to say ‘one for the road’ and fall into the trap of overdoing it. I also did not want, given my age and that of the new generation of skippers, to have to bridge a cultural gap. But most of all I left because my values were at odds with the


approach taken: I wanted the organisers to question their strategy and not simply press ‘copy/paste’ from one edition to the next. What do we want to become, and why? That was not on the agenda, and what I put to them was simple – you either stay deliberately faithful to the race’s DNA (no assistance, no stopovers) or you clearly embrace the notion of being a technology-driven event, with the consequences that entails from an outside help perspective. Both options are laudable, but they require total clarity, and at


the moment that’s not there. Technical teams are the reactor core of every campaign and are


in constant contact with the skipper at sea, some teams hire Olympic helmsmen before the race so the AI module in the autopilot can learn from the best… It’s a very fine line, unless you embrace this and decide that from now on the VG is a 21st-century high-tech event. Let’s look back a little. Both Bernard Stamm and Mike Plant were


disqualified for receiving outside assistance… but would they be today? The Imoca class introduced a very subtle change this year, a caveat that says that no assistance is allowed ‘unless the craft is in danger’, and that opens Pandora’s box in my view. When will someone argue that they pulled into port because the boat was in danger, received assistance on those grounds and resumed their race because everything was therefore legit? SH: Talking about danger and assistance, we’ve just witnessed Le Cam’s amazing feat of seamanship when PRB (a brand that was ‘made’ by the Vendée Globe, incidentally) sank. It turns out that Jean seems to be absolutely everywhere in your book – tell us more. DH: Jean is profoundly steeped in reality, he has got this immense practical intelligence that some autodidacts develop. He is not a pontificating theory-loving character, but a genuine man who tells it like it is, and whose generosity is within reach at all times. What he’s been achieving with his ‘old’ boat so far is a direct


result of his desire to always stick to the essentials and to get straight to the point. He loves that boat, named it ‘Hubert’ as a tribute to her builder, his childhood friend, Michel Desjoyeaux’s brother, with whom he acquired countless F40 championship titles. He’s got a tiny team and ⇔3.5m by way of budget – boosted


by a bit of consulting for other teams on the side (ed: among them, Damien Seguin… a Paralympian, placed fourth in the VG as I type, on another ancient boat!) and just gets by. The main criteria for Jean are reliability and lightness, and for me it was telling to see Hubert sailed so effortlessly at the start. He clearly has remarkable technical qualities, but his human


side is even more impressive. In 1996, when he won the Figaro, he waited for every single competitor on the pontoon, greeted them with a beer and indulged in long ‘race replay’ conversations, instead of going to sleep even though he was ‘cooked’. That’s Jean for you. And in the 1990s when prizemoney was a rarity – if you won a lot


of races you ended up with a lot of expensive watches – Jean had a good dozen Rolexes in a cupboard at one point, and he gave them all away to friends over the years. Of course everyone loves his face- tious side, he’s as un-laborious as it gets on his boat because he’s integrated every little parameter a long time ago already: he does not need to practise his scales, he and Desjoyeaux are alike on that front. Making a boat go fast is second nature, he can afford to be himself… and anyway he couldn’t pretend if his life depended on it!


One can only hope that an English version of Denis’s book sees the light of day at some point, if only because it represents a hand reaching across the oceans and mountains to all non-French fans and entrants… who in the author’s opinion haven’t received the support or attention they deserve. Mon Vendée Globe provides a wealth of previously unreleased (or forgotten) information and anec- dotes that make life around an offshore race so intense… and sometimes just silly. Like that evening when, deep in the France Télécom crisis centre that hosted the race’s HQ, I bet Denis a bottle of champagne that he couldn’t find a way to place the word ‘wheel- barrow’ in his interview as he was about to go live on radio. I lost. Denis Horeau was talking to Jocelyn Blériot


q


SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with


l The university… of improvisation l When… Vendée racer Alexia Barrier suspected damage to the top of her mast... l While… the Southern Ocean was playing hard ball… l She really… really did not fancy the trip up til things calmed down l No worries… the French solo skipper built herself a ‘camera-car’ which she hoisted up the mainsail track l It performed… and with such great excellence... l That… Alexia decided the damage was minor enough to immediately throw up her biggest gennaker l Stability wanted… all change at the top of the Ultim class in terms of ownership and personnel l Not helping… François Gabart’s quest to purchase the part-built Ultim codename M101 from former sponsor Macif l Big boys’ toys… Macif did extract €4.8million from the sale of Macif 1 to Yves le Blevec l Talking… budget cuts l Yikes… UK government support for the British Sailing Team for 2024 has been cut… l Suck on that… down to £21.3 million l Legend… by carrying on alone to complete the Vendée Globe as a ‘non-finisher’ Sam Davies had already raised enough money to save the lives of at least 40 children with severe heart defects l Bargain… windsurfing god Robbie Nash is selling his pad overlooking the Maui North Shore l Offers… on US$18million please l There be… dollars in them there skegs l Different world… just before he turned back with hull damage we noticed that Sébastien Destremau onboard Merci was more than 7,000nm behind the Vendée leaders l Equates to… finishing 6+ weeks behind the race winner l Still bloody fast… compared with the Golden Globe! l Crazy stuff… the flying AC75s? l Kid’s play… 1903 defender Reliance stood 200ft from water to ensign, carried 16,200ft2 of upwind sail area and was fully powered up in 7kt of wind l If luffed… head to wind at hull speed she could carry her way for over two miles l OK… we made that bit up l Or… did we? l Interest… (from qualified sailors) is growing in the HP30 Corinthian class l Build your own… run what you brung... l Some fast boats… too… l One day… we may again have 30-footers capable of home build? l Which will be a really… really good thing l Why… well, more than 60 Quarter Tonners contested the 1978 worlds in Enoshima l Now… do you get it? l Who’d be… an Olympic competitor for Tokyo? l It’s really not… looking too hopeful, is it? l Meow… did a private rights dispute really lead to the loss of course graphics for some of the Prada Cup races? l Indeed it did… as Sir Russell Coutts launched a legal action against Sir Ian Taylor’s company Animation Research l Why… to protect the financial interests of Oracle and Larry Ellison l How the mighty… (no printable words come to mind) l ‘Upstaff?’… yes, it blindsided us too… l Seems that’s… how California fire services now describe sending extra people to an incident l Learn… the Queen’s, you addled surf bums l Are Giles Scott… and Sir Ben delivering the coolest onboard comms of the challengers? l Of course… they are l Six Olympic… medals between them and Scott is the only tactician with no other onboard role l Did you… hear them while trailing the Italians early in the Prada Cup (before beating them, obvs) l Sounded like… they were on a stroll to the shops l Hope they’ve… got the pace in March... l Ding Schoonmaker… Simon Russell, Bill Bentsen, Benjamin de Rothschild and Int14 legend Jeremy Pudney. A terribly sad month l Finally… RaceboatsOnly.com and EurosailNews.com await a click


SEAHORSE 21


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