• Known for his incredible adventures with his hen Monique, sailor Guirec Soudée has bought an Imoca that he would like to take to the Vendée Globe 2024.

  • Tuesday, the adventurer formalized his marriage with the French company Freelance.com which becomes his main sponsor.

  • Before the Vendée Globe, Guirec Soudée intends to take part in as many races as possible in order to “get the hang of it” on its monohull, in particular during the next Route du Rhum in November.

He had asked those around him to see if a boat was for sale, even as he was trying to row across the Atlantic alone.

Guirec Soudée is like that.

He has not completed an adventure that he already wants to start another.

Known for his incredible adventures in the ice of the North Pole and then the South Pole with his hen Monique, the native of Côtes d'Armor is embarking on a new career: that of offshore racing.

On Tuesday, the young skipper announced that he had found a sponsor capable of financing him until 2025. He chose to join forces with the French company Freelance.com to sail to the Vendée Globe, the start of which will be given in November 2024. Before that, he hopes to field his Imoca in as many races as possible.

And in particular the Route du Rhum, which will start from Saint-Malo next November.

Contrary to his habit, the sailor offered himself the opportunity to anticipate.

A fan of hard work, Guirec arrived in Saint-Barth in 2013 with a badly damaged second-hand boat and 60 cents in his pocket.

The starting point of an incredible adventure on the seas and oceans which led him to be a prisoner of the ice for 130 days with his hen.

Then to become the youngest navigator in the world to cross the northwest passage on Yvinec, his faithful steel boat.

Before taking her to the hell of Cape Horn on a sailboat not at all made for that.

More recently, he has rowed across the Atlantic in both directions, almost losing his life.

So taking part in the Vendée Globe is almost a formality?

“It doesn't scare me, but for once, I have to do it in advance.

Every mile sailed will be important.

I want to be sure of having a place there”, assures the navigator from Plougrescant.

To complete his solo world tour, Guirec bought the Imoca with which Benjamin Dutreux finished 9th in the last Vendée Globe.

An "old generation" boat that is not equipped with foils but has already shone, especially when Roland Jourdain won the Route du Rhum at the helm in 2010. Based in Concarneau (Finistère), the one nicknamed "Bilou will take in his old boat and his new friend Guirec in his Kaïros stable.

“Participating in the Vendée Globe for me is like going to the moon.

I have no experience in Imoca so I will have to learn.

There's a lot of work.

It's as if I went from a tricycle to a Formula 1,” the adventurer slips in with humor.

Having become a dad, will Guirec Soudée settle down?

Father of a little girl, Guirec Soudée still lives on his small island of Yvinec, in the Côtes d'Armor.

If he admits to having “still lots of projects in mind”, the one who recently turned 30 will probably think twice before risking his life in crazy adventures.

For him, offshore racing is almost a way to land, to be secure.

“I have long dreamed of having a boat that goes fast, capable of sailing in heavy weather.

But I want to get into this Vendée Globe simply, discreetly.

The young dad clashes and surprises in the universe of the sea.

Described as "gifted" by some, Guirec likes to joke about the duration of this world tour, which he would like to complete in ninety days.

“I'm afraid it's a bit short.

Maybe I'll do it twice, ”he laughs.

At the end of his world tour, he had spent 170 days alone to go down all of America before reaching South Africa.

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