The Swiss sailor Dominique Wavre announced yesterday that he will be lining up at the start of the 2012 Vendée Globe thanks to his new partner, the Swiss private bank, Mirabaud. Before the next Vendée Globe, the sailor will take part in the Barcelona World Race 2010-11 and the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre.
Over the next few weeks, Dominique Wavre’s boat, Mirabaud, will be fine-tuned for the forthcoming events. The 60-foot IMOCA built in New Zealand in 2006 at Southern Ocean Marine, was designed by the British Owen Clarke team. “We shall be carrying out a lot of improvements on some important elements,” explained the skipper. “In particular, we’ll be looking at the boat’s stability. The goal is to make her stiffer, while reducing her weight. We know that there is still a lot that can be done to increase her potential. At the same time as these improvements are carried out, the keel head that was damaged in the last Vendée Globe will be rebuilt.”
“The partnership between Mirabaud and Dominique Wavre is based on the long term, looking ahead to an international programme,” explained Antonio Palma, Associate and CEO of Mirabaud: “We were attracted by Dominique’s determination and skill. His rational, thoughtful approach, as well as the high standard of the technical aspects of his project won us over. We decided to become involved in this project, which is set out over a few years, as it incorporates many values that are dear to us: the spirit of enterprise, competition, the quest for excellence and technology.”
