Before setting off from La Trinité-sur-Mer on the 2nd edition of the Cap Martinique, bound for Fort-de-France, Ludovic Gérard, fresh from his victory in the double-handed race, explains the new challenge he's taking on single-handed on the Atlantic.
Ludovic, what was your background and why did you come back to this race?
I'm 52 years old, and I've had a fairly classic racing career. Dinghy, Tour de France à la voile, I raced a lot on all kinds of sailboats. Then, I turned my attention to offshore racing. I did my first solo transatlantic race in the Transquadra 2015 on the A31 I had at the time.
I changed boats to acquire a JPK 1080, which I took delivery of in 2016. I raced a lot with a crew, then gradually with a reduced crew.
In 2022, we did well. We won the Middle Sea Race, the Drheam Cup and then the Cap Martinique, which I raced double-handed with Nicolas Brossay. Nicolas was a very good friend and a loyal crew member for many years.
Why go solo again?
Nicolas wanted to race on big boats with crews. For my part, I absolutely wanted to set off again on a transatlantic race. I started asking myself some questions, to decide whether or not I wanted to go solo again.
I'd already done some long solo voyages with this boat. That had enabled me to validate the fact that I liked sailing alone, but you mustn't forget that you're doing amateur sailing. We're not here to get hurt, it's essential to have fun.
But I've never sailed solo for more than 5 days. I can't wait to see what happens after the 6th e day!
What modifications have you made to your boat?
So Solenn is a JPK 1080 launched in 2016. She's a very well-built, very reliable boat. We've both sailed nearly 20,000 miles since she was delivered. I know her by heart. When I sleep, I know if we're at the right speed and if we have the right settings.
I didn't make any major modifications, just some optimization.
I added a second NKE driver. I already had a Gyro 2 and fitted a Gyro 3 with an electric actuator, immediately available with a switch. As for the rigging, I changed the forestay and backstay.
Solenn has always been very well looked after. I'm very careful, because sailing is a mechanical sport.
As far as I'm concerned, I've been working hard on the weather modules to fine-tune my strategy. We're sailing without routing and the organization has decided to limit the bandwidth on board our boats. We'll be receiving information via Iridium Go. This will limit the possibilities of communication with land, but it makes the race even more exciting.
Which competitors will you be watching closely?
There are a lot of sharp sailors. Quentin Froment and Alex Ozon are really good and have good experience on their respective boats. South African Adrian Kettel has also been training hard and won the Cape Town to Rio transatlantic race solo.
But once again, beyond the sporting aspect, we're there to enjoy ourselves. The atmosphere is very friendly among the competitors.
You are once again wearing the colors of the Pure Ocean association. Describe its objectives:
During all these years of sailing, like many others, I have witnessed the deterioration of our oceans. I am one of the ambassadors of the "Pure Ocean" foundation, which is an endowment fund operating on an international scale, with offices in Marseille and Lorient. Its main objective is to bring civil society together to support innovative scientific projects aimed at protecting biodiversity and vulnerable marine ecosystems.
