Vendée Globe

Nationality: Residence: Lorient Birth date: born in 1978 Vendée Globe achievements: 1st entry in the Vendée Globe Boat: Maisonneuve Web Site: http://www.groupemaisonneuve.fr/voile/ Situation:

Sponsor

Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age

He may be the youngest entrant in this 2008-2009 Vendée Globe, but he shows the maturity of an old sea dog. After obtaining a diploma in boat design from the highly renowned Southampton Institute, Jean-Baptiste could have developed his own home-made project, but he preferred to buy a boat from 2005 and gradually work on her to improve her potential. Jean-Baptiste knows where he comes from: a descendant from a long line of Paimpol fishermen, known as the Icelanders. He knows full well that you need to remain humble facing the adversity of the oceans. Whereas his ancestors sailed off to the limits of the North Atlantic, he will be diving into the southern seas. This Vendée race is bound to be very instructive for the boat designer, who has already built his own prototype for the Mini-Transat. Maybe this race is a testing ground for him, before he moves on to designing his own boat?

Press Contact : Laurent CAUVILLE
+33 (0)6 64 26 40 46 / l.cauville@aprim-caen.fr

• 3rd in the 2004 Fastnet 6.50
• 23rd in the 2004 Transat Ag2r
• 4th in he 2003 Open demi-clé 6.50

On the 60’ « Groupe Maisonneuve »
• 10th in the 2007 Transat B2B
• 11th in the 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre
• 7th in the 2007 Rolex Fastnet Race
• 9th in the 2006 Route du Rhum
• 10th in the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre

The Lavranos design, built in Brazil in 2005 has undergone a major overhaul since she came into the hands of Jean-Baptiste: modification of the deck layout, the ballast systems and the canting keel… The boat setting out on the Vendée Globe has very little to do with the prototype the yachtsman acquired.

Boat - Designer: Angelo Lavranos– Artech Design Team - Boatyard : Artech - Launch date: June 2005 - Previous name for the boat and previous skipper: Galileo / Walter Antunes - Length : 18.28 m (60’) - Beam : 5.54 m (17’2’’) - Draught: 4.50 m (14’9’’) - Displacement (weight): 8500 Kg - Number of daggerboards: 2 - Mast height: 28m (91’10’’) - Keel blade : steel - Upwind sail surface: 280m2 - Downwind sail surface: 600m2

© François Chevalier

• 22/12/08 : What happened to....
• 16/12/08 : Jean-Baptiste retires from the race
• 12/12/08 : A shooting star
• 11/12/08 : The Indian living up to its reputation
• 09/12/08 : Dejeanty discovers the south