Having reached Les Sables early this morning, the runner-up from the last edition of the Vendée Globe always enjoys giving an interview and excels at amusing us while offering some surprising information. Jean Le Cam is very pleased with the modifications that have been made to his VM Matériaux and hints that there is still a lot of fine-tuning to do to improve these 60-foot monohulls. Looking forward to four years from now?
What has changed over the past four years?
«The boat has changed colour! It´s not yellow any more but fuchsia coloured… However, the number of tasks that have to be done to prepare and fine tune VM Matériaux has not fallen from the situation four years ago. We launched in May for a start six months later. We can say that the boats were simpler, but they sailed much less quickly! It is no minor improvement. It´s huge… The changes have been particularly remarkable over the past two years. So much more potential.»
Has Jean Le Cam changed since his first attempt at the Vendée Globe in 2004?
«The man has probably changed: for good or for bad. I don´t know. In my mind and during the preparation, it´s more or less the same, even if the second time is never the same as the first. There´s a giant leap between the first and second attempt… And an even bigger one for the third!»
Does that mean you are telling us you are planning on taking part in the next race four years from now?
«Yes! Because the way things are progressing is interesting and I find that wonderful. Each time we set sail, we go faster! It´s an ongoing process, constantly changing… In four years, it will be even more noticeable.»
What improvements can you see in the near future?
«At the moment, we have reached the peak of complexity, so we will be making things simpler. everything is so much more sophisticated than last time, whether we are talking about the rigging, the sails, the appendages, the power… Everything has been worked on. When you are looking for performance, the instruction manual is always more complicated. Let´s say there is a set of instructions for each element and that the number of parameters the yachtsman has to take into account is so much bigger.»
That means there is an advantage for a boat and a skipper, who have already done the Vendée Globe!
«Certainly. I have some things going for me! But each project has its own positive points. I know more or less where I am and where I´m going. For everything else, we´ll have to wait and see!»
«The boat has changed colour! It´s not yellow any more but fuchsia coloured… However, the number of tasks that have to be done to prepare and fine tune VM Matériaux has not fallen from the situation four years ago. We launched in May for a start six months later. We can say that the boats were simpler, but they sailed much less quickly! It is no minor improvement. It´s huge… The changes have been particularly remarkable over the past two years. So much more potential.»
Has Jean Le Cam changed since his first attempt at the Vendée Globe in 2004?
«The man has probably changed: for good or for bad. I don´t know. In my mind and during the preparation, it´s more or less the same, even if the second time is never the same as the first. There´s a giant leap between the first and second attempt… And an even bigger one for the third!»
Does that mean you are telling us you are planning on taking part in the next race four years from now?
«Yes! Because the way things are progressing is interesting and I find that wonderful. Each time we set sail, we go faster! It´s an ongoing process, constantly changing… In four years, it will be even more noticeable.»
What improvements can you see in the near future?
«At the moment, we have reached the peak of complexity, so we will be making things simpler. everything is so much more sophisticated than last time, whether we are talking about the rigging, the sails, the appendages, the power… Everything has been worked on. When you are looking for performance, the instruction manual is always more complicated. Let´s say there is a set of instructions for each element and that the number of parameters the yachtsman has to take into account is so much bigger.»
That means there is an advantage for a boat and a skipper, who have already done the Vendée Globe!
«Certainly. I have some things going for me! But each project has its own positive points. I know more or less where I am and where I´m going. For everything else, we´ll have to wait and see!»
