After a winter refit lasting two and a half months, Marc Guillemot’s boat that finished in third place in the last Vendée Globe and won the last transatlantic race, was put back in the water on Friday 16th April in the harbour in la Trinité-sur-Mer in Southern Brittany. A busy race season now lies ahead for Safran, who will be back out sailing again some time next week.
Between six and eight people worked in the yard to ensure the grey and orange monohull would improve her potential. “The refit was carried out in two stages,” explained Thierry Brault, the Team manager. “After a complete overhaul of the hull, the structure, the keel, mast and all the necessary repairs, we set about reducing the weight of Safran. To achieve that, we were once again able to take advantage of the expertise of the engineers in the Safran Group. So we made more weight savings by changing the coach roof for example, but without compromising its strength.”
A race against Riou
By the middle of next week, Safran will be out sailing again in Quiberon Bay before heading for Douarnenez at the end of the month to take part in the Grand Prix. She will be facing a new rival there: “Vincent Riou will be there with his new boat, created using the same hull mould as Safran. This first confrontation will therefore be particularly interesting. After that we will continue in June with a crewed race around Spain.”
But the big event on the 2010 calendar is of course the Route du Rhum, which will start from St. Malo on 31st October. “This event marked the very beginning of my links with Safran. Four years ago, we hired a boat to take part. I didn’t have the right weapon back then, but this time things are completely different.”
