In the final stretch before the start of the Vendée Globe, this Sunday, November 10 from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France Bleu Loire Océan offers you a series of five guests to understand all the challenges of sailing around the world alone. After the CEO of the Dubreuil group sponsor of the boat of the same name, the new race director, Hubert Lemonnierthis Wednesday, we are with one of the Vendée skippers: Benjamin Dutreux, from the Ile d’Yeu who is participating in his second Vendée Globe after being the revelation of the 2020-2021 edition. He finished ninth.
“Finish the race and enter the top 10 again”
What is your goal this time? “Already, the first objective is to finish the race. And if not, we would like to be able to enter the top ten again, with this boat that we have optimized for two and a half years and with which we have does a lot of shopping.”
You have the boat with which Alex Thomson finished second in the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe, therefore more efficient than last time. “Yes, a more efficient boat, but the field, in general, should have been more efficient too, with 13 new boats built for this year compared to nine in 2020. So it’s true that we tried to keep the boat at the best possible level. It’s a great challenge for us, at least for the team, to have grown up with a more efficient boat, with foils, more onboard technology. Today is a new challenge. for us to take the start with this new Vendée Globe machine.”
“We arrive at the start with much more serenity”
The big difference is that you know roughly what to expect. “It’s certain that it helps me a lot to prepare. We had two and a half years of preparation, compared to the last edition, which was done a bit at the last minute with a very small budget. We were able to do a lot of races with this boat, so it’s true that we arrive at the start with a lot more peace of mind.”
What do you fear? “We dread everything in fact. The Vendée Globe, if we go back every time, it’s because it’s going to be different each time. The sea is a natural element, just like the mountains or the forest, and every day is different. And that’s also the beauty of the race.”
“Look forward to seeing the albatrosses again”
And what are you looking forward to? “I’m a competitor, so I can’t wait to go racing. And then, of course, I can’t wait to find the albatross, which I haven’t seen for a long time, in the southern seas. “
During the previous Vendée Globe, you also experienced solitude, you spent 81 days on your boat. “We never really prepare for this solitude. Because in fact, we never leave for 80 days to go and train to do that. So it’s true that each time it’s a new discovery about It went quite well last time and so it’s true that I didn’t spend too much time preparing specifically for that. And it’s a race, we’re never really everything. alone. We are with 39 other competitors.”
You confided that at the end of the previous Vendée Globe, it took you a month to recover physically. Did you do more specific preparation this time? “Yes, indeed. I had more time and I still prepared much better. I’ve been preparing physically specifically for this race for a year and a half, but after that, it’s going to be so long that it’s going to be you also have to learn to know yourself and manage yourself. That’s what’s special about this race.”
“It’s important to form a bond with your boat”
You also have to know your boat well, obviously. “Yes, of course, it’s something important. In fact, in our preparation, at the beginning, I really had difficulty living on this boat and interacting with it, feeling good on it. It’s that’s why we’ve made a lot of changes. It’s now much clearer, with much more visibility and I feel much better on board. It’s true that it’s important to form a bond with your boat.” .
Are you looking forward to the start? “Yes, we’re starting to look forward to it! At some point, we have to go!”
Yves-René Tapon
