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EN
We saw you competing against each other in the Figaro class for many years. We know you are close to each other, but have you already sailed together?
Anthony: Never! Not even racing around Brittany or training in Port la Forêt …
Thierry: When I sailed on Spindrift, we welcomed Antho aboard for a trial sail before he became co-skipper of Actual to try to get him to join us for the Jules Verne Trophy, but that was all…
When the time came to choose Thierry as co-skipper, how many other sailors did you think were capable of sailing on a high performance ULTIM?
Anthony: Capable? There are plenty. Young talented sailors. There are a lot of them, but you need to train them, which means having the time to do what Yves Le Blévec did with me. Then, there are those who are ready to go immediately and you can count them on your fingers. I discovered that the Transat Jacques Vabre was on the ULTIM calendar, when I was in the Southern Ocean on Biotherm during The Ocean Race. We needed to act quickly and Thierry was on the short list of five people that were capable and available.
Was it good news for you that the ULTIM class signed up to the Coffee Race?
Anthony: Yes, of course. Today, our boats are fully developed for a race like the Coffee Race, a return trip and the voyage around the world (the Arkea Ultim Challenge that starts on 7th January - editor). I was really pleased to go down into the Southern Ocean before this round the world race and am delighted to be able to do the Transat Jacques Vabre before too. I didn’t want this big event to be my first race as skipper of the boat. This is really the ideal calendar.
Thierry, when you were contacted, how did you react?
I was in New York after taking part in the delivery trip for Spindrift for the stand-by for the Atlantic record. I had already contacted Antho personally to tell him that I would like to be on his list. He replied that I was already there, but he was still thinking about the choice with Yves. When he called me back a few months later to tell me it was on, I jumped for joy. I had a few ideas for the Coffee Race, but this was by far the most exciting.
Anthony, what are your co-skipper’s qualities?
Thierry is full of energy and has an understanding of the sea and is a racer too. I see him as a sort of young Francis Joyon: the quiet force. He is someone who is relaxed, knows about these big boats, is very mature, so it’s fantastic. In two seconds, he gets to grip with the cockpit and after three trips, he was fully at home. If you start screaming at each other on a boat with Thierry, you need to ask yourself what’s happened to you!
Thierry, you have a lot of experience of big multihulls, particularly on Spindrift, but was it on Actual that you discovered flying trimarans?
No, because I was lucky to do a lot of sailing with Armel Le Cléac’h and Sebastien Josse on Banque Populaire XI. We raced in the Finistère Atlantique and I also did a transatlantic crossing as well as the Rolex Fastnet Race. I was lucky to get a taste of these boats and they are mind-blowing. There is a huge difference with the traditional trimarans, even if Spindrift is very fast. It’s nice that I can bring along my experience and give a few tips to Antho, without betraying any of the crews I have sailed with before.
You saw how the others did it, but are you going for their level of performance?
Yes, completely. The three favourites are over there (he points out SVR Lazartigue, Maxi Banque Populaire XI and Edmond de Rothschild - editor). We’re more in the position of being the outsiders. But everyone knows that in mechanical sports, it’s not always the best on paper that wins. There are so many parameters left to deal with that we can’t predict the future. We have a great boat that is fine tuned and reliable, so it is just fantastic to be here…
On a scale of 1 to 10, where do you place yourselves in terms of handling the boat?
Anthony: I started out with Yves in 2021, and we must have been at 70%. Last year at 80% and now at 90%. It’s fairly difficult to say as we haven’t been out in all sorts of wind. No one has sailed upwind in deep lows with 5-6m waves hitting the boat. It is possible that in this Transat Jacques Vabre or in the round the world race, we will encounter conditions where there is no way out…
In terms of manoeuvres, we must be 100%. In any case, there is no room for mistakes in that area aboard an ULTIM. But there is still room to control the boat better. We continue to work on the polars, the sail choices, quantifying things… We still sail based on our feelings and we need some data. No one can ever say if they are at 100% on an ULTIM. That’s also the reason why we continue to sail up to the age of 65 in the case of Francis Joyon, because it is a sport where we try to learn all the time and so to enjoy ourselves. If one day, you feel you are at 100%, you feel like stopping.
Thierry: Then, your 100% changes as you make progress, as you feel more confident and the technology evolves.
Anthony: As these boats are undergoing constant development, the 100% level is up and down. You change one small thing, you lose a bit of your potential because that changes the way you do things automatically, then you make progress and you go beyond your initial level of performance. Then, it’s time for a refit at the end of the season and it all begins again. It’s really exciting in fact!
You have just changed the foils. What are the initial results of that?
Anthony: We lift off a bit sooner at around a knot less. We can also see that in stronger winds upwind that the boat’s behaviour changes and is closer to the trim and balance we see on the other trimarans. But this is still ongoing and the boat hasn’t sailed downwind in heavy seas while flying for example.
You are setting off for 7500 miles, which is almost the equivalent of two transatlantic races. With your slight deficit in terms of potential, are you afraid that the frontrunners will get away and that there will be huge gaps at the finish?
Anthony: When sailing, those at the front often get away, but you must never give up hope. You have to keep hard at it to keep the gap down to as small as possible, because the day the situation changes, you won’t have so far to climb back. That’s something you learn when sailing in the Figaro class.
Thierry: It’s a long course with plenty of traps. We have to cross the Doldrums twice. It is upwind towards Ascension, which is something new… There will be opportunities. The scenario where the leader stops and is overtaken on the left or right, is something we all have on our minds. As long as the line has not been crossed…, especially seeing that on these boats that sail on the edge, anything is possible. If you get stuck in the wind shadow of an island for ten hours, your rival will get away from you and that can happen to anyone.
Apart from the case of damage to other boats, do you think you can do better than two years ago (Actual Ultim 3 finished fourth)?
Anthony: We certainly hope so! This is a complicated matter, but I think that Actual Ultim 3 may well make it to the podium. When you know you are not sailing as quickly as a rival, you can’t always stick with him. You have to find the right trajectory, weather, local effects. The leaders can also eat each other up by sailing close to each other and by taking an option that is not so good. They forget all about you. You go for it and can get back up with them. You have to keep an eye out for such opportunities, but never try to go beyond the ability of the boat.
That brings me to the question about how you have organised your watch system…
Anthony: Our pairing is of two people with similar experiences. We have the same way of thinking and each of us can do everything. As for our watches, it’s hard to set that in stone. That can be done with a big crew, but you have to remain flexible when sailing double-handed. If you see that you are feeling good and you can leave the other person grab an hour in the bunk, that is good. Getting things timed down to the second restricts you a lot, as if you cannot manage that, that is when you find you haven’t had enough sleep or you think about how the other hasn’t slept well. You need to look at your fellow crewman and see how he is doing and you need to think about the other person.
Thierry: If you let the other person sleep, it is an investment so you can get some rest later. The pattern of the day is based around manoeuvres, the arrival of weather charts and info from the routers. We know that in the English Channel, we won’t get much sleep. Maybe in the Bay of Biscay, it will be possible to rest a bit. The aim is to finish feeling tired with the impression that you have given it your all.
You appear calm and happy…
Anthony: Yes, that is the case. Maybe at the same time next week, it will be different (laughs). When you know what lies ahead and you start to think about everything that may happen, that’s when the stress increases. For now, we’re going to make the most of the event, the atmosphere in the village, the fact that we have a great boat moored up at the pontoon, the visits from partners and the support of many people…
