Marc Thiercelin is back for his fourth Vendée Globe… in spite of swearing in 2005 that he would never do it again and that that was the final time. However, when DCNS offered him a project mixing a programme to look for young talents, an ocean racing school and a brand new 60-foot Imoca boat, he could not resist the call…
You swore back in 2005 that that was the final time?
"Only idiots never change their opinion. When the first contact was made with DCNS, we weren´t talking about the Vendée Globe. The main goal was to develop a centre for young talent. It was only later on that they came up with the idea of building a 60-foot boat and therefore of doing the Vendée Globe. But at the heart of the project is this idea of offering young talent the opportunity to climb the first rung of the ladder."
Can you explain the process?
"There are in fact two parallel operations: one of which I am the guest sponsor, which involves choosing 300 young apprentices and offering them training in companies run by DCNS with the promise of hiring at least half afterwards. The second concerns me more, as we are choosing from a list of young yachtsmen, the person, who will take over the helm of the 60-foot IMOCA boat, DCNS. I am directly involved in this project, firstly as I am on the selection committee and my task is also to accompany the person chosen from the two candidates, Romain Attanasio and Christopher Pratt. Both have completed a season in the firm´s colours aboard a Figaro Bénéteau."
In what way is this mentoring necessary?
"I have no worries about their technical ability. However, being the skipper of a 60-foot Open also means you need to know how to run a business, and resolve complicated technical issues. It´s a completely different world. This is where my experience may come in handy: by helping them to make this major change by helping them to acquire the expertise that is required to make the right choices."
Having several Vendée Globe races under your belt, what do you think of this edition of the race?
"Firstly, it has evolved in a way that we could not have imagined back in the first race. So many new boats in spite of the economic hardship, it´s almost a miracle. Now, we need to keep a cool head and not fall into the traps that success brings with it. On the one hand, we need to keep a close eye on the commercial aspects: the exceptional event that we are witnessing must not hide the fact that this is an incredible human endeavour and not everything can be sold. Above all, as a racer, we need to take care of our own responsibilities: the increased number of gates means some restrictions concerning the choice of route and in some ways that takes away some of our freedom. I can understand where the organisers are coming from, but the sea is one of the rare places that we still have to express our autonomy, so let´s not set up too many rules…"
What differentiates today´s yachtsmen from those of twenty years ago?
"As far as we were concerned, we didn´t have any career plan. We were there just for the fun of it and because it corresponded to a deep desire. Today, the youngsters entering the circuit arrive as part of a logical professional development: in other words, you go from the Mini circuit to the Figaro, then to the 60-foot IMOCA boats. There is less craziness than in the past. On the other hand, the level of preparation of everyone is far removed from the way things were for us… There have been gains in safety, professionalism and performance and that´s a good thing. But let´s not forget the unique dimension of the Vendée Globe: whether we want it or not, it is above all a fantastic human endeavour."
"Only idiots never change their opinion. When the first contact was made with DCNS, we weren´t talking about the Vendée Globe. The main goal was to develop a centre for young talent. It was only later on that they came up with the idea of building a 60-foot boat and therefore of doing the Vendée Globe. But at the heart of the project is this idea of offering young talent the opportunity to climb the first rung of the ladder."
Can you explain the process?
"There are in fact two parallel operations: one of which I am the guest sponsor, which involves choosing 300 young apprentices and offering them training in companies run by DCNS with the promise of hiring at least half afterwards. The second concerns me more, as we are choosing from a list of young yachtsmen, the person, who will take over the helm of the 60-foot IMOCA boat, DCNS. I am directly involved in this project, firstly as I am on the selection committee and my task is also to accompany the person chosen from the two candidates, Romain Attanasio and Christopher Pratt. Both have completed a season in the firm´s colours aboard a Figaro Bénéteau."
In what way is this mentoring necessary?
"I have no worries about their technical ability. However, being the skipper of a 60-foot Open also means you need to know how to run a business, and resolve complicated technical issues. It´s a completely different world. This is where my experience may come in handy: by helping them to make this major change by helping them to acquire the expertise that is required to make the right choices."
Having several Vendée Globe races under your belt, what do you think of this edition of the race?
"Firstly, it has evolved in a way that we could not have imagined back in the first race. So many new boats in spite of the economic hardship, it´s almost a miracle. Now, we need to keep a cool head and not fall into the traps that success brings with it. On the one hand, we need to keep a close eye on the commercial aspects: the exceptional event that we are witnessing must not hide the fact that this is an incredible human endeavour and not everything can be sold. Above all, as a racer, we need to take care of our own responsibilities: the increased number of gates means some restrictions concerning the choice of route and in some ways that takes away some of our freedom. I can understand where the organisers are coming from, but the sea is one of the rare places that we still have to express our autonomy, so let´s not set up too many rules…"
What differentiates today´s yachtsmen from those of twenty years ago?
"As far as we were concerned, we didn´t have any career plan. We were there just for the fun of it and because it corresponded to a deep desire. Today, the youngsters entering the circuit arrive as part of a logical professional development: in other words, you go from the Mini circuit to the Figaro, then to the 60-foot IMOCA boats. There is less craziness than in the past. On the other hand, the level of preparation of everyone is far removed from the way things were for us… There have been gains in safety, professionalism and performance and that´s a good thing. But let´s not forget the unique dimension of the Vendée Globe: whether we want it or not, it is above all a fantastic human endeavour."
