SPORTS / 40 skippers set off this Sunday from Les Sables d'Olonne for a solo round-the-world sailing trip, non-stop and without assistance. Among them, Romain Attanasio, whose grandparents are from Vars and Damien Seguin, born in Briançon.
– Hautes-Alpes –
They set sail this Sunday, the 40 skippers of the Vendée Globe. And among them, two names that resonate in the Hautes-Alpes: Romain Attanasio and Damien Seguin. Until January, they will sail around the world solo, non-stop and without assistance.
A crazy race, which takes place every four years, of around 45,000 kilometers around the globe, bypassing the three mythical capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and Cape Horn, to return to Les Sables d'Olonne.
The most Olympian of all skippers
Damien Seguin is setting off for his second Vendée Globe. Born in Briançon without a left hand, he learned to adapt, including on the water. “I get by with one hand and one arm, it’s the story of my life. I was able to adapt and develop a fairly ergonomic deck plan. When people come to sail with me, they tell me that it's not stupid and the following week, I find this adaptation on their boat. Because if it’s easier for me, it’s also easier for others.”
Romain Attanasio, a fearless skipper?
Damien Seguin shares something in common with Romain Attanasio: it was in 1990 that both had a revelation, when Florence Arthaud won the Route du Rhum.
Romain Attanasio traces his high-Alpine roots to his grandparents, residents of Vars. And now he shares the life of the high-alpine trail runner, Laurie Phaï. He is aiming for a Top 10 for this Vendée Globe. But he will have to deal with the vagaries of the oceans, and the fear that goes with it, “ It often happens in difficult conditions, it's often the fear of breaking. But sometimes in the Deep South, I had to face waves of 14 meters. And we know that here, we can wait eight days for rescues. This fear is necessary to avoid doing anything.”
C. Cava Michard
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