Emmanuelle Daviet receives Catherine Pottier who covers each edition of the Vendée Globe, the first arrivals of which took place this week with Charlie Dalin and Yoann Richomme
Emmanuelle Daviet: You are currently in Les Sables d'Olonne and the listeners have questions for you. We start with this: is there a moment that you prefer in this race?
Catherine Pottier: What I like best is the feedback. Because when the sailors leave the port, everything is fine. They usually want to leave. But when they return, we see on their faces all the fatigue of a world tour. This can also be seen on a boat. We know very well that there are a lot of boats that will have to go to the garage because there are a lot of things, small glitches during the crossing. But for me it's really the emotion, the emotion of seeing a boat come back, of going to look for it offshore, of discovering a silhouette sometimes in the night. This is what happened to Charlie d'Alain and suddenly seeing the skipper's face. And we look at him and we say to ourselves, this guy has just traveled the world.
Emmanuelle Daviet: How important are the sea stories and logbooks that skippers share during the race? Ask a listener.
Catherine Pottier: Because they give us information about their daily life on board. Sometimes they readily say that they can have moments when there is a little weariness. But on a boat, there is always something to do. So the stories, the logbooks allow us to better understand their life on board, with anecdotes, with difficult moments. Photos too. Pictures. Cape Horn. How not to talk about Cape Horn. Yoann Richomme told us for example that he thinks he is the only sailor to have passed so close to Cape Horn because he wanted to see it so much. He was lucky because he saw it two days and very clearly, the famous stone. And he passed it on, he shared it with everyone who watches the Vendée Globe website or who listens to us.
Emmanuelle Daviet: Do you think this race is accessible to everyone in terms of understanding or does it require prior knowledge of sailing? Asks a listener.
Catherine Pottier: So I want to say that it is up to us, journalists, to popularize things. It is up to us to use simple words to tell what is happening at sea. If there are words, expressions specific to sailing and we must take the time to explain to the listener what is happening is about. And then telling, informing is also offering a dream. Information, of course, is our priority, especially at Franceinfo, but also giving images to the listener. When we tell the story of a life at sea, we are a bit like their eyes, so we have to give them as many images as possible so that they feel a bit like sailors at sea and therefore with explanations and simple words. , so that the adventure is accessible to everyone.
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Emmanuelle Daviet: Catherine Pottier, a question that comes up frequently: Have you noticed an evolution in the profile of the participants over the years? An evolution in terms of age, gender or background?
Catherine Pottier: So yes, undoubtedly. Many say that they are no longer adventurers today, but rather F1 drivers. I want to moderate all that a little because a trip around the world alone on board is always a trip around the world and it's always an adventure. But it is true that the profiles of skippers have evolved. Many are engineers. Generally, they are also experienced in the exercise of communication. There are social networks, there are the media. There are more and more of them. This is also what the race organizers want. And then the sponsors, of course. So the image of the silent sailor who says nothing to anyone when he is at sea or when he returns to the dock, that is a bit of the past. Today, sailors are, I would even say obliged, because it is one of the specifications of the racing organization. Every day, sailors must send a small logbook of videos to share their adventure. And for them too, when they return to land, to tell stories perhaps a little too often for their liking, Yoann Richomme told me that what is complicated is repeating yourself. But hey, that’s also part of the game and the race.
Emmanuelle Daviet: We end with this question: Why, in your opinion, does the Vendée Globe generate such enthusiasm among the public? We particularly noticed this again with the arrivals this week in Les Sables.
Catherine Pottier: Because the concept is simple, a man or a woman, a boat and a trip around the world, around the planet. Sailors are alone on a boat. They face loneliness. They are confronted with the elements, with the ocean. It's basic, ultimately, we leave Les Sables d'Olonne, we return to Les Sables d'Olonne. In the meantime, we tour the planet aboard boats. So they are not all the same. It's the same class, as they say, the same category, these are 18 meter boats. But obviously, some have chosen this or that arrangement. So it's not a one-design, but they are still boats that look similar. It's the same category, it's simple and therefore very effective.
