29.06.2006
VINCENT RIOU AND SEBASTIEN JOSSE, JOIN FORCES FOR THE BARCELONA WORLD RACE
IN BRIEF:
Vincent Riou, 2004/05 Vendée Globe winner, and Sébastien Josse, fresh from his excellent showing as skipper of ABN AMRO 2 in the Volvo Ocean Race, announced their participation in the two-handed, Barcelona World Race starting 11th November 2007. Here both men tell of their desire and reasons to join forces to race in the only non-stop, crewed race around the globe via the 3 great Capes, a year and a half ahead of the starting gun…
Vincent Riou: I personally think that it will be harder than single-handed… I still think there are more risks in not doing this race than in doing it. Because the pace of reference for the next Vendée Globe, will not be the one from the Vendée Globe 2004, but the pace from the Barcelona World Race. Skippers that will not have participated in this race may get a bad surprise in the Vendée. One thing for sure, is that everything we will have learnt on this double-handed round the world race will help us for the solo sailing.
Sébastien Josse: Vincent’s project is perfectly managed...the objective is to win the Barcelona World Race. I am sure that the winner of the next Vendée Globe will have participated in this race.
IN DETAIL:
The two skippers have already accumulated four circumnavigations between them and together they will set off on the 11th of November 2007, for a fifth one: the Barcelona World Race, double-handed round the world, going past the three Capes, organised by OC Events. Vincent Riou, winner of the last Vendée Globe, has decided to invite onboard PRB, Sébastien Josse, one of the most experienced French sailors around the world (Jules Vernes Trophy, Vendée Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race as the youngest skipper on ABN AMRO 2. Riou’s new Farr designed IMOCA 60 monohull, PRB, will be launched this August, and Riou has already agreed with Sébastien a sporting programme that will enable the team to arrive in Barcelona with a well-tested and reliable boat. Considering their respective experience, the Riou / Josse association will probably be one of the most competitive in the fleet.
Here, Vincent and Sébastien tell us why they are so enthusiastic about this project:
1. What are the reasons that made you create this duo?
Vincent: When this race was announced, I asked myself who I would want to do it with, even before being sure to want to participate in it. So, I made a short list. Then, the simplest, the most complementary, and the person I felt ready to commit to be with on this race on a human side, was Jojo. I think we have the same approach of sailing.
Sébastien: Vincent asked me to sail with him in this race a year ago. So it is not something new. I wanted to wait until the end of the Volvo to take my decision but I had given him an agreement in principle on the Portsmouth stopover. Also, Vincent has the Vendée Globe experience. We know each other, we had worked together in the preparation of our 60 feet monohulls and we have been in contact during the Vendée Globe. There is a good feeling between us and Vincent’s project is really sound.
2. How long have you know each other?
Vincent: We have know each other since Sébastien’s Crédit Agricole selection in 1997. I sailed against him, we trained together in the training centre of Port La Forêt and, we started more or less at the same time on our Open 60 projects, and we worked together at Mer Agitée. During the Vendée Globe, we also shared quite a lot of things.
Sébastien: We’ve been around together for 8 or 9 years now. But since 3 or 4 years, we’ve known each other better.
3. Together, you accumulate four circumnavigations (the Vendée Globe for both, and two crewed round the world’s for Sébastien), will you be the experienced team?
Vincent: It is true that when you accumulate the miles we have sailed and you compare it with our age, it’s a good average! I think that the new PRB is a really nice project and that we have enough experience to be among the favourites. On top of that, we’ve got excellent technical conditions. The boat will be put in the water 14 months prior to the start of the Barcelona World Race. There is no reason why we won’t manage to do something good in this race. This is also what attracted Jojo. We will put all the chances on our side with among others, a very thorough sporting programme. This is also what makes the project so attractive. On paper, nowadays, the conditions are ideal.
Sébastien: Vincent’s project is perfectly managed. The objective is to win the Barcelona World Race. PRB will be put in the water more than a year prior to the start of the race. We will do a return from the Route du Rhum transatlantic together, then the crewed races. We will sail a lot and will be ready for the start. We will have had time to make PRB more reliable and to optimise it if necessary. And even though the technical element is important, the human side is at least as important. This sailing will make us learn to know each other and see what we can bring to each other.
4. After crewed and single-handed circumnavigations, how do you predict this double-handed experience to be?
Vincent: We will go even faster! Double-handed will be closer to single-handed than crewed sailing and we have both experienced that. We will not be 100% all the time, but we won’t be far from it. We will push the boat to its full potential, and for a long time. I personally think that it will be harder than single-handed. There will be no limits to the utilisation of the boat, we will just need to find the time to sleep. On the human side of things, leaving for 3 months double-handed will require a lot of flexibility. And this is something you acquire with experience.
Sébastien: Double-handed, we will be able to push the boat more. And it will mean less stress, less responsibility. We will not leave everything to electronics, unlike with solo sailing where to go to sleep you need to trust your automatic pilot. In summary, it will be less stress but more performance.
5. Does it not have disadvantages to go sailing around the world one year before the Vendée Globe?
Vincent: Right now, I don’t have the answer. But I still think that there are more risks in not doing this race than in doing it. Because the pace of reference for the next Vendée Globe, will not be the one from the Vendée Globe 2004, but the pace from the Barcelona World Race. Skippers that will not have participated in this race may get a bad surprise in the Vendée. One thing for sure, is that everything we will have learnt on this double-handed round the world race will help us for the solo sailing.
Sébastien: I don’t think that there are any disadvantages either. PRB will be made reliable before the start. The timing of Vincent’s project is perfect for this race. At the end of this race, he will know his boat by heart and this will be an enormous advantage for the Vendée Globe. I personally have only started to really know VMI halfway to the finish of my circumnavigation.
6. How do you see the fleet of this Barcelona World Race?
Vincent: There are quite a lot of people interested to participating. I just hope that the fleet will be of high level and the very international.
Sébastien: I hope there is at least from 10 to 12 boats. That would be great! Anyway, I am sure that the winner of the next Vendée Globe will have participated in this race.
For more information on the Barcelona World Race go to http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com
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Fundació per la Navegació Oceànica de Barcelona [FNO]
The Fundaciò per la Navegaciò Oceànica [FNO] is a new organisation created with the task of rediscovering Barcelona as a sea-linked city via sports, technology and industry and communications. For the 1992 Olympic Games, the city of Barcelona decided “to open up to the sea” – an ambitious urban architectural programme of creating new ports, beaches and boulevards and now the process continues to recover the maritime culture that lies underneath. To this end, the FNO plan to create a number of major sailing events for Barcelona – the first of these is the Barcelona World Race – and also creating the ENO (Escuderia de Navegaciò Oceànica; Racing Team). There is a vast network of sailing schools and clubs in Catalonia, and the ENO will bring together these organisations to consolidate their objectives and expectations to provide a basis for training the next generation of sailors. These goals will help position the city of Barcelona as a major supporter in the sailing world and, in the same way the Vendèe Globe put the Vendée region of France and its home port of Les Sables d’Olonne, on the world map, the Barcelona World Race will ensure the city of Barcelona also becomes synonymous with the sport of offshore racing. The FNO will be looking to position the city of Barcelona both on a sporting level - building up a real base of sailors in Catalonia to compete against the best sailors from around the world - and on a technological and industrial level by generating research and development projects in which universities, private companies and industry work together. The FNO will also set out to promote Barcelona’s great maritime culture to both its citizens, especially youth, and its visitors.
The FNO, established October 2005, is formed of the following key Barcelona organisations:
- Autoritat Portuària de Barcelona (Barcelona Port Authority)
- Fira de Barcelona (Barcelona Trade Fair)
- Cambra de Comerç i Navegaciò de Barcelona (Barcelona Chamber of Commerce)
- Ajuntament de Barcelona (Barcelona City Council)
Technical co-ordination by Consorci EL FAR
Pere Alcober, Sports Minister of Barcelona, is the first President of the FNO.
OC Group [incorporating OC Events]:
Mark Turner and Ellen MacArthur’s OC Group, established in 1987, is dedicated to turnkey solutions in sponsorship, marketing, communication and event management projects in adventure sports. The group operates across Europe, the USA and Australasia, with a home base in Cowes, Isle of Wight. OC Group consists of an events management business (OC Events, eg The Transat, a solo transatlantic race previously known as the OSTAR); a dedicated technology development division (OC Technology); an integrated creative design business (OC Vision); a management training business (OC Leading Lights) and the athlete management business (Offshore Challenges Sailing Team incorporating Ellen MacArthur, Samantha Davies and Nick Moloney) whose projects have won four Hollis Sponsorship Awards. These projects include MacArthur’s Open 60 monohull campaign Kingfisher including the 2000/01 solo Vendée Globe and 2002 Route du Rhum plus her record-breaking trimaran B&Q Castorama [setting a new solo, non-stop round the world record of 71 days in February 2005]; Nick Moloney’s Open 60 campaign on Skandia including the 2004/05 Vendée Globe; and Samantha Davies Figaro campaign 2003/05.
About OC Events:
OC Events is the OC Group division managing and marketing professional sailing events including The Transat – the world’s oldest solo transatlantic race from UK-USA for 60ft multihulls and monohulls, previously known as the OSTAR. OC Events provides the expertise required for professional sailing specialising in race management that meets the demands of the competitors, sponsors and the media.
For further information on OC Group and OC Events, please email
info@ocgroup.com mailto:info@ocgroup.com
OC Group, Cowes Waterfront–Venture Quays, Castle Street, East Cowes, PO32 6EZ, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 870 063 0210
Fax +44 (0) 207 681 2759
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