Louis Burton taking on his 4th Vendée Globe

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Between Louis Burton and the Vendée Globe, the story began twelve years ago. After being forced to retire in 2012, the Saint-Malo skipper finished 7^e place in 2016, then he climbed to the third step of the podium in 2020, after 80 days of crossing.

“The Vendée Globe is the most difficult single-handed event because of the route and the duration of the crossing, but not only that. We are not entitled to any technical stopovers and must not benefit from any external assistance, either in terms of weather or technical matters,” recalls the 39-year-old skipper.

Physical and technical preparation

It's on board Valley Office 3 that he is going to take part in the race.

“It’s a boat that we bought in 2021, after the last Vendée Globe. In terms of preparation, we did everything possible. It is a solid boat, which has an optimized gauge and a center of gravity set back to cope with the seas that I will face. »

With the Raid

The skipper also prepared physically (cardio and muscle strengthening). Mental preparation is also part of the equation.

I approached the Raid (Police) to work on the mentalization part. This allowed me to put boxes in my head so that I could bounce back from any situation. You also have to know how to last three months on board a boat that makes a noise like a washing machine non-stop. It is also a human factor which can limit performance.

The lesson of the last Vendée Globe

As he prepares to experience his fourth Vendée Globe, Louis Burton still remembers the pitfalls of the last edition.

“Three days after the start, I remember coming very close to retirement, because there was some damage. I had autopilot problems in the deep south, some damage to the mast. I even had to take shelter behind a small island to be able to climb the mast. At that point, I had moved from 3^e at 11^e place. I was exhausted and on the verge of giving up. I learned a big lesson : we must fight to the end! »

The skipper hopes to do as well as in 2020: “I'm going there to try to win, but there is also a lot of randomness. In general, half of the boats abandon due to the difficulty of this race. You have to know how to take your foot off the gas so as not to break. »

Last days of preparation

After spending a few days in the Vendée Globe village, in Les Sables d'Olonne, Louis Burton took a break in Saint-Malo before returning to Vendée at the beginning of November. “From there, I’m going to focus hard on the weather. Thanks to the satellite network, I will have access to the weather files, but it will be up to me alone to analyze them to compare them with reality on the water and define my crossing strategy. »

From our local correspondent Matthieu BARON

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