One, five, two, eighty, fifteen, forty-eight. No, these are not the lucky numbers of Thomas Rettant in the Loto. But those of the number of sailors on board and the number of days or hours, of the skipper’s last races on his Imoca LinkedOutthese last months. Today, with Morgan Lagravière, the native Dunkirk skipper is preparing for the
Jacques-Vabre deckchair, which leaves from Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), on November 7, to reach the bay of Fort-de-France.
Thomas Rouillard tells 20 minutes how he is tackling these changes in the race which have only one goal: to prepare him for the Vendée Globe 2024. And as the sailor from Dunkirk is not alone on the Jacques-Vabre transatlantic, his co-skipper is invited for the coffee.
“Almost another sport than the Vendée Globe”
Vendée Globe, The Ocean Race Europe, Azimut challenge, Transat Jacques-Vabre, the program of Thomas Rettant went from solo round the world to the 1h30 regatta. “These races allow you to draw, to learn from each other’s ways of doing things, to progress. On the tour of Europe, Quentin Ponroy, who designs sails, came back with lots of ideas to go even faster and develop the set of sails, ”he explains. And “the roles are not the same depending on the teammate you take on. Morgan [Lagravière] has a huge feeling. He is always on the water kitesurfing, wingfoil, etc. This is also what gives him all these sensations. He brings something more that makes the boat progress. »Running with a crew also allows« to push the boat further than solo. It’s almost a different sport than the Vendée Globe, ”Judge Rettant. Because the finality remains a victory at Les Sables-d’Olonne in January 2025 with, if possible, successes in the passage on the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2021 or the Route du Rhum 2022.
“Different choices than if I were alone”
The adopted Breton feeds on the qualities of his co-skippers. “With the tour of Europe, or with Morgan, I discovered other ways of operating the boat”. “On The Ocean Race Europe, we took an old sail that had been recut to make it a light wind sail. She served us well, was also effective on other navigations, we embark on the Jacques-Vabre. I’m going to choose a little different sails than if I were alone, to go faster, ”he announces. In this race, it will also carry “less equipment”, and will use the autopilot less.
He relies on the “waterman” side of his teammate to optimize their performance. Initiated to surf, kite, etc. In Reunion Island where he is a native, Morgan Lagravière relies on the sensations he has acquired in “these disciplines without electronics and with few technological tools where the use of his senses serves performance. These sensations have their place on Gitana Where LinkedOut. Sometimes they perfect technology or electronics, sometimes they contradict them. “All these experiments are at the service of the result and of the” new boat which arrives [TR Racing a entrepris la construction d’un
nouveau bateau pour le Vendée Globe 2024], everything we do there must be used to make an even better boat. “
A seat for two
LinkedOut was designed for Thomas Rettant. A cockpit in his size and a pilot seat molded for him. When Morgan Lagravière joined him for the Transat Jacques-Vabre, he “adapts”, says the owner of the premises. “Morgan fits into the seat a little harder because my chest is a little shorter than him,” Thomas Rouillard smiles. We do not revolutionize the boat for 15 days. “The tour of Europe carried out this summer with five people showed that the Imoca” is rather well suited for crewed sailing, so double handed, no problem “. For his co-skipper, these questions of tailor-made and comfort “are false problems. Since the end of the project Saffron [en 2017], I am more to sail on other people’s boats than on my own boat. It is something that happens naturally. »Morgan Lagravière continues:« With Thomas, we are in phase with the performance dimension and the associated objectives. “
“Problems, we solve them together”
Together, life is easier. At least on a boat and for a fortnight. “We don’t sleep in the same way as in the Vendée Globe, the problems, the weather strategy, the settings of the boat, we solve them together,” explains Thomas Rettant. The skipper is under less pressure for a Transat Jacques-Vabre than a solo round-the-world trip, on which “he is always on the lookout, a corner of his brain plugged into the boat. There, we can unplug it a little. In doubles, we do two or three hour shifts where we are on top of the boat’s settings, after which we know that we have three hours behind to take naps. Alone, I only allow myself half an hour, an hour of nap. “
Technical and mental preparations
For the Transat Jacques-Vabre, LinkedOut will be equipped with new foils. In the Vendée Globe, Thomas Rettant found himself with a saw in his hand to shorten his damaged one. “After the breakage, it was not recoverable and we had doubts about the second [identique]. We have a V3 to improve the design and make further progress. On the preparation side, Thomas Rettant has not yet explored psychological preparation. “I’m starting to think about it in order to improve, to better take on certain phases of the race. “On a Transat Jacques-Vabre, it is not necessary” because we are lucky to be able to have a human exchange. In solo, it’s more complicated ”.
Walkabout before the swell
Departing from Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), on November 7, for the Transat Jacques-Vabre, Thomas Rettant expects to “rediscover this sharing with the public [au village départ] that we had lost in the last Vendée Globe because of the Covid-19 ”. In addition to the sanitary bubble at the quayside, “CRS cords in the channel instead of the public” were added. In the Norman port, he will redouble his “vigilance on the water before leaving. At the start, we are a little more cramped, we will have to be careful because there will be a lot of people, thinks the skipper, with even more Zodiacs. [que d’habitude] because there are more partners. »The Transat Jacques-Vabre has 80 boats entered.