Opposite: Loïck Peyron at the start of the last Route du Rhum in 2014 which he won on Banque Populaire VII, stepping in at the last minute for the injured Armel le Cléacʼh. By this time the VPLP 105-footer originally launched as Groupama 3 was in her ninth season… by the time Francis Joyon had stripped her to the bone in his usual way and sailed her round the world in 40 days to win the Jules Verne Trophy she was nearly 12 years old… take a bow, Multiplast Shipyard. For the 2018 Rhum Peyron is finally taking the boat he had expected to be sailing in the 2014 edition (above) – his Olympus Photo sistership Happy, designed by Dick Newick and built by Walter Greene in 1978. Peyronʼs final Orma 60 Fujifilm (left) is dismasted during the spectacular Orma Grand Prix series in 2002; months later Peyron was lucky to escape with his life when the boat broke up in 80kt winds in the Route du Rhum
Yarmouth, Maine – bingo.’
The boat was swiftly bought, brought back to her original state in about five months, launched… and Loïck set off for his 2014 Rhum qualifier. ‘Artemis cut me some slack so I could do this, and with such a boat I felt fine reneging on my promise not to go back to solo multihull sailing! ‘It was at the start of my qualifier, as I had the kite up and everything, that I received Ronan’s call about Armel being injured, and how I needed to replace him – you know the rest.’
Today four years have passed, every- thing is in place, and if the man wasn’t able to finish his 2016 Transat aboard Pen Duick II due to damage, he feels that this longtime desire has been fulfilled – it’s all about the Rhum now. After Tabarly, Birch. ‘Yes, it certainly is a way to pay tribute to these men who inspired us, thanks to whom we have divided by three the time it takes to sail across the Atlantic. ‘I know I say it often, but no other mechanical sport has progressed that much in the last 40 years.’ Just as on the Transat in 2016, Peyron will line up for the Rhum being at the same time the title
holder, ‘and in no position whatsoever to defend it’, he laughs.
First and foremost, it’s about the plea- sure of being at sea. ‘It’s not without risk, but incomparably less stressful than what I’ve done so far. I’m not treating it as a cruise, and will enjoy being at sea in racing conditions, with a level of performance dating back 40 years… and this time I will be carrying a message.’ Indeed, if he has been involved with several charities over the years it’s the first time he displays it. ‘Action Enfance (which helps disadvan- taged children) was turning 60 this year, my race number is 60… it’s one of these encounters, not planned but very quickly it seemed obvious. I’ve been building paper models of the boat at night to send to kids who are cared for by the charity. I take it to heart, it’s good to bring meaning to this adventure. Having grown up as one of five, carrying the banner of an organisa- tion that helps siblings to stay together despite adversity is important to me.’ To get his boat ready Loïck works just with a small team of friends, which he also finds refreshing – ‘not that I wish to glorify one way of doing things over another, or
look with too much nostalgia to the past, I just think it’s a luxury to be able to pursue that dream, with Dacron sails, no carbon and no real pressure.
‘I want to respect Dick Newick’s and Walter Greene’s reverence for simplicity. The deck layout I settled for is minimalist, we took off kilos and kilos of tracks, blocks and so on. The centreboard is original, but I have adopted a more modern rudder blade to keep a lighter tiller and limit the pilot’s energy consumption as much as possible. But it’s a lifting rudder still and the boat sits on the beach with every tide… I walk out to her.
‘Of course, safety apparatus is of our era, and many modern artefacts are there to make my life easier: I’m not a “passé- ist” at heart, all I want to respect is the spirit of our forefathers.’ Which means no furlers, an aluminium rig, traditional spin- nakers galore, and of course books – 15 of them, to be precise. Enough to fill the expected 23 days it will take Happy to make it to the Antilles.
Peyron, the bon vivant, is not taking any wine with him but will have a small bottle of rum onboard, ‘should I feel like making some bananes flambées at some point’, he jokes. Jocelyn Blériot
SEAHORSE 35
q
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
CHRISTOPHE LAUNAY/DPPI
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