After returning from the Transat Jacques Vabre which she raced on Artemis with Sidney Gavignet, Sam Davies made a quick visit to the Paris Boat Show, before going to La Plagne in the Alps, where she was chosen to be International Godmother of the Stars of Sport event, which brings together each year leading French figures from top class sports in an event aimed at fostering new champions for the future. It offered the British sailor an opportunity to rub shoulders with stars from other sports.
Sam also met up again with the Artemis team to go through what happened in the Transat Jacques Vabre. She admits she learnt a lot during this transatlantic race and hopes that her comments will enable further improvements to be made to the powerful monohull.
 

The British sailor Conrad Humphreys, who finished in seventh place in the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe is back in Australia again to take part in the Sydney-Hobart Race, which starts on Saturday. He will be aboard the Jones 70 monohull, Ichi Ban, which crossed the line in third place last year. This marks a major change for Conrad after a season in the F18 circuit, during which he took part in the Archipelago Raid in Scandinavia.

This evening, Marc Guillemot, skipper of the monohull, Safran received a medal from Jean-Paul Herteman, President of the Board of Safran, making him a Knight of the French Order of Merit (similar to the British MBE) . This distinction is awarded to Marc Guillemot for the whole of his career, but above all for his achievements in the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe, when he had no hesitation in going to the assistance of Yann Eliès, who was drifting in the Indian Ocean. In spite of this detour, the skipper of Safran still managed to finish in third place after several technical difficulties: problems with his mast and then the loss of his keel a week before the finish. “In this Vendée Globe, Marc showed great support and exemplary humanity during the rescue of Yann Eliès. His determination enabled him to overcome many human and technical challenges,” declared Jean-Paul Herteman.

Marc Guillemot, together with Charles Caudrelier Benac, recently won the Transat Jacques Vabre, sailing between Le Havre (France) and Puerto Limon (Costa Rica). Safran finished in first place after fifteen days of racing, twelve of which were spent in the lead. It is thanks to these fine results that he won the 2009 IMOCA world championship rounding off an excellent year for Marc Guillemot and Safran.
 

Jean-Pierre Dick took advantage of his visit to the Paris Boat Show to reveal the name of his new IMOCA 60 monohull, which is due to be launched in Auckland (New Zealand) in May 2010. Jean-Pierre Dick: “The boat will be called Virbac-Paprec 3. Yes, we’ve changed the order around! Since 2004, these two companies have got on well together and this is to ensure we’re being fair and equal. The first boat was called Virbac-Paprec, the second Paprec-Virbac 2, so for the third, it was only natural to change the names around. I’m very pleased about the confidence shown by both CEOs, Eric Marée and Jean-Luc Petithuguenin. The project has been based around this joint partnership, which makes it rather special and it works very well. Over the past five years, we have been through some great moments together. Now it’s time for some new challenges and for Virbac-Paprec 3.”

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.”