27/08/2012

Newsletter

_DomiNique wavre completes

a 3358 km warm up traiNiNg

sail

_the piNNacle of offshore

raciNg

_summer school

The Vendée Globe is fast approaching and Dominique Wavre has recently com-

pleted an ‘appetizer sail’ of 1812 nautical miles(3358 km) in the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic.

«The purpose of this voyage was to get back into the swing of ocean navigation, to work maneuvers and VPP’s (NDLA: theoretical speed at different angles and with different sail configurations). I also took the oppor-tunity to put together a jobs list which will need to be completed before the start of the Vendée Globe”, Dominique said.

Dominique departed from La Rochelle on 8th August, alongside Michèle Paret who was there as an observer only and prohibited from assisting him with any of the maneu-vers.

Michele commented: «I accompanied Dom purely as an observer and having the neces-sary distance from the running of the boat has allowed me to view the situation in detail and to be more creative when thinking about possible solutions to various issues. It has al-lowed me to propose different solutions here

and there, and to help make maneuvering easier, more ergonomic, less risky and also to improve life on board in general.”

Mirabaud was sailing for the first time in its future “Vendée Globe” configuration, with the ten sails allowed on board for the event. The skipper initially headed for a low pres-sure north of the Azores, during which he experienced gusts of about 25 knots.

«It was just a small law, nothing terrible,» says Dominique. The solo sailor and his dis-creet observer then headed towards La Ro-chelle at high speed under asymmetric spin-naker.

«Among the various tests, I was able to trial my new bucket seat, which allows me to relax while still being close to navigational instruments,» says Dominique. «I also tested various new systems and carried out a review of all the possible maneuvers I will make du-ring the Vendee Globe. Michèle hasn’t hel-ped me with anything except the tasting of the freeze dried dishes that I will carry on the race.”

2 www.dominiquewavre.com

DomiNique wavre completes a 3358 km warm up traiNiNg sail

Dominique is one of nineteen competitors taking part in the next Vendée Globe,

the solo, non-stop race around the world without outside assistance. Only 78 sailors have taken on this formidable race before, a very low figure when compared to the num-ber of people who have reached the summit of Everest (14,000 attempts of which more than 4,000 have been successful), which illustrates the difficulty of the task. As sum-marized by the race director Denis Horeau, the Vendée Globe is the «Pinnacle of offs-hore racing!”

Nineteen is the average number of compe-titors and boats who have been on the start line of the last six editions of the Vendée Globe. The youngest competitor for this edition will be Louis Burton at 26, followed by 29 years old François Gabart. Dominique Wavre is arguably the most experienced sai-lor as he will be taking the start of his tenth round the world race and fourth Vendée Globe. He plays an important role in the ove-rall event statistics: the nineteen competitors have competed in 52 round the world races and 25 Vendée Globe.

www.dominiquewavre.com 3

the piNNacle of offshore raciNg

Mirabaud & Cie banquiers PrivésLaurent Koutaïssoff29, boulevard Georges-Favon1204 GenèveT: +41 58 816 23 90M: +41 79 786 78 93

MaxComm CommunicationBernard SchopferT: +41 22 735 55 30M: +41 79 332 11 76bernard.schopfer@maxcomm.ch

Crédits photosThierry Martinez/MirabaudWavre/Paret

Dominique Wavre and Michèle Paret are currently on holiday in the south

of France but there is no question of them lounging around on a crowded beach: their holiday is to be active and devoted to the physical preparation of the solo sailor and will include regular mountain biking.

«The goal is twofold,» says Dominique. «The time will be spent partly on my physical pre-paration, but also to have a few days down-

time to switch off completely and return with some fresh ideas.”

As for Dominique’s summer reading, it will be a constant reminder of the magnitude of the task that lays ahead for him in Novem-ber…he plans to read the manuals of instruc-tions of use of his numerous electronic sys-tems. Suffice it to say, Dominique’s holiday are studious!

www.dominiquewavre.com

summer school