His azure blue eyes emanate a certain determination. At 43, Thomas Ruyant has already proven a lot. The two-time winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum is preparing to set off for the third time in his career to attack “the Everest of the seas”on November 10.
Semi-lying on his boat moored in Les Sables-d'Olonne, he delights in seeing the popular success he has generated. Among the crowd of curious people, many stopped in front of his Imoca and grabbed their phone to immortalize the brief encounter, well aware that this was a contender for the title. However, the native of Hauts-de-France was not predestined. “I am not Breton, I do not come from a family of sailors, I did not spend my childhood riding the Optimist, In short, not trivial! “, is he having fun
Believe in your strengths
Those who also practice running and ice hockey will nevertheless make sport their profession very early on. Graduated with a master's degree in sports management, he took a liking to sailing in high school, already imagining himself conquering the globe. Holder of a rich track record in almost twenty years of career, the sailor will take off on November 10 to play for victory and, beyond that, to take full responsibility for it. “I know what I am capable of and I know that I am one of the favoriteshe smiles. This label adds pressure but positive pressure, we fought to obtain it. In recent years, there have been very good results with my boat. I know he has the potential to win the Vendée Globe, even if there are plenty of others. »
Neither fetishistic nor superstitious, the evocation of the hidden dreams of sailors and their sometimes mystical relationship with the elements only arouses in Thomas Ruyant a wave of the hand. “I am very down to earth, I don’t get lost in a spiritual issue. There are moments of grace at sea, but ultimately, the time to enjoy is short, the performance is at stake every moment. » For this quiet person, competition takes precedence over everything else. “My desire is to be proud of what I have done, to return of course, he laughs, to return the favor to all the people who worked alongside me. The slightly crazy dream would obviously be to come first in the Sables-d'Olonne channel. I'm not saying I'm going to win, but I know I can and I have everything to achieve it. However, it remains the Vendée Globe, a race apart and during which a lot of things can happen. »
Because Thomas Ruyant knows better than anyone how offshore racing, and particularly the Vendée Globe, remains unpredictable. During the 2016 edition, after hitting an unidentified floating object, he abandoned the round-the-world trip off the coast of New Zealand, before heroically returning his heavily damaged boat to safe harbor. Four years later, after having fought for the podium for a long time, he finally finished in 6th place, after application of the time compensation obtained by Jean Le Cam and Boris Herrmann, following the rescue of Kévin Escoffier.
The vulnerability of the sailor
At the heart of a hostile nature, its commitment to the 2024 edition, within the project Vulnerablesuddenly takes on its full meaning. With his partner and sponsor Advens, a French cybersecurity company, Thomas Ruyant wishes to promote a change in outlook on the vulnerability of people and the planet. Behind the sporting challenge, an ambition: to give a place to the most vulnerable among us to better humanize society. “Since the start of my career in 2005, I have always been keen to use my performances to highlight societal causes, he explains. With them, I have often felt less alone aboard my sailboats, as I sail alone a lot. The idea with this project is to call on everyone to look at vulnerability as a potential to be valued, rather than a burden to be hidden. »
Through his sailor's window, Thomas Ruyant also claims an increased perception of the vulnerability of the planet: “At our level, we sometimes have difficulty seeing climate change, yet it is there. SI had to cite an example between the start of my career and now, it is the proliferation of algae at sea. We saw little of it before, there are more and more of it, just like plastic waste. We become aware of the vulnerability of our home. »
Alone aboard his cockpit, Thomas Ruyant will share, for the first time during a Vendée Globe, the name of the boat Vulnerablewith another sailor, Sam Goodchild. The Briton will be the second thief of this expedition led and financed by Advens. On the Sables-d'Olonne pontoon, the two men moored side by side display their complicity. A way to never really be alone before setting off.
