Vincent Riou, the skipper has equipped his old monohull PRB foils. Not to answer a "fashion". But the Finistere, winner of the Vendée Globe in 2004-2005 wants to make an aging boat a candidate for victory that ticks the right boxes.

He won the race queen. 2005, Vincent Riou slams the Vendée Globe and suddenly the world belongs to him. The world yes, but curiously, the Route du Rhum has always refused him. Abandoned twelve years ago out of the Channel with a mast that fell on his head, bis repetita in 2014 in the Bay of Biscay following the tearing of the rail of his PRB, and between two a place 5th with a then new boat that still had a bunch of errors of youth to erase.

No wonder that this sailor entered the small caste of the kings of the solitaire (and prince of the double with two Jacques Vabre on the charts) drapes of a very mixed feeling the queen of the deckchairs.

"I approach it with a lot of hindsight and humility because I broke my teeth a lot of times ," he says. Secretly, I still dream of winning, but there I am more to wake up at night because I have nightmares of technical shit than because I dream of victory. "

Yet this time he has new assets in his pocket. Foils, which he has been slow to endow with his plan Verdier-VPLP and which are flourishing, the collective training at the pole of Port-la-Forêt being authentic. Not to give in to the times. But "because I'm stubborn, I thought there was still something to do and it was smart to equip PRB," he sums it up.

Accumulated benefits

Unlike a number of older generation boats, many of which have grown mustaches at a cost that one might wonder if the game is worth the candle, the Loctudy sailor accumulates the pay cards in the casings of his wax . A boat in its version 3, designed from the very beginning (in 2009) very light and versatile, new enough to remain formidable even in its birth configuration with curved drifts, allowed to keep a proto mast when the gauge imposes the last born a A sparse monotype, which is grafted lateral carbon planes that make it more airy so fast while exploring new angles of navigation: it is called tick all the good boxes.

We are not in the middle class with vintage, we switch in the transformation of an outsider into a candidate for victory. But with a cartridge at once. Unless misunderstanding, the arrival of Imoca responding to the new class rule, the projects of "Volvo" and the reliability of the Charal Jérémie Beyou will return soon to the rank of candidate for accessits.

In the meantime, Riou, who is more than ever looking for an entry ticket into the Ultimate class, appreciates the fact that the machine has become softer in that it absorbs shocks better: "I think there is a good niche shooting for me and for my project. We align ourselves with a good level of competence, a good knowledge of the subject. And it's nice, because it's open with Jérémie and his new project, Yann (Eliès) who conversely has sailed a lot and will be a great client, Sam (Davies) who for the first time has a boat that can help him succeed ... lots of people can win! "

Only handicap pointed, the release in the water after work site this year, "there is a small risk taking but we moved well by getting wind to test the boat" , questions offset by the benefits . "The opening of the ruler to adjust the impact of the foils has made a boat versatile enough for especially in the near and small weather to almost match the drifting boats. And as soon as it accelerates, it has all the benefits of foiling, it's magic! "