LThe Rochelais know (almost) all their local skipper Yannick Bestaven, winner of the last Vendée Globe. They also certainly know that the two other skippers Violette Dorange and Antoine Cornic, originally from Rochefort and Île de Ré, have maritime ties to La Rochelle. Add to that the race director Hubert Lemonnier, his assistant Claire Renou, or even Pierre Daniellot, performance trainer for the boat La Mie Câline… That's a lot of locals on the stage and it's not over. Other Rochelais, a little more unknown, are working on this Vendée Globe (the departure of which is scheduled for this Sunday, November 10).
1 Julien Pulvé (39 years old), replacement skipper for Yannick Bestaven
Julien Pulvé and Yannick Bestaven have been collaborating for two years on the Imoca Maitre CoQ V.
Master Rooster V
The Vendée Globe skippers all have replacements. Yannick Bestaven's is called Julien Pulvé and is a pure butter Rochelais. This friendly navigator, originally from Paris, has been living in La Rochelle for thirty-two years. “I discovered sailing at 7 or 8 years old at the local club. I really got into it and started studying sailing in La Rochelle and then joined the French team to compete in the international championships. I then discovered the open sea and then the Mini-Transat,” recalls the sailor. The Rochelais met his teammate in 2011 on the race between Les Sables-d'Olonne and The Azores. “I was competing on a boat older than that of Yannick (Bestaven), was playing for the win and missed him by a few seconds. I finished fifth, he congratulated me on the race. » Since then, the two skippers have never really left each other and have become friends, so much so that two years ago, Bestaven asked Pulvé to join him in the Maitre Coq V project as second skipper.
The replacement position in sailing is quite special. “I’m preparing as a non-sub. I condition myself as best I can, I pretend I'm leaving. This is a position that is not always mentally obvious. This allows me to prepare for a future,” emphasizes Julien. “With these high-performance boats, comfort on board disappears and can cause the danger of injuries due to speed. Having two skippers allows the boat to be sure of participating in the Vendée Globe. » The relationship is healthy between the two teammates: “We support each other and share. We are similar in the way we do things on the water but Yannick is more experienced than me on the subject. » The skipper hopes for a happy outcome for his teammate this year. “We have all prepared the boat to give the best possible performance, we will not deprive ourselves of a good place, or even the best. »
2 Annie Pigny (30 years old), social media manager for skippers Thomas Ruyant and Sam Goodchild
Pierre Barboteau
Annie Pigny, from Rochelais and digital communicator for the skippers Thomas Ruyant and Sam Goodchild.
For two years, Rochelaise Annie Pigny has managed digital communication for the Vulnerable sailing team of skippers Thomas Ruyant and Sam Goodchild, both at the start this Sunday. This sailing and ocean racing enthusiast began her career at sea right in front of her childhood home, located Rue sur les Murs, near the towers of La Rochelle. “I was a member of the ASPTT, I sailed in an Optimist and a 420, then I obtained my instructorship at the La Rochelle sailing school. I have always been passionate about boats because it was close to home, I don’t come from a family of sailors,” she says. This vocation led her to move after her studies, at the age of 18, to Brittany, the Mecca of ocean racing. “I discovered the Vendée Globe, the Route du rhum, the Solitaire du Figaro… I combined my passion for the sea and that of ocean racing for work. »
Annie then went independent and then worked for various major competitions before joining the Vulnerable team. Her work as a digital communicator is very important for the team. “Our role, on land, is to relay all the images that the skippers can produce. They are sailors, meteorologists, sportsmen, handymen but they must also be communicators. We need images, videos and sounds so people know what's happening. » Sailing being a very technical sport, for La Rochelaise it is a matter of popularizing as much as possible the information it collects from them. “We try to entertain with simple terms. You have to tell great stories, anecdotes and authentic content that can speak to anyone. What I love to do is create emotion. »
3 Nicolas Andrieu, 38 years old, technical manager of the Charal sailing team
Pierre Barboteau
Rochelais Nicolas Andrieu is the technical manager of the Charal sailing team.
He also learned to love and practice sailing in La Rochelle. Now based in Lorient, Nicolas Andrieu has worked for eight years for the Charal sailing team of skipper Jérémie Beyou. This aeronautical engineer by trade, son of the La Rochelle naval architect Daniel Andrieu, known for having designed the Passeur de La Rochelle, joined the world of ocean racing in 2013 in Vincent Riou's team (PRB sailing team) for prepare for the 2016 Vendée Globe. Then Nicolas was recruited into Jérémie Beyou's team to start the Charal project in 2017. “We built and designed two boats for the Vendée Globe 2020 and therefore 2024. I am in charge of the technical coordination of the project. It’s intense work, often people only see the three weeks in the Vendée Globe village as well as the race but on our side, the project started well before,” explains the man who left his bags in La Rochelle, at at the age of 10, with his parents, from the capital.
