A man from Le Havre adopted by Saint Malo
Originally from Le Havre, Julien Reemers is now based in Saint Malo and has been sailing since his childhood. This father of two children has been a crew member and préparateur for a long time, especially during the golden age of the ORMA trimaran class.
Julien describes his journey as follows. "I am an amateur who has had the chance to sail with professionals. I have always been passionate about sailing and innovations. As a teenager, I built a Mini 6.50 carbon hull. Then I decided to make it my job and specialize in the implementation of composite. Today, I run Carbo Industrie, a company that manufactures composite parts for aviation and maritime, as well as the La Passagère shipyard on the banks of the Rance River."
An atypical boat for the Route du Rhum
Julien will race the Route du Rhum 2022 on the Phoenixian a 16m monohull built in sandwich in 2011. This modern Joubert design has been entirely redesigned by its skipper, who has saved nearly a ton by adapting all the fittings on this boat designed for cruising. And there is no question of removing its comfort equipment for the race:
It states: "This boat is closer to a 'common man's' boat than an IMOCA. It will start with all its cruising gear, as if I were going to the Scilly Islands with my family."
He will be able to enjoy three comfortable cabins, a refrigeration unit, a shower room and a well-equipped kitchenette, which few boats departing from the famous transatlantic race will have on board.
But beware, the skipper is not here to take a vacation. No hood or cap to protect the cockpit of this very sleek boat. Registered in the Rhum Mono category, Julien hopes to stay in contact with the 13 competitors in his class and to have a good sail.
A small technological laboratory
If the Phoenixian is first and foremost a cruising boat, but that doesn't stop it from experimenting with some of its skipper's discoveries. Her boom is equipped with photovoltaic cells glued into the laminate to meet part of the energy needs of the boat.
The hull is partially covered with a coating made of various crushed PVC waste, intended to replace its antifouling. According to the sailor, this coating, called Novaplack and manufactured by one of his partners, has already shown very good results since its implementation in the basin of the port of Saint Malo, where the hulls get dirty very quickly.
The objective of these tests in real conditions is to be able to integrate these innovations on production boats.
A human project on a great sailing race
With his beautiful cruise ship and his outspokenness, Julien has managed to gather a lot of enthusiasm around his project:
"Our project meets an expectation for companies wishing to associate themselves with a participation in the Route du Rhum. We show that a project like ours is accessible to 'small' partners, where everything remains on a human scale."
Supported mainly by the Federation of Commerce of the Saint-Malo region, Julien will start the race on November 6th with the number 007 on board his pretty grey boat.
