Update
Alive if kicking quietly… there remains widespread support for a double-handed offshore demonstration race at Tokyo 2020 but time is running out. World Sailing are keeping up the pressure but the lack of news is not encouraging. This is Thomas Rouxel practising out in the north Atlantic for his next Figaro solo challenge. With the benefit of video streaming, mic’ed up mixed-gender teams and modern tracking not only is there no better 24-hour Olympic discipline for TV to follow, there is no other 24-hour Olympic discipline
tactical. Also, I like the return to a nationality rule; it may be judged as the Kiwis seeking an advantage but I think it will increase the interest of the fans who can identify with their national team. The good thing is the ideas are changing and the event evolves. It is good but we must ensure that the Cup does not lose its identity. SH: And you? JV:No (laughs). It’s very early… until I finish the Volvo I do not want to think about it. SH: After Bermuda did you have enough time to prepare for the Volvo – or could you start your preparations during the Cup? JV: Impossible, the America’s Cup absorbs you totally and there is no time to work on another project – the Cup demands of you 150 per cent. But it was in Bermuda that I first spoke to Xabier (Fernández) about the Mapfre project. I was excited to return to the Volvo after so many years; my previous edition was 15 years ago! During that time I couldn’t be involved in this race due to having so many America’s Cup commitments. When I finished in Bermuda I changed the chip and started to
get into ocean racing mode. The change was not difficult but it is true that at first I felt a bit rusty. But I picked up the pace little by little and I was ready well before the start in Alicante. Luckily we had other sailors like Rob Greenhalgh and Neal McDonald who had already done a lot of the early work, particularly creating the new polars. It was all well advanced when I joined. SH: Your last race was on the Whitbread 60… JV: The 60 was not a strict one-design, it was a box rule. Although the majority of designs were Bruce Farr’s with similar hull lines, the sails, rig and foils and other elements were free and different, so the speeds were not identical as they are in the current monotype. The different sail configurations also meant different strategies; now the courses sailed are identical except if one boat falls behind. SH: So is the current race more fun or a little boring…
14 SEAHORSE
JV: It’s more fun. You see the result instantly. Any sail or trim change is evident right away. As we all have the same weapons it is more fun, there are no secrets – the human factor is the decider. Previously it was not like that, it was a combination of ship and human. SH: Does AIS play an important role now? JV: When you are all very close together it is used, but less than you may imagine because once you are eight miles apart the AIS is no longer relevant. On leg one we were 90 per cent of the time outside the range of the AIS. In the past we looked at the radar but it was not so precise. At night AIS is more useful – it is interesting when you see a boat slow down or change course because it tells you they are changing a sail. Then you analyse it to see if the sail change pays off. SH: If it were not for safety issues, would you ban it? JV: If it did not exist it would be more interesting, but AIS is now required for navigation security. SH: Would you have joined Fortuna, in 1989, if the crew included two girls! JV: In that edition I would have embarked on any boat and with any crew – the need to race the Whitbread was immense. I had no reference and everything was absolutely new to me. I would not have hesitated! The current rule that favours having more women onboard seems to me a success. Otherwise they have far fewer opportunities to do this event. It is the same as when the under- 30 requirement was introduced. Young people now do not have as many opportunities. And remember that there are also far fewer ships and fewer crews than years ago. Without these two rules the regatta would be a closed shop for veteran sailors! SH: What other changes would you highlight? JV:Over the years I have been taking part life onboard has definitely worsened, especially outside on deck. Since the current boats are much faster the deck is wetter. As for the noise, I hardly notice any
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BENOIT STICHELBAUT
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