Michel Desjoyeaux was yesterday evening named 2009 Sailor of the Year at the conclusion of the champions gala evening organised by the French Sailing Federation. This honour rewards him following his win in the Vendée Globe, which he completed in 84 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes and 8 seconds. He follows Francis Joyon, the 2008 champion honoured for his single-handed round the world record where he set a record of 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. Michel Desjoyeaux: "It’s very impressive. It never rains but it pours. It’s the consequence of a never-ending passion. I am moved. I’ve spent a lot of time out on the water, but I also have a real passion for technology. I’ve had some good relationships with sponsors. I’m not about to take my retirement and I still enjoy myself as much at sea. It’s a real honour to be crowned bymy family in the sailing world.”

The Vendée Council has won top prize in the 2009 marketing awards organised by the French magazine Stratégies and Sportfive for its communications for the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe. The jury, made up of twelve professionals from the world of sports studied almost 50 communications plans and awarded six prizes, 7 special awards and one top prize. As well as this honour, the Vendée Council was also rewarded in the category “overall communications strategy” for all its work around the event with the public relations operations and the educational package.

Communications around the Vendée Globe can divided up into several sections. The first was the start village in the harbour in Les Sables-d’Olonne three weeks before the sailors set off, which attracted 1.7 million people. The second feature was the school’s pack, which was distributed to around a thousand children in the department. Finally, the most spectacular element of the communications plan was the installation on the Montparnasse Tower of a giant display promoting the Vendée Globe on a surface of 3300 m².

Organised by the SEM Vendée with as its main commercial partner, the company, Sodéb’O, the Vendée Globe is considered today as one of the three major sailing events in the world with the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. The non-stop single-handed round the world race offers a lot of media coverage and the economic impact is huge, as the President of the Vendée Council, Philippe de Villiers explains: “Today we are at a ratio, where for each euro invested the result is worth ten times that in terms of media coverage and the economic impact. But the race goes beyond a simple competition, as it involves sporting achievements, incredible physical feats and a human adventure on the world’s largest stadium – the sea.”
 

Sébastien Josse is planning to line up for his third Vendée Globe in October 2012 at the helm of a new boat. He will need to begin the construction work in a year from now. 2010 is going to be a big year for Sébastien, as he is also planning to take part in the Solitaire du Figaro: " With the BT project ending, 2010 is the right time to start afresh.My idea is to do a season in the Figaro to get ready for the 2012 Vendée Globe and start thinking about the new 60-foot IMOCA. In fact, we’re already looking around at the new boats and we’re beginning to think about the choice of designer, yard and the technical aspects."

With the arrival at 0650 hrs on Saturday 28th November of the Artemis monohull skippered by Samantha Davies and Sidney Gavignet, the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre (double-handed race) came to an end with Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Benac finishing as the ultimate winners. The transatlantic race was marked by four boats having to retire out of the fourteen IMOCA monohulls taking part with the two VPLP – Verdier designed boats, Safran and Groupe Bel coming out on top, while there was disappointment for Michel Desjoyeaux and Jérémie Beyou, which resulted in Marc Guillemot becoming 2009 IMOCA World Champion.

Final rankings in the 2009 Transat Jacques Vabre:
1 - SAFRAN / Marc Guillemot - Charles Caudrelier Benac
2 - GROUPE BEL / Kito De Pavant - François Gabart
3 - MIKE GOLDING YACHT RACING / Mike Golding - Javier Sanso
4 - FONCIA / Michel Desjoyeaux - Jérémie Beyou
5 - W HOTELS / Alex Pella - Pepe Ribes
6 - VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT / Roland Jourdain - Jean Luc Nélias
7 - AKENA VERANDAS / Arnaud Boissières - Vincent Riou
8 - AVIVA / Dee Caffari - Brian Thompson
9 - 1876 / Yves Parlier- Pachi Rivero
10 - ARTEMIS / Samantha Davies - Sidney Gavignet

Four boats forced to retire:
- HUGO BOSS / Alex Thomson - Ross Daniel
- DCNS / Marc Thiercelin - Christopher Pratt
- BT / Sébastien Josse - Jean François Cuzon
- BRIT AIR / Armel Le Cleac'h - Nicolas Troussel
 

Jean-Pierre Dick is currently in New Zealand overseeing the construction of his new IMOCA 60 monohull, while preparing physically for a busy end to 2010 with the Route du Rhum and the Barcelona World Race.

JP Dick: “I arrived in New Zealand three weeks ago and I’m being kept busy! I go down to the Cookson yard every day to work on some of the important details to ensure the boat is completely functional: the layout of the deck hardware, the ballast tanks, the mast. This is a fascinating stage of the project and I’m really enjoying myself. Late next year, I shall be following the solo transatlantic race with a double-handed round the world race. So I’m taking care now of my physical condition. I do some muscle strengthening work, cycling, gym, trekking and of course, swimming. I take part in a competition in Takapuna (Auckland) every Tuesday evening after work, where we swim a kilometre in the sea. Last time there were more than 300 of us and I finished around fiftieth. Not bad, eh?"

On Sunday 8 November, British sailing duo Dee Caffari and Brian Thompson will start in the ninth edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre onboard the Open 60 Aviva. The Transat Jacques Vabre will be the first competitive race for Dee since the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe.

Joining Caffari, Thompson and Aviva on the start line, will be 13 other Open 60s. The 4800-mile course will be the first time Caffari and Thompson have sailed two-handed together having been rivals throughout the 2008 / 09 edition of the Vendée Globe. Dee Caffari said: “I can’t wait to be back out on the water racing Aviva and the opportunity to sail with Brian as co-skipper is fabulous. We were so close to each other during the Vendée Globe it’s as if we’ve already spent a lot of time sailing together.” Brian Thompson added: "We have a quick boat and get on well together so I believe we will be competitive out there. With so many new Open 60s racing it is going to be intense, but very exciting."