JESS attracts from far the eye of the specialists of fast trimarans. Wisely moored at the end of the pontoon in the port of Pornichet, this graceful dragonfly soon acts like a magnet on the curiosity of your servant who presses the step. The confirmation is immediate. The curved foils are equipped with an ingenious system for adjusting the angle of incidence. The rudders with load-bearing surfaces, the curved linkage arms and the inverted bows leave no doubt about the boat's great potential.
A "full carbon" boat from Noumea
JESS is a trimaran out of the ordinary. This 40-foot (12.20m), state-of-the-art muticoque is a unique example built in Noumea in 2011. Philippe Coste, an enlightened amateur like her current skipper, had her built in New Caledonia. Benoit Cabaret, John Level and Martin Fisher, professionals with a track record including Flying Fantom, Groupama 4, Fujifilm and America's Cup yachts, designed her foils and appendages. Three years of complicated manufacturing and patient fine-tuning are necessary. The result is an all-carbon jewel, with a perfect finish, down to the last detail. As wide as it is long, JESS is a multihull capable of great performance. Despite its modest size, its typical "open sea" architecture allows it to compete in the toughest ocean racing events. It is then up to its skipper to lead it with finesse.
Gilles Buekenhout, skipper architect
Born in Belgium in 1962, Gilles works as a building architect. Working in his own company, he lives in Pornichet with his wife. Father of two children, he knows how to share his passion for ocean racing with his family and admits : "I am one of the few true amateurs in this world of sailing competition largely professionalized.
Amateur, but eager to perform
He explains that what makes him run is "the surpassing of oneself in solo and the adrenalin that these machines of emotions that are the modern racing trimarans provide" . To which he adds: " I love the feeling of gliding, planning close to the waves, aboard these seabirds such as the gannets that I loveâ?¦ The solitude of the open sea and the feelings of fullness that one feels there help to put things into perspective. We take the time to meditate on the mysteries of life, and we better measure our smallness on this planet today dangerously abused" . A great diversity of feelings affects the solo skipper Gilles Buekenhout: joy, sadness, rage, pain, fatigue, fear, wonder, exhilaration of speed, desire to shareâeuros¦
What is JESS' goal for the Route du Rhum 2022âeuros?
At the start of the Route du Rhum 2022, Gilles will aim for a podium in his class, of course! This is his 4th participation in the famous transatlantic race. Even though bad luck has been against him on several occasions, he has never failed and is proving to be a serious competitor more than ever. The competition will be fierce in his class, but the man and his horse are potentially big enough to win. Gilles confides: "This year I'm going back even more pumped up with the desire to finish and go all the way... Our class is very interesting with the participation of the 60-foot Orma "FLO" skippered by Philippe Poupon. The ORC50s have come in numbers, Marc Guillemot skippers a 55-foot catamaran, and there are many experienced sailors on larger multihulls... The match is going to be tough but it's magic to be in it " .
A budget to complete
Gilles is a true amateur, in the noble sense of the word: he "loves". With his great willingness to share and his personal convictions conveying beautiful values, he is an ideal candidate for a sponsor in search of a "reliable" partner. And if he hasn't already found one, we can think that it's simply that he spends little time and energy looking forâeuros¦ Busy plotting his path conscientiously, he takes care of his business, his family and his sports training as a priority.
