Since being forced to return home early in the Vendée Globe after suffering damage to the spreaders on his Delta Dore, Jérémie Beyou has clearly been determined to gain his revenge. His goal in the coming years is clear: he would like to get going with a new project. On a practical level, this means he is currently looking for a partner to enable him to get back in the saddle and take off around the world again. Delta Dore has put the green and white 60-foot boat up for sale and the former skipper does not believe it likely that he will be able to find a new partner in time to get back with his boat. Instead, he sees the future as involving the construction of a new 60-foot IMOCA boat.
As he was coming to terms with his first major ocean races and being forced to retire on two occasions, first in the Barcelona Race then in the Vendée Globe, Jérémie talked things through with Michel Desjoyeaux, as he believed this solo sailor stands out from the pack and that his opinion about round the world races would be useful. Jérémie holds the "Professor" in great respect and this goes back to their days of competing in the one-design Figaro boats to the extent that he was on the point of joining up with the pairing of Riou/Desjoyeaux when he set about launching his 60-foot project three years ago. It was not however possible, as the two sailors, Vincent and Jérémie (Michel did not yet have any backer) both wished to have their new boats ready for the Route du Rhum. The friendly chats with Michel have continued, especially as Vincent has flown the nest. They have certainly remained close, as Michel has just invited Jérémie to join him on Foncia for the Transat Jacques Vabre and before that in the Europe Race. Jérémie: "As soon as the Figaro ends in Dieppe, we'll be flying off to Istanbul to go aboard the boat that won the Vendée Globe in order to take part in this new crewed race to Brest with stopovers in Nice and Barcelona." Once this Round Europe race is over, Jérémie and Michel will sail together on Foncia to prepare for the double-handed transatlantic race. And after that? The two top class sailors may well stick together. Jérémie: "I asked him whether he would agree to work with me on my 2012-2013 Vendée Globe project and he said, "Why not?"... We get on well together, have respect for each other and I would really like that to happen."
Meanwhile, the two friends are battling it out in the very demanding 'Solitaire du Figaro'. After being absent from the circuit for three years, Jérémie Beyou showed from the outset that he was still someone to be reckoned with by winning the prologue. His boat is called Bernard Paoli, a name that is well known to local sailors in Carantec in Morlaix Bay in Brittany, as the deceased's family wished to honour him by associating his name with Jérémie's challenge. It is a great story and not so different from Michel Desjoyeaux's, always a helpful guide in solo sailing yet never hesitating to question his own ability in an event, where everyone is on the same footing, but which he has already won three times.
