Vendée Globe

Very few sailors will know before the 2010 season whether they will be taking part in the 2012 Vendée Globe. Arnaud Boissières is one of the lucky ones and has certainly left behind him the time when he was given the nickname of Cali, (a little ugly duckling like cartoon character) although he is still willing to be make people laugh at him with his innocent sense of humour. If we indeed look at how far he has come, we can say that Caliméro has certainly hatched out of his shell. Over the past ten years, the sailor from Arcachon has patiently climbed the ladder leading him now to be a serious contender in the next edition of the non-stop single-handed round the world race.

"I told myself the day before the start that if I ended up between tenth and fifteenth, that would be a good result. So finishing in the top ten… " Looking beyond the clear joy he experienced with this result, Arnaud Boissières also remembers the enjoyment he felt sailing in the Southern ocean aboard a boat that he managed to tame and which suited his abilities perfectly. His love of ocean racing began with a rather tough learning process. Taking part in the Mini-Transat in 1999, he suffered damage and had to return to port to carry out repairs. After finishing more than a week late in the Canaries, he just about found time to stow his supplies on board before setting off on the second leg. Cali appeared at that moment to deserve his nickname. There followed another Mini-Transat that he prepared for with the help of his friend, Yannick Bestaven and this time he would finish third. After a few seasons in the Figaro Bénéteau "which allowed me to improve my skills" there followed a long period working as skipper aboard Solune, a maxi cruising yacht. From these three experiences, Arnaud Boissières was to accumulate the know how required to set up his Vendée Globe project. The owner of Solune acquired the boat that had previously belonged to Thomas Coville and Sébastien Josse. The Finot designed monohull was a venerable old racer, but was solid enough. For Arnaud's first Vendée Globe, she would prove to be perfect. Having met the directors of Akena Vérandas he was able to find the required backing and the project took off.

In the 2008 Vendée Globe, Arnaud continued along the same lines as those he had followed up until then: "The fact that I had already set up my own mini project led me to become involved in every stage of the preparation. To start out in a 60-foot boat, I wanted my project to be simple, to match my racing ability in a race that I was just discovering… I also wanted to work alongside the shore team that I had carefully selected." Arnaud Boissières is a man with principles: he set up a team where sharing values was as important as technical ability. He was thus able to line up for the start of the Vendée feeling calm and confident. After that there was the sheer enjoyment of the race. Once he had got to know his boat, he was able to make the most of the magic of the southern ocean and discover solo sailing in these virgin latitudes. He was to prove himself to be the perfect ambassador in improving Franco-British relations during his duel with Dee Caffari… Only at the finish, did he understand just how much he had made people dream as he sailed, as he was truly amazed to see the crowds that turned out to welcome him home. A few weeks later, Arnaud Boissières was able to announce that he will be lining up at the start of the next Vendée Globe aboard Vincent Riou's old boat: the great adventure continues, which shows there is some justice in the world after all.
 

Infos précédentes :