An inauspicious start to a career
Built in 2007 by the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team in the UK, Freelance.com is a Bruce Farr IMOCA designed for speed and reliability. However, her early career was marked by a number of ups and downs. Christened Estrella Damm, she took part in the Barcelona World Race 2008 with Guillermo Altadill and Jonathan McKee on board. The duo was forced to retire after suffering rudder damage.
His next skipper, Sébastien Josse, will suffer the same fate. Under the colors of BT, he abandoned the Transat Anglaise after a broken headstay, and the Vendée Globe 2008-2009 after a broken rudder off New Zealand. After a few successful races in 2009, Sébastien abandoned his boat in the Transat Jacques Vabre, which he raced with François Cuzon, due to an ingress of water.
First place in the Route du Rhum 2010
The boat was taken over in 2010 by the man nicknamed "Bilou", Roland Jourdain, in the colors of Veolia Environnement. A major refit was then undertaken, notably of all onboard electronics and systems. The gamble paid off, as Roland Jourdain won the 2010 Route du Rhum.
A prestigious sponsor and a podium finish in the Vendée Globe 2012
It's another change of hands, as the IMOCA is taken over by Alex Thomson and his sponsor Hugo Boss. The duo he formed with Guillermo Altadill finished second in the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre. The Briton also broke the record for solo Atlantic crossing on his return from the race, 8 d, 22 h and 8 min. In 2012, the intrepid skipper finished on the 3rd step of the Vendée Globe podium, despite energy problems on board. He becomes the 3rd British skipper to reach the race podium after Ellen MacArthur and Mike Golding.
An in-between period boosted by a new double-handed round-the-world race and retirement from the Vendée 2016
Renamed Neutrogena, the IMOCA then finished the Barcelona World Race 2014 in 2nd place, with Guillermo Altadill and Jose Muñoz. Nicolas Boidevézi gets the boat back in 2015, after a refit following his double-handed circumnavigation. The skipper is officially entered for the Vendée Globe 2016 and takes part in a few races before the round-the-world race. The boat is also leased to Morgan Lagravière for the Transat St Barth-Port la Forêt, for which the IMOCA Safran is under construction. Lacking sponsors, Nicolas Boidevézi cancels his participation in the Vendée Globe and sells the boat to the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi, barely 6 months before the start of the round-the-world race. He abandoned the race in Cape Town after dismasting.
After a re-masting and numerous representation sails in Japan, Spirit of Yukoh is due to take part in the Vendée Globe 2020 again in the hands of her skipper. Finally, thanks to the arrival of a new sponsor, Kojiro launched the construction of a new boat and sold his own.
Maximum reliability by Benjamin Dutreux and a fine performance in the 2020 Vendée Globe
Benjamin Dutreux and his boat captain join the Empire of the Rising Sun to take over the boat in 2019. Under the colors of the Water Family, the young skipper finishes the Transat Jacques Vabre in 19th place, despite having taken very little control of his boat. A major refit was then undertaken with a view to the 2020 Vendée Globe: new mast, rig completely replaced, ballast tanks completely refitted, keel inspected, deck fittings completely overhauled, hull redone, new rudders and equipment... IMOCA Omia Water Family gains 350 kg!
Benjamin put in a fine performance considering the age of his boat, finishing 9th in a fleet of 33 competitors.
A simple, reliable boat for Guirec Soudée's first Vendée Globe
Its latest owner, Guirec Soudée, known for his round-the-world adventures with his hen Monique, took it over in 2022, supported by freelance.com.
" It's a daggerboard boat that's simple, reliable, high-performance and not too complicated. Even though I've clocked up a few miles at sea, I have no IMOCA experience. I have to learn everything, and this boat is perfect for the project. I set foot on an IMOCA in the water for the first time on April 4, 2022" he confided to us in 2022.
The boat went to Benjamin Dutreux's facility in Port-Bourgenay for major technical overhauls, before passing into the hands of Roland Jourdain's team in Concarneau. Supported by Dutreux's team from the outset, Guirec chose to surround himself with the big names in sailing to train: Sébastien Audigane, Corentin Douguet as well as François Guiffant and Aymeric Le Chappellier. While he is no stranger to round-the-world races, he is brand new to the IMOCA circuit, and is preparing for his first solo round-the-world race on a 60-foot monohull. The young sailor distinguished himself in the Vendée Arctique with an audacious strategy that enabled him to finish in 6th position. Already well-reliable thanks to Benjamin Dutreux, the IMOCA has benefited from a new standing rigging and optimized ballast tanks, and is already awaiting its next owner at the finish of the Vendée Globe 2024.
