Before the start: « The three-week time period in Les Sables d'Olonne is starting to drag on a bit. It’s a bit like going on holiday.  The more time you have to get ready, the more you keep adding to the suitcase!”  ».
His preparation: «To be honest I am definitely not as well prepared. I think we’d done more sailing before the last time round, and the time before, so consequently I felt more at home with the boat than I do right now.»
His 60-foot boat: «This boat has been a bit of a bugger since the beginning. Someone asked me the other day: do you treat your boat like a person or a tool? I had to admit it was more like a tool. This boat is definitely in the tool department but hopefully it will do a good job for me and I suppose I might grow to like it more as time goes on.  I don’t think I’ll ever fall in love with her but hopefully we can make friends. Right now we’re not hitting it off, at all »
An upwind start? «This, I have to say, I wouldn’t mind at all because I think we are quite well placed for those conditions and she’ll [Ecover] do a good job.  The strengths of the Owen Clark designs are upwind and downwind. Reaching is our weakest point of sailing so I know I’ll have to work hard to hold my own reaching, harder than others I think.»

Yannick Bestaven: "This was the number of Yves Parlier's Aquitaine Innovations. Yves has supported me a lot in this project, so there was no way I was going to change the number..."

Cheminées Poujoulat was actually christened  by Jean-Pierre Dick ien 2004 and her name has not been changed: «He named her «Absolute Dreamer» and I don't have the courage to change her name, as that is said to be unlucky!» explained Bernard Stamm.

1000 is the number displayed by Marc Thiercelin's Finot-Conq designed DCNS. It refers to the social policy included within his partnership project.  1000 is the number of young job applicants, who will be going through a training course with DCNS.

Five skippers requested permission to leave harbour today to test sails, electronics, rigging, communications systems… or simply for a jaunt with guests: Yannick Bestaven (Aquarelle.com), Bernard Stamm (Cheminées Poujoulat), Steve White (Spirit of Weymouth), Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) and Sébastien Josse (BT).

From eleven this morning, the guests on the "Live from the Pontoons" programme will be in order, Isabelle Autissier, Bernard Stamm and Arnaud Boissières.  However, Pierre-Louis Castelli and Frédéric Ottenhof will also be talking to Gérard Faugeron, a Councillor in Vendée about the Vendée Globe educational project. "Live from the Pontoons", the Vendée Globe radio show can be heard every morning live on the website from 11h00.