Member of the Lalou Multi team alongside Lalou Roucayrol for many years, first in Mini 6.50 with 2 Mini Transat in 2015 and 2017, then within the trimaran crew on the Multi50 circuit which became Ocean Fifty, Quentin Vlamynck is since 2020 the official skipper of the Arkema multihull. Engaged on the circuit with Arkema 4, launched in September 2020, the sailor will take part in the Route du Rhum 2022.
What is the usual preparation on the Ocean Fifty within the Lalou Multi Team?
The advantage of these boats is that they are simple boats. The annual budget is between 600,000 and 700,000 euros, which is much more reasonable than on Ultim or IMOCA boats. We sail a lot, the development times are not too long. If there is not too much wind, we can leave our pontoon in Port Médoc without needing a semi-rigid. Thanks to all this, we are on the water on average 3 days per week. We can really train.
What work have you done since the launch and what is planned between now and the Route du Rhum?
The boat is quite well born. The performances have been good since the first year. On the Transat Jacques Vabre 2021, we had a problem with the trim of the quest which meant that we were unhooked and then we didn't have the same weather. But we know the boat well now and there are few things to change.
The Ocean Fifty rule allows for 6 sails for 2 years, plus 2 spares. After some hesitation, we decided to make new sails, especially the mainsail for the Route du Rhum. It is above all in an idea of reliability.
And in terms of preparation of the skipper, what do you do?
Obviously, there is a bit of physical preparation to continue because in the Grand Prix, I am mostly at the helm. Alex Pella, Lalou (Editor's note: Roucayrol) and Eric Mas are going to be my routing team for the Route du Rhum, so we'll be working and sailing together beforehand. Then, I'm going to do a lot of false solo sailing. At 25 knots, alone on these boats, it's really dangerous when there are boats around, so in fact we do very little real solo sailing. The Drheam Cup will be my first solo sail on Arkema 4. We'll do a little work after this race, but then the important thing will be to sail and in particular to spend regular nights at sea before the start of the Route du Rhum in November.
