Paris (AFP)
Vendée Globe sailing boats are jewels of technology, durable, but their manufacture has a heavy impact on the environment.
"As soon as the boats are built, the overall environmental impact is low. We move forward driven by the wind, we produce our renewable energy. When we open our eyes wider and we are interested in manufacturing, this is what is no longer the same story, "explains to AFP one of the Vendée Globe skippers, Stéphane Le Diraison (Time For Oceans).
"Our playground is the sea, nature, we are an ambassador of the sea, sailing carries virtuous values for the environment, we have to live up to it", continues the sailor.
The Vendée Globe is the legendary single-handed, non-stop round the world race - which takes place every four years - and to be able to succeed in such an adventure, you need high-performance and solid boats to withstand rough seas and gusty winds. .
These machines are Imoca, monohulls 18 m long (60 feet) weighing 6 to 8 tons, governed by a class (the Imoca class) which establishes a framework for construction.
- carbon, titanium, aluminum ... -
"Boats are made with carbon, titanium, aluminum, stainless steel. They are ideal materials for strength, durability and weight, in the same way that airplanes, cars, etc. are built. trains ", underlines the president of the Imoca class, Antoine Mermod.
“Eighty-seven Imoca were built in 35 years. And these boats still sail, they are extremely durable boats because they are well built,” he says.
For this ninth edition, which had 33 starters, eight new boats were built.
The oldest in the fleet dates from 1998 (helmed by Alexia Barrier / TSE-4myplanet) and is taking part in its sixth round the world trip.
But as an Energy Climate consultant, who carried out an analysis, underlines it, "from the construction until the phase of use of the boat" of the navigator Sébastien Destremau (Thank you) engaged in this Vendée Globe, "99% of the impacts have take place before the race, and not during the race, as it is a sailing boat.
"On the part before the race, we have about 80% which concerns the construction of the boat, and 20% the displacements (of the skipper and the boat). Among the materials which weigh the most, there is the carbon fiber which has a fairly large carbon footprint, "explains Hippolyte Reignier, consultant at EcoAct.
The consulting company calculated Destremau's carbon footprint and its Vendée Globe project over two years.
"We arrive at a balance of 89 tonnes of carbon emissions", announces Destremau.
- 10 times the imprint of a French -
According to Reignier, "it is about 10 times the carbon footprint of a French person over a year".
Official figures from the Ministry of Ecological Transition mention "11 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita in 2018".
Stéphane Le Diraison, who is actively working to build "an eco-designed boat" for the next Vendée Globe in 2024, recalls that today "the construction of these boats is very polluting".
"We use energy-intensive materials, there is a lot of waste, energy consumption for storage, the cold chain for certain fabrics, parts fired at 120 degrees, molds made individually and then destroyed. So it's not okay ".
Some refer to new, less polluting materials, such as flax fiber or less energy-intensive processes such as infusion cooking.
But all this is still in gestation and the new materials are still far from having proved their worth.
"Their reliability is not sufficient for me to embark on a Vendée Globe", warns Alexia Barrier.
Renowned naval architect, Vincent Lauriot-Prévost abounds: "The other materials by which they could be supplanted do not yet exist. The first thing to do today to give an awareness of sustainable development on these boats, is is that we have to do life cycle analyzes by project to know what we are talking about ".
"Where I see these boats very beneficial for the environment is that thanks to them we are able to innovate, and we can transfer them for general public or professional use to compete with highly polluting modes of transport. ".
The Imoca class will require measuring the carbon impact on construction from 2021.
© 2020 AFP