Armel Le Cléac’h, Marie-José Pérec, Marine Ltemporel, Alexis Michalik, Hugo Roellinger and Sébastien Josse leave Brest this Friday, heading towards Pointe-à-Pitre, aboard the giant trimaran Banque Populaire XI.
The big day for the flame. And for the six “sailors” who will embark it, this Friday at the end of the day, for an Olympic crossing to the Antilles. Departure is scheduled for 8:15 p.m., from Brest, on the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire XI transformed into the official transport of the flame to Guadeloupe. And to accompany Armel Le Cléac’h, the usual boss on board, and Sébastien Josse, renowned sailor, four luxury crew members have been recruited.
And not just anyone: Marie-José Pérec, triple Olympic athletics champion who will arrive on her land on June 15, Marine Ltemporel, Miss France 2013 who became a doctor, Alexis Michalik, writer, author and theater man with many successes (Edmond, the Bearer of History, Passeport…) and Hugo Roellinger, the starred chef.
Only one day of training
A crew of stars who completed a (single) day of training recently in Lorient and passed the safety tests (mandatory for such a crossing). “My worry is being on time but we have planned widely and we are not going to go at racing pace., told us Armel Le Cléac’h, who must actually avoid 1. extinguishing this flame positioned in a lantern and already marinated after its crossing on the Belem between Athens and Marseille. 2. To shake up your guests too much, who are not particularly shaken and will all discover the charms of the high seas far from the shores. 3. To capsize, break and miss the meeting with Guadeloupe then Martinique, the giant trimaran (32 by 23 meters) returning to sea on June 16 after its stopover in Pointe-à-Pitre (which it knows well with the Rum Route) to go to Fort-de-France with local teammates.
The atmosphere on board promises in any case to be more intimate than that which accompanied the Olympic flame last Tuesday in Vendée, in La Roche-sur-Yon in particular where Le Figaro carried the torch, then in Les Sables d’Olonne, departure and arrival port of the legendary Vendée Globe. The flame went up the famous channel before illuminating the cauldron with Armel Le Cléac’h as the last torchbearer. Well sheltered in its lantern, and well secured thanks to a device built for the occasion, the precious symbol of the Games sets sail on a sea of adventure. Which is not to displease Alexis Michalik. “ It is an honor to carry the flame and put yourself at the service of a project which is a great human and team adventure, he explained to Le Figaro. I like the troops, so it’s great to find yourself with a crew, with whom you have to live together for 7 days serving a project that goes beyond us. »