Born in Vannes at the end of June 1990 and the fourth offspring of a Parisian father and a Sanclaudian mother, both transferred by National Education in Morbihan, Arthur Hubert (
MonAtoutEnergie.fr
) practiced sailing very quickly at the Séné club in the Gulf of La Petite Mer. Passionate like any young kid brimming with energy from a whole host of sports, he plays football, handball and rugby.
The RC Vannetais who evolves in Pro D2 always remaining his club of heart.
While he was in scientific preparation, he worked as a DJ at the Rabine stadium during Vannes Olympique Club football matches.
His higher education at the Arts et Métiers de Metz took him away from competitive sailing:
"It was cool,
he remembers
.
My current best friends are from Lorraine.
After two years, I was well placed in school, I had the opportunity to do a double degree and I went to Stockholm for two years.
I appreciated another culture, the Scandinavian human functioning and obtained a master's degree in management and production engineering.
There, I joined a team that was boating and wanted to do the Tour de France à la Voile in an M34.
Sailing in Gothenburg and the Archipelago was awesome.
»
Intern at Mark Turner
At the end of this period, Arthur Hubert applied to join OC Sport then directed by Mark Turner on the Isle of Wight for his end-of-study internship:
“The school was not a fan at first.
They didn't understand the link I was going to be able to find between a production line and a sporting event around the world.
It was the Extreme Sailing Series, 40 foot catamaran races.
I saw it as a personal fulfillment.
It was a giant circus that we moved every two weeks.
I was in charge of managing the set up of villages and guests.
The international constraints, in China, Russia, Australia and Oman were specific each time.
After a year, as I had signed a contract with the French group Wichard, which specializes in fittings, I was offered a job in the United States.
They were looking for a young bilingual engineer to manage a production unit.
»
The unconscious call from the open sea disrupted his professional plans in 2015.
“At the same time, BE Racing in Saint-Malo was making Espoir selections.
I applied without really believing it from Brazil where I was spending holidays.
After theoretical and practical tests, I win the selection in July to participate in the Transat Jacques Vabre in 40 feet with Valentin Lemarchand.
The people at Wichard understand me, tell me to live my dream.
It was a superb experience, with an excellent understanding on board, life offshore crossing turtles in the calm in the Canary Islands, a shark that got stuck in the keel, sorry for him, the huge torches from the oil platforms in the off Brazil where navigation is prohibited.
After the race, I took the boat back to France,”
narrates the 32-year-old sailor.
On returning to Saint-Malo, he joined the shipyard of Louis Burton and Servane Escoffier as production manager.
At the same time, he participated in the Quebec-Saint-Malo.
Then began the construction of a new Class40 with which he took part in the Route du Rhum in 2018:
“My first big solo experience.
It was a classic rum, with a fight at the start.
I was much more reckless than now, attacking quite hard.
A partition blew up and I had to stop in La Coruña to repair.
I leave 34th to finish 15th.
»
Here he is for his second participation in the Solitaire du Figaro.
With the same partner.
22nd last year and 3rd rookie in the French Elite Offshore Racing Championship, Arthur Hubert feels like a fish in his briny element:
“I'm learning a lot of things on this circuit.
And this race is great because we have to have the sailors' ability to hurt themselves in order to go for the extreme.
The rhythm imposed by the first is so high that you have to put yourself in difficulty in the management of your abilities to try to join them.
And then there are also twists, and everyone comes back.
It is magic.
And there are also those who attempt blows.
It's nice.
»
He talks to his boat like any good skipper respectful of his workmate:
“On the second leg he got me drunk.
We took our heads off.
I hope we became friends again for the last round.
I talk to myself too, I do a lot of bullshit like bumping into things because I'm tired.
I even had my first hallucination.
Talking to Paul, my trainer, to get the boat back to Concarneau.
There is an exciting side to this over-fatigue.
An incredible mental part to help your body.
»
Finding his friend in confinement as he likes to say, the Solitaire du Figaro 2022 completed, Arthur Hubert will embark on another equally extreme adventure, a triathlon, his new passion.
In the meantime, let's hope he ends his journey in a good position.
