Louis Duc and his crew will be at the start of the Rolex Fastnet Race on July, 26th. The skipper Normand could not have asked for a better context for his return to competition after his Vendée Globe: a boat that has regained 100% of its potential, a crew (Marie Tabarly, Aurélien Ducroz, Louis Guimard and Armel Vrac) that he is happy to welcome on board and a course between the Channel and the Celtic Sea that always gives sailors a hard time. This will also be her first crewed race aboard the Imoca Fives Group – Lantana Environnement.
The mythical Rolex Fastnet Race breaks a new participation record this year with more than 460 boats registered! A nice gift for its 100th anniversary and that of the RORC, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, created in 1925 following the first edition of this event which has become legendary and of which Louis has the honor to be one of the ambassadors this year.
A first in crew
Louis Duc, skipper of the Imoca Fives Group – Lantana Environnement: "It’s really nice to start a race again! Especially since it’s a first for me as a crew, on an IMOCA, with this boat!
It benefited from a complete technical review and recovered 100% of its potential. I am very happy to find him in these conditions and with a great crew.”
Competition, complicity, efficiency and sharing: the combo is perfect for this return to racing and tackling this complex course that Louis and his team know well.
Louis Duc, skipper of the Imoca Fives Group – Lantana Environnement: "I am indeed pleased to welcome back Marie Tabarly, with whom I competed in my very first double-handed Transat on an Imoca in 2021. I also meet Aurélien Ducroz with whom I had raced my last Transat Jacques Vabre in a Class40, in 2019. These two sailors are coming for the performance, but I also know that with them everything will be smooth at sea, and that’s valuable.
I am also very happy to welcome Louis Guimard, who has been part of the technical team since the very beginning of the project in 2020. He quickly learned the trade, on the job, with the experts who surrounded him. Today, he knows the boat by heart and he can do almost everything on board. Finally, our mediaman, Armel Vrac, met a few months before the Vendée Globe. There was a connection right away between us. He is comfortable everywhere and makes great images. It will be his first race: I am very happy to share this with him!"
A dozen Imoca will be in the line-up. The fleet will set off on Saturday 26th July at noon off Cowes, in the Solent, between the coast and the Isle of Wight, to make way for the Fastnet lighthouse before returning to Cherbourg where the Imoca are expected between July 28th and 29th.
Programme
- July 21: presence of the Imoca Fives Group – Lantana Environnement in the port of Chantereyne
- July 24: 18h presentation of the crews on the racing village – 18h30 screening of the Vendée Globe film by Louis at the Palace, in Cherbourg
- July 25: departure of the fleet based in Cherbourg towards the Isle of Wight
- 28 July: expected arrival of the first IMOCAs
- 29 July: IMOCA awards ceremony
Program of the Fives Group Team – Lantana Environment
- July 24th - August 1st: Rolex Fastnet Race – Cherbourg/Fastnet/Cowes – Crew
- September 16th - 21st: Azimut Challenge – Lorient Agglomeration – Lorient – Double
- October 26th: Departure from the Transat Café l'Or – Le Havre/La Martinique – Double
A respectuous and circular sporting event
The Fives IMOCA is an "upcycled" boat. Thanks to Louis, it lives a 2nd life!
Louis and his team gave a new life to a very damaged IMOCA because of a fire. This refurbishment undertaking was a real technical challenge... that succeeded in only 10 months!
Louis and his team continue to apply this upcycling principle and optimization research with a constant effort on sobriety throughout this Vendée Globe program.
Louis is also very keen on respecting everyone's work and giving a chance.
The Fives Group, a major partner in this Vendée Globe program, has been seduced by such commitment and values, as it shares the same values and responsibilities.
Fives, your partner for a more virtuous industry
For over 200 years, the Group has designed the breakthrough solutions and technologies that make industry what it is. From the first railways to the Eiffel Tower, through the spatial conquest, Fives always spearheaded the industry of the future. Pioneering decarbonization, the Group is an unconditional partner of the industry's energy transition. Through digitization, the promotion of a circular economy and the development of new processes and new energy sources, Fives puts its technological leadership to its customers' service.
www.fivesgroup.com