"
It's still a great day
."
Yoann Richomme did not hide his joy a few minutes before launching, this Wednesday in Lorient, his new monohull Imoca Paprec Arkéa (design by architects Antoine Koch and Finot-Conq) built for the Vendée Globe 2024
. It's a moving moment,
confides to Le Figaro the 39-year-old sailor.
We put so much energy into designing this boat from A to Z, which I had never done.
We are very proud of the copy we are making.
Everything is in place now, the boat, the team, the sponsors
”.
With this beautiful steed, his objective is obviously to "
win the next Vendée Globe but the road is long until then, we already have to find the boat's instructions
".
Regarding its main specificities, the double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro (2016, 2019) and the Route du rhum in Class40 (2018 and 2022), who will discover the world tour solo, specifies: "there is the hull
, with a more pointed bow to facilitate passage through the waves and try to keep the boat above the water.
And there's the cockpit, a unique semi-watertight living area where you live, manoeuvre, sleep...
"
The mast installed this Thursday
The team, made up of a good ten people, has a lot of work on the board for the next few months.
“
Tomorrow (Thursday), we put a mast on the boat, then there are resistance tests to do and after ten days without sailing, we can go, take it easy at first.
After that it will go quickly
”.
The monohull's first race is scheduled for May 7 with the Guyader Bermudes, followed by the Rolex Fastnet race in July, the Défi azimut in September and the Transat Jacques Vabre in double-handed in October.
So many important stages on the road to the Vendée Globe, the ultimate objective scheduled for November 2024.