Q: What does a transatlantic mean to you?

A: "In 2012, the Route du Rhum, I didn't even dare to pronounce the name when I was part of the history of ocean racing. I had done my first double-handed transatlantic with Tanguy de la Motte, they were childhood dreams, unreachable dreams. I was so specialized in my field, it was my life for 15, 20 years, that everything that was around was exotic to me. It was like going upstairs. 'Everest, to have a leading role in a film or an opera singer. I liked the boat but I did not sail. And one day I found myself on the pontoons with Michel Desjoyeaux, Roland Jourdain, Jean Le Cam and say to me:' we are going to participate in the same race! ' My first solo transatlantic was great, I felt like I was growing 20 cm and learning more about myself than in my entire life.This is also what I'm going to look for ".

The French skippers Gilles Favennec (l) and Jean Galfione, aboard their monohull "Nivéa", on April 11, 2008 off Concarneau, nine days before the start of the AG2R Transat between Concarneau and the Island of Saint-Barthélémy MARCEL MOCHET AFP / Archives

Q: There is a dimension of danger in the sail that there is not with the pole.

How did you understand this?

A: "It's not the same danger. In pole vaulting, it's a very acrobatic discipline, where you need commitment, launch, you finish at 40 km / h and you hit a wall. accept that the technique is clean, the shoulders forward, is a real challenge. In a boat, the risk is in relation to the elements and the bullshit you can do on board. there is the sea, the wind, The pole was not there! But there is something which sometimes exceeds us and which can be distressing. I have never been afraid in a boat, I was sometimes impressed by a situation. At the pole, sometimes there is I had blockages for fear of not being able to jump anymore. I could not trigger a jump and all the pole vaulters know that, you have to erase the most quickly possible this moment. It is the refusal of an obstacle, it is a fear. While sailing I have not had this fear,on the other hand there are times when I said to myself: this is hot. But in fact you can't afford to put yourself in this fearful situation because you have to react. You manage the thing and after you put it into perspective. It is not at all the same behavior ".

The French skipper Jean Galfione, maneuvering aboard his Class40 monohull "Serenis Consulting", on October 6, 2014 off Concarneau, before taking the start of the Route du Rhum, on November 2 from Saint-Malo FRED TANNEAU AFP /Archives

Q: Do you plan to go boating for a long time?

A: "After the Route du Rhum (2022), I don't know if there will be a sequel. That's not the subject, I'm going without tomorrow, without calculation. Like when I was preparing for the Games when I I was an athlete, I was unable to predict the future after the Olympic deadline, for me life ended there. I cannot say that I know what the future will be exactly. Sometimes I also tell myself that the future is also good to go on a trip, take a boat trip with the family with a different project. Why not ".

The French skipper Jean Galfione, aboard his Class40 monohull "Serenis Consulting", on October 4, 2014 off Concarneau, before taking the start of the Route du Rhum, on November 2 from Saint-Malo FRED TANNEAU AFP / Archives

Q: You don't have a career plan in sailing?

A: "There I have a career plan over 4 years. The rest is not defined. Both it's worrying and I also like the idea of ​​having this freedom one day to go back to something. zero. But I would like to go to the end of what I undertook in my sporting field of the boat. What could have disappointed me in the pole vault was to finish with an injury, which could have been the I have three great pride: to have been Olympic champion, to have done 6 meters and to have stopped my career being almost in the top ten in the world record and to finish at the World Championships. And in the boat, I want to go to the end of something that I have undertaken and not for it to end in a fishtail. It's my personal thing ".

© 2021 AFP