The day before yesterday, Arnaud Boissières, skipper of the Akena Vérandas monohull and Gérald Véniard, his co-skipper for the forthcoming double-handed transatlantic race set off for Horta in the Azores, to get some training in for the Transat Jacques Vabre. Arnaud will then be delivering the boat back to Les Sables d'Olonne alone, so he can do some solo training as he prepares for the next Vendée Globe.
This offshore sail will be an opportunity for the two sailors to explore the various facets of double-handed sailing and more particularly learn how to deal with life on board. But there are other reasons too. Arnaud and Gérald are planning to check out some of the items on their job-list and test some new sail configurations.
This is an ideal place to train with the stretch from Les Sables – Horta representing part of the voyage they will be carrying out next November on their way to Costa Rica. In other words, a sort of rehearsal run, allowing the duo to get used to everything and find their feet. But while the voyage to Horta should be very instructive, it looks like being rather slow: “It’s going to be long. We’re going to have to negotiate our way across several fronts. We’re going to begin with some downwind sailing, before sailing upwind. There are a lot of uncertainties about the end of the voyage,” explained the La Rochelle-based sailor as he looked at the latest weather charts.
For Cali, the return from Horta will be a solo sail. As he looks forward to the next Vendée Globe, Arnaud has decided to do the delivery trip back to Les Sables d’Olonne alone. “The idea is to be completely alone aboard and try to see how fast I can go by trying to set a record time,” said Cali.
Photo : Gérald Véniard, Arnaud’s co-skipper for the double-handed race
