Dominique Wavre and his team took a short break over the winter: “We had a good two-week holiday in the south of France riding our mountain bikes and generally relaxing,” he said. “We are back in La Rochelle, thoroughly refreshed, and completely submerged in planning for the Vendee Globe.”
The first preparation phase involves a two-month spell in the boat yard to fit a spray dodger that protects the helmsman and to do a number of modifications down below.
“We are basically modifying the yacht for single-handed racing and finishing off a few bits and pieces around the new mast. These changes are relatively superficial and mainly relate to the ergonomics of the boat.”
As soon as the work is finished, Dominique plans to sail as much as possible. “We plan to make the most of spring and summer to focus on crew work and boat speed and then would like to compete in a few informal regattas, events such as the SNSM or the Tour de Belle-Ile. These sorts of regattas are friendly and fun.”
From September, Dominique will enter a pre-race phase in his preparations, which will include routing, provisioning and detailed checks of every little thing ahead of the big adventure!
