NEWS : Thomas Coville, embarks as helmsman on Groupama 3 for the Jules Verne Trophy
20.10.2009
The crew of Groupama 3
Right away, Thomas Coville puts paid to any discussions about his latest adventure by affirming that "round the world experiences are sufficiently rare that you're keen to take advantage of them"
As such, back in the spring, when Franck Cammas invited him on a delivery trip aboard Groupama 3 between Lorient and Istanbul, the round the world sailor raised an eyebrow, smiled, threw his bag aboard and set off with the crew on the Mediterranean record. “Even though Banque Populaire set a brilliant record across the North Atlantic, Groupama 3 remains a reference in terms of her fine tuning and her crew. It’s a long term project with a boat which is honed and very well prepared. Franck has brought together a dream cast. On board I’m the helmsman on the watch with Steve Ravussin and Bruno Jeanjean, the latter being on the bow.”
With a view to the Route du Rhum 2010, Thomas recognises that he is happy to be back on the competition trail: “It’s been almost four years since I began doing solo records. I helm, I devour the miles, I’m in contact with the elements but I miss the confrontation.”
In this highly competitive domain, the skipper of Sodeb’O and helmsman aboard Groupama 3 is in pursuit of the same thing as Franck and the others who will be aboard: excellence. “Franck has measured what each of us could bring to the boat. This is translated into figures and percentages. It’s brutal and final. We measure the speed, the resistance and the performance. And that works because none of us have anything to prove.”
As far as Thomas is concerned, Franck was attracted by his enthusiasm for taking part in his round the world adventure. “Physically and mentally, I know we can count on him. It’s important to be able to count on the guys during the difficult moments we’re bound to encounter along the way.” Though the skipper of Groupama 3 recognises that he’s never had any doubt as to Thomas’ helming qualities: “thanks to his multihull experience in the Southern Ocean, he has the ideal profile for getting the boat to make headway”, he also appreciates that they are from the same generation: “we see things in the same way. There’s no need to speak to each other.”
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- voeux - par erwan : meilleurs voeux et bonne santé surtout. bonnes nav sur la volvo et merci pour tes voeux enthousiastes
