Vendée Globe

The skipper of Akena Vérandas is extremely calm and collected for a newcomer. With less than a fortnight to go before the start, «Cali» as his mates in the Mini-Transat nicknamed him, does not seem at all worried by the pressure of the event. He has a lot going for him: a partner he gets on well with, no other obligations than to complete his round the world voyage cleanly and a boat he knows like the back of his hand…

Does the Vendée Globe feel like a completely different world?
No, not really. It feels more like the climax to what we have been doing for two years. Two years, during which we were alongside the same yachtsmen, and where I had the time to get to know my boat. Now, I feel really ready and to be honest, rather impatient.

You don´t feel too apprehensive?
No, it´s more like setting out on holiday, except that this time, you have a lot of friends to help you pack your bags and then, a lot of spectators, who come to see you off. There are still quite a number of days before the start; so now it´s a question of remaining patient.

Everyone talks about the famous exit through the harbour channel in Les Sables d’Olonne… How do you feel about that moment, which seems to be emotionally highly charged?
I have gone through it so many times in my head that I´m trying not to think about it anymore. I do have one advantage: as I live in Les Sables d’Olonne throughout the year, I have already been in and out of that channel fifty times or more. It´s true that there were fewer people...But it feels really great finally to be setting off on this race that I´ve been looking forward to for two years.

Are you just discovering this popularity and all the signings?
I quite enjoy it actually. It´s a long way from the time of the Mini-Transat, when I only had cheques to sign! Seriously, you get to meet some nice people. There was a lad I knew from a school, who came along with his parents, so I showed him around the boat.

If you had to come up with a modern boat, what would it be like?
Even at the beginning of the year, if someone told me that I had the means to buy a new boat, I would have refused. Akena Vérandas is a boat I know well, and we´ve come a long way together. If you´re talking about building a boat for the future, I´d tend to go off in the direction taken by the Safran team. I prefer light boats, which take off, rather than too powerful boats, which appear to be difficult to handle when you are alone.

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