With a month and a half to go to the start of the Vendee Globe, the competitors are entering the final phase of their preparations.
The skipper of Mirabaud and his 19 adversaries are busier than ever. Dominique has just received his new mainsail, has run tests on the headsails that will take him around the world, has run every kind of test imaginable on the boat with his shore crew and that is aside from the sessions with the race organisers and other events in Switzerland and France. D-Day is undeniably approaching, and approaching fast!
Last Thursday 13 September, Dominique was a guest at a press conference at the Theatre Les Salons in Geneva hosted by Mirabaud, his main sponsor. He described his project in detail, his goals and gave some insight into the preparations that he has done and those that he still must do before he crosses the start line on 10 November.
“Since the start of 2012 I have been preparing for this challenge,” he described. “The Vendee Globe is a very special event to me; it is the most complex and demanding race that exists and requires preparation on every level: technical, physical and psychological. Our prep work is going as planned, I am happy with it. I will be ready for the start on the 10 November in the best possible form to get the best result I can.”
At the end of last week marine photographer Thierry Martinez and a TV crew from Jean-Francois Rosse Productions went for a sail with Dominique to capture some stock photography and footage ahead of the start of the race that will go towards documenting his campaign. Dominique will also be shooting from onboard during the Vendee Globe, but given the demanding nature of the race, he won’t have much time for this aspect of his duties.
Tomorrow Dominique is scheduled to attend the official Vendee Globe presentation to the media in Paris, another landmark and another step closer to the start of the race! After that it is back to La Rochelle to fine-tune ahead of the delivery to the Sables d’Olonne scheduled for the 19 October.
