Although he has left ocean racing behind him since the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre, he has not stopped sailing. Training passionate amateurs, he has participated in less publicized races. He returns to this Route du Rhum as a favorite and hopes to win.
Your last professional ocean race was in 2017, and your last Route du Rhum in 2010. Why this return to the transatlantic race? And why in the single-handed Rum category?
It was a nice opportunity after the last victory in the Jacques Vabre. I wanted to use a boat that I developed, the JP54, to get other people started. I had the opportunity with the Route du Rhum to register the boat and to be one of the favorites. I jumped at the chance. It is a mythical race.
My history with the Route du Rhum is special. I've never done better than the 3rd place e position. I would like to win it. Ocean racing remains my passion. It is an important element. Participating also allows me to promote my heart sea, the Mediterranean.
What have you been doing since 2017? Have you kept one foot in ocean racing?
I continued to sail, but in a much less publicized way. I sailed with passionate amateurs who trusted me. I also took part in less publicized races.
You are one of the big favorites in your category, what about this recognition?
I want to go back! It's been years since I've experienced this sequence, present in the scope of this race. It brings back memories. I do interviews, I have a sports program. I'm going to work my ass off on this race. Bringing home the Grail of victory is always a pleasure. But the sea is always hard and cruel.
What was your preparation?
I qualified by bringing my boat from the West Indies to Bermuda before the transatlantic race, and I have been sailing every week in pure solo, but also in false solo. Things are happening. I have the boat well in hand. She is less physical than an IMOCA, but she is committed. She goes fast, there is a lot of canvas.
Can you present us your boat? Is it specifically fitted out for ocean racing? Did you make any modifications for the Route du Rhum?
It is rather a boat made for fast cruising. For people who have a taste for boats, and especially for sailing. The concept has evolved quite a bit. It was rather a commercial failure.
It's a demonstration boat that I have, over time, made more ocean racing. Since this summer's refit, we have adapted it to solo sailing. But I don't have a coffee grinder, for example, because I used to race offshore with these famous amateurs.
I invested in a specific autopilot, an energy source adapted to offshore racing and also more modern by replacing the diesel engines with solar energy. I needed a list of very important things to match the notice of race: radars, anchor, electronics... I also repainted the boat and worked on small details to make it stronger for the race, and invested in new sails.
Your boat has a rotating saloon that is a bit futuristic. Are you satisfied with it? Why haven't we seen it developed?
It was an innovation to do this. The idea, in particular, was to do a cruise with useful weight. It's important on the IMOCA, we sail by hand with bags. This is a sophisticated way to do it. It makes sense, because for performance it's efficient and it allows you to keep the hydraulic side. Manual trimming is complicated, I prefer to do it electronically.
It is a rather free concept, but technically complicated to implement, not taken up. The advent of multihulls means that these things are less used. The boat is quite unique, with an enormous amount of design, finesse in terms of technical construction, something accomplished.
Is this return to the Route du Rhum a one-shot or will we have the chance to see you again in ocean racing?
I don't know. I'll see how it goes. I'm lucky to have loyal partners. But they are not IMOCA budgets. Today, it's a personal decision. I've done four Vendée Globes in a row and I'm obsessive about the details. But it's not easy to combine ocean racing for 20 years with living with people and starting a family.
I would have less chance of winning in IMOCA and I put this constant pressure on myself. I'm going back in a different way with different values, to see things differently. I love the sporting side. I'm a competitor by nature, but you have to deal with what comes of it. Doing a Vendée Globe again would be quite a personal challenge.
Next year, I will concentrate on double-handed races: Fastnet, Carribean 600, Middle Sea Race double-handed with a skipper I am training, who is partly from Nice. I like training people. They have great human values. I want to spend time with them, it's also important. I need to have confidence, at sea, but also on land. It's a lot of work ashore to be in tune with that.
