A wooden boat. Nothing could be more logical, after all, under the tree. We are not talking here about a canoe or an old rig, but a real racing boat. An Imoca, an 18.60 meter monohull designed for a solo, non-stop round the world trip. “Wood in my house goes back a long way!” s’amuse Marc Thiercelin. “At 15, I built a house with this material! My partner was until now very critical of my multihull projects but now she tells me that I have a good idea!”
On paper, the idea in question only presents advantages. Ecological and financial. “Be careful, it’s not about throwing carbon boats in the trash! I just want to show that we can do things efficiently and respectful of the environment. Be competitive, with natural fibers.”
A wooden hull, a plywood structure – poplar, cherry or birch, your choice – bamboo for the interior fittings, hemp for the sails, linen for the fittings… This eco-responsible boat would allow a drastic reduction in the Carbon footprint: -70% compared to a classic sailboat. Because here, there is no need for a mold, which is expensive and energy-consuming. “We can even think of nettle! It’s a very resistant fiber. We make motorcycle helmets out of nettle today!” The cost of such a project? Between four and five million euros, compared to seven to eight million for current budgets. “We’re talking about a fin boat. We could put foils, but it would take more time, more budget. It would complicate the process.”
Mocking minds see this as a crazy project, a return to the kerosene lamp. It’s not knowing the boy well, with a willingly offbeat, atypical image. “At the start of the first Vendée Globe, many wondered how many were going to come back. They all came back! As my mother said, the best answer is to do well and let it be said!” Project partners, architects Gildas Plessis (340 boats designed) and Renaud Banuls (Sodebo Ultim trimaran) demonstrate the seriousness of the matter. In addition, four projects have already come forward, if necessary.
So far, no one has dared. “Captain Marck” wants to be the first out of the woods. “It is necessary that the 1is semester 2025 is paid. The priority is the industrial dimension, the construction itself. The sporting dimension will follow. I need to have found 60% of the construction budget by April 2025. Ultimately, the ideal would be to launch in the summer of 2026, to participate in the Route du Rhum at the same time.”
His last race was in 2019. Second in the 1996 Vendée Globe, with five world tours and more than twenty transatlantic races during his career, the Varois will celebrate his… 68th birthday in 2028. “Age is not a barrier. Sailing is a sport of experience. I have more experience. I come back with a fresh mind. I have always wanted to sail in recent years. If I realize that I’m the age of my arteries, so ok… But I’m talking to myself!” After all, Jean Le Cam is on the verge of completing his 4th consecutive Vendée Globe. Still competitive, at 66 years old. “Jean is not a fan of the gym, and yet! Francis Joyon won the Route du Rhum at 62 years old ! I’m not raising money to fail. I’m not going for a dead end. This is my last big project.”
From his young years of study at the prestigious Boulle school, he retained a taste for beautiful things. “I want a very ‘visual’ boat that raises questions every time you look at it. I see it as very refined. Aesthetically, you have to realize straight away that it’s a wooden boat.” He dreamed of being a luthier. When he reaches sixty, he imagines himself conductor, master builder of a final score. Pure Thiercelin. Baroque and bold.
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