cast off with the selection of books

My double Everest, from the Vendée Globe to the roof of the world, Maxime Sorel, Gallimard editions, €20

Of the forty sailors registered at the start of the tenth edition, Maxime Sorel is the only one who can boast of having conquered the Everest of the seas (10th in the 9th edition), nickname of this offshore race, and Everest, the TRUE. The blonde head from Saint-Malo climbed to the roof of the world in 2023 during an enchanted interlude in his life as a professional skipper. In this story, the memories of these two worlds that he explored and which are almost completely opposed in form are intertwined. Two perilous worlds which are also similar in the harshness they impose on all those who venture there. In the middle of the ocean or on the snowy walls of the top of the world, we follow the wanderings of this civil engineer. A story full of anecdotes, reflections as well as a beautiful life lesson aimed at all those who do not dare to leave the comfort of everyday life and the beaten track.

Doctor of the sea, from big races to cruising, Jean-Yves Chauve, Glénat editions, €19.95

From 1989 to 2020, doctor of the most prestigious solo races on the planet (but also of the Solitaire du Figaro, the Route du rhum, the Transat Jacques Vabre…) Jean-Yves Chauve has treated hundreds of sailors from a distance to help them straighten a dislocated thumb, sew up their tongue in the Roaring Forties or perk up when the body is at the end of its rope in the middle of the ocean. This guardian angel of sailors recounts a life of radio interventions. Unusual situations (notably when a sailor’s wife calls him in panic because her husband claims to have seen a man in a red raincoat with a worrying look preventing him from entering his cabin) often giving rise to striking dialogues, sometimes funny or distressing. The 75-year-old Poitevin, a key figure in the world of sailing, seasoned skipper and author of works on sleep, alertness and nutrition, writes a tasty story, “a vitamin cure”, to use the expression of Bruno Peyron .

En queste d’équilibre, Éric Bellion, éditions Stock, €22

He was born in Versailles, in the Paris region, studied business and management before working in the digital field. Éric Bellion was therefore not really destined to write his story at sea even if the literature of ocean racing had nourished his childhood dreams. The secret aspirations of this forty-year-old (48 years old) became reality in the early 2000s by launching navigation projects involving people with disabilities. He then plunged into the world of competition before realizing his dream by participating in the Vendée Globe (9^e and first of the rookies). An adventure that he brought to the screen in a documentary (Comme un Seul Homme, 2019). An atypical profile for offshore racing, he also took the start of the Route du rhum by steering a schooner, in contemplative mode (he finished late). This year he is back in the Vendée Globe with a boat (Stand as one) identical to that of Jean Le Cam. His book, written during confinement, recounts 25 years of a singular passion for sailing. An intimate story, imbued with humanism and beautiful reflections around collective effort and addressing the theme of sobriety with responsibility.

Crossing the oceans and other epics, Isabelle Joschke, Glénat editions, €19.95

Isabelle Joschke will be one of the six women departing from Les Sables-d’Olonne on November 10, at the helm of the monohull MACSF. A second great adventure around the world for this Franco-German sailor after a first ending with a taste of unfinished business (unclassified arrival after 108 days at sea and abandonment following keel damage which forced her to repair in Salvador of Bahia). With the help of novelist Valérie Péronnet, she looks back on a two-decade journey at sea. A long journey, made up of hopes, joys, disappointments, suffering like when you had to go and train in the middle of winter in freezing cold that tortured your hands, but also fears that had to be tamed. We enter the head of a sailor of great humility, very attentive to her body and fighting against the clutches of doubt to achieve her dreams.

Sailor from Vendée, Arnaud Boissières, éditions du Rocher, €19

Everything, everything, everything you will know everything about the Vendée Globe and the underside of this legendary event. Arnaud Boissières is preparing to compete for the fifth consecutive time in this race which he now knows like the back of his hand and which he describes from every angle. The former teammate of Olivier de Kersauson (whose encounter he recounts when he was still only a young, intimidated and inexperienced sailor) who overcame leukemia answers all the practical questions that the public asks during a world tour through a testimony written with humor and without embellishment. This ranges from hygiene to food to natural needs. Through short paragraphs which punctuate the story, Boissières also offers reflections on his relationship with the boat, on noise management or even the superstition of sailors, a vast subject.

The legend of the Vendée Globe, Philippe Joubin, Albin Michel editions, €35

Do we still need to present “The Legend of the Vendée Globe” which returns every four years in a very prominent place in the windows of our bookstores? Philippe Joubin, journalist for L’Équipe, L’Équipe Magazine and Voiles et Voiliers, is once again at the helm of the opus preceding the 10th edition. A work which, like its predecessors, presents itself in the form of an alphabet book. The 2024 version therefore does not claim to be exhaustive but the themes are always well chosen. Alongside the classics and essentials like the departure, the screaming fiftieths, Michel Desjoyeaux, Loïc Peyron or even the weather, more intriguing subjects like decoration, cinema, icebergs, literature or even Puerto WIlliams are finding their place. A beautifully illustrated Bible that you can enjoy reading on your sofa during long winter evenings.

Jean Le Cam, my Vendée Globe, Solar editions, €32

Stainless Jean Le Cam. At 65, the man who has acquired the name “King Jean” will cast off for the sixth time since Vendée. He will not set off with the ambition of winning (his best result is a second place in 2005 and his new boat without foils will have difficulty keeping up with the best) but will certainly be one of the great attractions of the public who will have invaded Les Sables-d’Olonne on the morning of November 10. The Quimperois has experienced almost everything on the world tour: the anguish of the capsize off Cape Horn in 2009, the battle for victory four years previously and an incredible rescue mission in 2021 to fetch the shipwrecked Kevin Escoffier. A rescue operation which made this old-fashioned sailor the darling of the 9^e edition. With the help of the fine pen Philippe Joubin, the navigator of few words recounts his epic adventures in the Everest of the seas. A story as exciting as the character, the incarnation of the old-fashioned sailor, is atypical.

The Vendée Globe, 35 years of adventure, by Didier Ravon, Gallimard editions, €35

The Vendée Globe is celebrating its tenth edition this year. The opportunity, with this anniversary, to delve into the history of this ocean race. A myth that Didier Ravon explores with a reference work retracing, edition after edition, the great epics of the heroes of the seas. The opportunity also to measure the incredible evolution of sailing over the decades, from the adventurers of 1989 (Titouan Lamazou’s victory) setting off towards a total unknown to the high-level athletes who will leave Vendée at the helm of boats worth several millions of euros and loaded with technology. A story of exploits, joys, but also dramas and tears which forged the legend. A magnificently illustrated encyclopedia of this race to put in a good place in the living room library.

Behind the scenes of the Vendée Globe, with Romain Attanasio, by Bertrand Parent, éditions Glénat, €19.95

Launching a Vendée Globe project means taking the start of a long obstacle course. A marathon that Romain Attanasio is about to succeed for the third time, at the helm of Fortinet-Best Western, despite a late dismasting. The book by this 47-year-old Parisian is a look behind the scenes of the event: the race for money when the skipper swaps his raincoat for a suit with the sponsors, delicate assembly of a team and physical and mental preparation before ‘face the raging seas for at least 80 days. The navigator also talks about his past adventures around the globe, those hours preceding the gunshot that he has to live with a knot in his stomach, his struggles at sea when he hits a whale or when he wakes up with a bloody face after being fainted and even loneliness is not easy to manage in the deep south. A strong testimony from the sailor and father candidate for a top 10 in the 2024-2025 edition.

Titouan Lamazou, Under the stars, Gallimard editions, €28

Winner of a legendary first edition in 1989 aboard Ecureuil Aquitaine II after 109 days 8 hours 47 minutes and 55 seconds at sea, Titouan Lamazou has put ocean racing aside for many years by replacing the rudder with a brush box. At 69, the former skipper continues his life as a “vagabond artist” by painting and writing. “Under the stars” brings together 120 new works paying tribute to the richness of Polynesian biodiversity, whether terrestrial or maritime. The texts are signed by Camille Mazé, research director at the CNRS. A beautiful marriage between the vision of the artist and that of the researcher to become aware of the fragility of our environment. From October 20, 2024 to March 2, 2025, the Sables d’Olonne Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art (MASC) will dedicate a major exhibition to the artist’s recent works.

At full speed, heading for my first Vendée Globe, Benjamin Ferré, Marabout editions, €22.90

He defines himself as a navigator-adventurer. Benjamin Ferré doesn’t just steer a boat. He hitchhiked around the world alone in 2010, an epic 40,000 km journey from which he made a documentary. He also rode in the Moroccan desert while participating in the 4L Trophy and crossed the Atlantic on a sextant. Benjamin Ferré is a jack of all trades who will take part in the Vendée Globe for the first time this year at the age of 34. The protégé of Jean Le Cam recounts his long preparation for the world tour and the hard learning of the sea from his participation in the Mini Transat in 2019 to the Route du rhum 2022, how to qualify, prepare your boat and your team , look for sponsors… Vast program!