Skipper Hervé Laurent was found dead this Friday, August 30, 2024 in Morbihan, following an accident at sea. Known in the world of sailing and a maritime expert, the Breton had participated for 40 years in the biggest offshore races.
A well-known figure in the world of sailing passed away this Friday, August 30, 2024.
The lifeless body of Hervé Laurent was found at 8:45 a.m. in Larmor-Plage in Morbihan, by the Dragon 56 helicopter of civil security, indicates the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic.
A search was launched by the Etel Regional Operational Surveillance and Rescue Centre (CROSS-A) following the report of a semi-rigid boat adrift near the Spernec point on the island of Groix at 7:06 a.m. on Friday.
This semi-rigid, whose control console was found torn off, was the property of Hervé Laurent.
The nautical brigade of the National Gendarmerie and the coastal maritime surveillance boat of the Maritime Gendarmerie, who arrived at the scene of the discovery of the body, could only confirm the death of the Breton skipper, aged 67.
The gendarmerie has opened an investigation to determine the cause of death.
Living on the Island of Groix, Hervé Laurent was a seasoned skipper and maritime expert.
For over 40 years, Hervé Laurent has sailed the world’s seas and oceans aboard sailboats. The Breton skipper has notably taken part in several Route du Rhum races (1982, 1990, 1994), Solitaire du Figaro (1980, 1995) and Transat Jacques Vabre (1993, 2005, 2007).
Record holder for the solo sailing crossing of the North Atlantic from La Baule to Dakar in 1991, he achieved the feat of finishing 3rde of the 1997 Vendée Globe.
Skipper Hervé Laurent took part in the world’s biggest offshore races between 1979 and 2008.
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Alain Gautier from Lorient knew Hervé Laurent well, with whom he sailed in the Transat Québec Saint-Malo and Transméditerranéenne.I had a great time with him as a competitor and co-skipper. We are from the same era. We nicknamed him Snapnav in reference to the ancestors of GPS, because he often occupied the navigation position. He was my trainer during my first Vendée Globe in 1989” said Alain Gautier, reached by telephone this Friday, August 30.
The winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 1989 and the Vendée Globe 1992 “regularly met Hervé Laurent in the area around Lorient“.
It was always nice to talk to him. He was a deadpan guy. Hervé sailed a lot. He really had the recognition of the community.
“It was a eexcellent sailor. A very good connoisseur of the sea, recalls a journalist from France 3 Bretagne, who knew him well. He was a great guy. A lovely boy, very kind. He didn’t have the career he should have had. As he didn’t know how to sell himself enough, he remained in the shadow of the other great sailors of the time.“.
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