/ 
A mandatory program
Boats and skippers are subject to a number of obligations before the start. Firstly, they must all be present at the port of Le Havre, Bassin Paul Vatine and Bassin de l'Eure by October 19, 2023, in order to be available to the measurers for measurement checks and safety equipment. Skippers will also have several briefings (weather, safety, organization of the start...), which they must attend. And of course it's also an opportunity to meet journalists, partners, sponsors and the public. If the last 10 days have their obligatory passages, the last month is just as varied in terms of everyone's preparations.
We interviewed several sailor duos to find out more about their final preparations before the delivery to Le Havre.
Testing new sails
For Erwan le Draoulec and Tanguy Leglatin aboard the Class40 Everial, the program will consist of a week of training, including day trips and offshore sailing, with the aim of testing the new gennaker trim. This will be followed by a few days' rest, before we go on stand-by to wait for a good weather window to bring the boat in. Erwan tells us: "If we had to leave tomorrow, we could. The boat's ready, there's nothing left to tinker with."
Keni Piperol had just come out of the official race press conference, where he had held a series of interviews and meetings with partners. A small taste of the excitement of the event. The Transat Jacques Vabre "here we go he confirmed. "The serious stuff is starting. Tomorrow, we leave for a week's training to test the new sails we've received. Next Tuesday, we'll do the image bank, and on the 17th, we'll sail from Saint-Malo to Le Havre" . On the technical side, there's not much to look forward to. He conceded at the time: "a few small details to finalize, the pharmacy to check. The supplies have been ordered, all we have to do now is pick them up and bag them" . With his crewmate Thomas Jourdren, they will spend some time in Le Havre for the final routing and briefings organized by their training center: Lorient Gand Large.
Preparing the sailor
The IMOCA boats are also busy. Contacted by telephone, Félix de Navacelle, co-skipper of Tanguy le Turquais on this Jacques Vabre, and technical director of the Lazare team, explained: " The pressure's on right now, when you realize that there are only 10 days left before the delivery to Le Havre. We still have some composite work to do to reinforce the clews, which absolutely must be done before the start. The advantage of our boat is that it's very reliable, but it's getting old, so we're keeping an eye on the stress zones." At the same time, Félix has to do some physical training at the Kerpape center opposite Lorient: "Every morning, I have 1 hour of physiotherapy, 1 hour of swimming and 1 hour of gym. It's important to be physically ready, because these boats are hyper-demanding. At the end of the maneuvers, I've got more juice!"
Once we're in Le Havre, we'll have to find some time to let go, because the program is going to be intense," concedes the sailor: "It's great to see people, the public, partners... but it's wearing and it drains the resources we'll use for the race."
Complete budgets
For Violette Dorange, who was in the midst of preparing her pharmacy, the next two weeks were devoted to meeting partners and suppliers, and finding new sponsors. Not much in the way of do-it-yourself work, since the big job was on the agenda for the last two months. This would be followed by a final 24-hour offshore training session in false solo, before setting off on the delivery trip to Le Havre on October 18. She also planned to take a break for two or three days once she arrived in Le Havre to rest up.
"I'm pretty serene, the boat's ready and I'm not too apprehensive about this start, even though for me it'll be the first time I've set off edge-to-edge with Ultims. It's going to be incredible."
If an ideal scheme emerges, it's to be ready when we arrive in Le Havre and not to have to tinker with anything on the spot, so as to be able to take a little rest before departure. But Félix admits: "That's what we're all trying to do, but in reality, nobody really succeeds and we always have things to tinker with the week before the start".
