailing for two. We'll be taking turns, managing trajectories, adjustments and speed. We did a lot of crew training to get used to it, and more and more double-handed sailing with Kevin. The next stage, solo sailing is important for me.
It's good to do a double-handed transatlantic race a year before the Rhum. It will allow me to imagine what life will be like single-handed, even if I've already done it. In 2022, it will be almost 4 years since I did a solo race on these boats. It's good to go step by step on this preparation.
What do you think of the new EuroRace courses? What will it change?
This is a special format. There are 3 different courses. From a sporting point of view, I don't mind extending the route, spending more time at sea, and in the right direction, to fine-tune the boat. There will be more matches. Of course, for the Ultims it's not easy. We have to go through the doldrums twice. If only with a basic boat, it's complicated, but with an Ultim, even more so. We'll have to be vigilant.
I hope that the public will be able to understand the finishes, the different rankings, who is doing what. In the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum, there is only one course. That simplifies things. I hope that the first to arrive in real time will be an Ultim. So that the general public understands.
How do you feel about the competition, both in personal and material terms (boat)?
For the first time, we have 5 flying Ultims who can win. It's a great first in this category with 5 duos composed of experienced sailors. There are a lot of records. For the competition and the sporting side, it's fabulous. All these boats are different in terms of time spent, tuning and miles sailed. That's what will be interesting to follow. We don't have many reference points. We've had two small encounters, but in wind conditions that weren't very varied and not very strong over a short sail.
We have a lot of uncertainty about the potential of each of them. It's going to be both interesting and motivating at sea and on land for the public. We are not the favorites in this Jacques Vabre. Our boat was launched this year. It needs to be fine-tuned. While Gitana and Sodebo have several records, round the world and half round the world to their credit. They have accumulated a significant number of hours, have many miles under their belt and have sailed a lot.
With Kevin, we will have to put the cursor in the right place in difficult conditions, and lift our feet, unlike others.
After the Transat Jacques Vabre, what are your main projects?
The goal in 2022 is the Route du Rhum. We're going to do a training program in the Atlantic with Banque Populaire. Two round trips, solo or in false solo. To be as confident as possible. We also have a project for a crewed race in 2022 during the season. So there will be a crewed part and a solo part.
In 2023, it will be more or less the same thing, with a great single-handed round-the-world race that will start from Brest. It's quite a challenge. A sort of Vendée Globe to the power of 10! I'm looking forward to it and there's a lot of work to do to get ready to leave. I have done the Vendée Globe three times and the best race time is 74 days. With the Ultims, we can go twice as fast! It's a new challenge with Banque Populaire and the other Ultims.
