If Yoann Richomme was born in 1983 in Fréjus, and therefore his first encounter with the sea took place in the Mediterranean, he grew up inland. Indeed, the family followed the changes of his father Yannick and it was in the Paris region that he grew up. Far from the wind and waves even if thanks to his father, the Richomme children quickly tasted the pleasures of the open sea during family cruises. But it is indeed in the Yvelines that Yoann built his spirit of adventurer and discoverer.
As a child, surrounded by forests, he loved wood and built many cabins: already his desire for freedom. The skipper of Paprec Arkéa is more of a man of the fields, of nature, of the great outdoors than a man of the cities. After his victory last May in the Transat CIC Lorient – New York and while waiting for the start of the New York Vendée Les Sables, he did not stay wandering around the Big Apple. With his wife Margaux, they went to recharge their batteries in the Grand Canyon. The sea is also obviously a place where he likes to be and where he feels good.
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2. His first steps in sailing
He did not do a “classic” offshore racer’s journey. He did not do like many sailors from the Vendée Globe, the Optimist, the Laser… but rather rugby. He learned the sea and navigation at home with his dad. The turning point took place during a transatlantic race in 2000. When they had just spent four years in Philadelphia, his father Yannick, who had caught the sailing bug from his own father, wanted to bring his family sailboat back by sea: “My best memory? Certainly my first crossing of the Atlantic from west to east, says his father. We lived in the United States for a long time and returned to France with my sailboat in three stages: Bermuda and the Azores. Yoann was on board this 33-footer.
This is where Yoann Richomme acquired a taste for the sea. He then enters offshore racing from the technical side. He joined the team of Roland Jourdain then Nicolas Lunven before taking the plunge alone. He even took on another role, that of head of the Figaro gauge commission for several years. This father of two little girls, now based in Larmor-Plage, loves solo sailing and the open sea and is making a place for himself in the sun: Figaro, Class40, Imoca and even in VO65 where he won The Ocean Race Europe with Mirpuri. He then discovers himself a leader of men.
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3. His studies
When he arrived from the United States, baccalaureate in hand, he didn't really know which field he wanted to go into: he liked IT but ultimately, he took a tangent. Crossing the Atlantic by boat opened up other horizons for him. He loves navigation almost as much as the weather or technique. It was therefore towards Southampton that he headed and studied naval architecture, almost at the same time as a certain… Charlie Dalin but not at the same school. Both have the Cartesian spirit of scientists and die-hards. Nothing is ever left to chance.
Yoann Richomme has a degree in naval architecture from England's Southampton University. He likes to take part in the construction of his boats. For his Vendée Globe, he trusted Antoine Koch and Finot-Conq but obviously, he couldn't help but put his hand in it. And it shows. He worked a lot on board and took the time to find the strengths of his mount and to modify what was wrong during the first sailings. After launching in February 2023, he and his team encountered technical problems but were able to bounce back quickly. This time again, he showed between Lorient and New York that he knew his boat and knew how to sail it to perfection.
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4. His victories and his hard knocks
Yoann Richomme is a tough guy. He knows how to give his all to succeed in what he does: if he likes to sail for pleasure on a cruise with family or friends. If he likes to do Moth foiling when he has time, he also likes to compete and win. As Fabien Delahaye, his friend and also his long-time competitor, says, “Yoann is not someone who takes the most pleasure in hanging out at sea in competition. Getting into a rhythm where you hurt yourself to spend time at sea is not the spirit.”
His goal has always been the Vendée globe. But he never missed the stages. It was through the Figaro cabin that he learned his racing skills. Tenacious and precise, he learned during eight seasons on this demanding circuit. He won the Solitaire du Figaro for the first time in 2016… ahead of Charlie Dalin by only a few minutes in the last 24-hour race off the coast of La Rochelle. He is then under the colors of Macif.
He then had a slightly more complex passage. But in 2019, he returns to his first love of racing on equal terms where you have to get hurt. And, under the colors of Hellowork – Le Télégramme, he bagged a second victory in the Solitaire du Figaro after flying over the race. Another is close to his heart: the Route du Rhum starting from Saint-Malo and arriving in Guadeloupe. It was in 2018, after launching the first boat construction, a Class40 to a Marc Lombard design. The race is tough, the first week, he has the audacity to face depression and escape. “He does not hesitate, he will bring about victory. He goes to get her, he doesn't wait for her to come to him. He is bold and he provokes what he wants,” analyzes his trainer Erwan Tabarly. His competitors will not see him again between now and Pointe-à-Pitre.
In 2022, while his Imoca is under construction, he is launching a second Class40 with his partners Paprec and Arkéa to continue sailing. Always so meticulous, he knows exactly what he wants… His boat will be released in July 2022, just four months before the start of the 12th Route du Rhum. But no worries, he presents himself with the firm intention of keeping his title: bingo! He is one of the rare double winners.
France
