Paris (AFP)

The youngest and 'son of': at 19, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) set sail on Monday for an epic Atlantic crossing, his very first solo.

He is one of the 90 competitors in the Mini Transat, the ocean race which trained the greatest sailors, including his father, Laurent Bourgnon.

"I like to counter the clichés, the youngest is not necessarily the least experienced. I do not have the impression of being 19 years old", laughs with AFP Basile Bourgnon, a tall blond very strong (1.95 m).

Incredibly mature, he came "to learn" on 6.50 m monohulls "terribly uncomfortable", especially for those with a 'scow' type bow "which goes fast, which ricochets on the water. and type a lot. For my comfort, I fell for an ottoman! ", he says.

On Monday, he left the bay of Sables d'Olonne (Vendée) to reach Saint-François (Guadeloupe) via a stage in Spain, at Santa Cruz de La Palma (Canary Islands), for a journey of 4,050 nautical miles in total (7,500 km).

He has already had a successful first transatlantic race, but as a duo (with Emmanuel Le Roch) two years ago in the Transat Jacques Vabre, in which he was already the youngest participant at 16.

His new adventure is played out on a sailboat with a particular history that does not frighten him at all.

The sailboat, launched in 2019, was owned by a 50-year-old sailor, Stéphane Thomas, who disappeared at sea while completing his qualification course for the 2019 Mini Transat.

- The Vendée Globe in the lead -

"The boat was bought from the parents of the previous owner. It was a delicate moment with the family", says Basile Bourgnon, who is "not at all superstitious".

"It was moving to see these parents, who must have been 70 years old and who asked me to keep the baptismal name of the boat (Aelig) somewhere. + Yes, Madam, I promise you, in homage to Stéphane +" .

Confident and ultra determined, Basile Bourgnon succeeded in qualifying last April, then was placed on a waiting list, before securing his place for the Mini Transat just a few days before the start.

French sailor Basile Bourgnon during the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019 on October 27, 2019 near Le Havre Damien MEYER AFP / Archives

He is the third Bourgnon to take part in this race without assistance and without means of communication with the land.

His uncle Yvan Bourgnon won it in 1995 and his father Laurent Bourgnon, who disappeared in 2015 during a dive in the sea, finished second in 1987, at the age of 21.

"I cannot hide my sporting ambitions, the objective is a top 5 and a podium", firmly poses the young sailor, very attracted by the practice of the solo.

"It's the holidays! No one is bothering us anymore. We're leaving to be alone above our limits and see that in the end, we don't have any."

Obviously, Basile Bourgnon follows in the footsteps of his father, whom he has never seen in competition;

he had retired from sports in 2004 to go with his wife and children around the world by boat, which turned in six years of life in Polynesia.

So today, young Basil still dreams of going around the world.

"The Vendée Globe project (solo round-the-world race), I have it in mind. It's the toughest race in the world. To challenge myself is a bit of my daily life," said enthusiastically. -he.

© 2021 AFP