Vendée Globe

On the 22nd April 2007, Jean-Pierre Dick and Paprec-Virbac left New Zealand to head for France. After a Pacific crossing that went smoothly enabling the skipper from Nice to discover his new 60-foot monohull, last week they went through the Panama Canal. Paprec-Virbac will now be carrying out a series of qualifying voyages in the Atlantic, in particular for the 2008 Vendée Globe.

Since moving out of the Panama Canal last Saturday, Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall have been heading up towards Halifax in Canada, a distance of some 2200 miles. The skipper will then be sailing single-handed to Lorient, a 2500-mile voyage, in order to qualify for the Vendée Globe. Paprec-Virbac is due to reach France around 20th June having covered a total distance of more than 11,200 miles (20,742 km) or in other words half way round the world. Here are the first impressions of the skipper of the new Paprec-Virbac.



What do you think about your new boat after crossing the Pacific?

Jean-Pierre Dick. "The boat is in great shape. There weren’t any surprises. There has been a gain in terms of performance between the two generations. Thanks to the trim tabs (adjustable flaps under the hull), the bow does not plunge into the waves. This major innovation is going to prove quite interesting in some points of sailing. We also wanted a boat that was easy to handle and that is what we have: the manoeuvres go well, and it’s great to live inside her and outside too thanks in particular to the sliders (sliding roof protecting the helmsman from the seaspray)."

What is your first judgement of this maiden crossing?

JPD. "It’s positive, even if we broke a few minor parts. That’s what we set about doing. The most important thing is to smooth out all the little imperfections on this new prototype by sailing as much as possible. Among the new generation of boats, Paprec-Virbac is certainly the one that has already clocked up the most miles.


How is the first part of this qualifiying voyage going?

JPD. "We had a serious technical problem last night: the engine would not start, but we soon overcame the crisis! We took turns at the helm all night. I got back into my old habits from the Vendée Globe: I had a sing-song at the helm! This morning while sailing off Guantanamo (Cuba), Damian identified the problem and got everything sorted. Just as well, as we didn’t want to have to stop there! We didn’t lose an inch because of all that. We make a good team. Damian has been here since the launch of Paprec-Virbac and is bringing a lot to the project. He’s an excellent co-skipper."

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