20 Minutes sailed on LinkedOut, the flying sailboat of Thomas Rettant -

20 Minutes

  • LinkedOut skipper Thomas Rettant invited 20 Minutes to sail aboard his monohull off Lorient.

  • Thanks to its new foils, the sailboat is able to fly above water.

  • The skipper from Dunkirk is asserting himself as one of the outsiders of the Vendée Globe, which will start on November 8 from Les Sables d'Olonne.

One press on what looks like a watch and the boat changes course.

Less than two months before the start of the Vendée Globe, the 9th edition of which will start from Les Sables d'Olonne (Vendée) on November 8, skipper Thomas Rettant invited

20 Minutes

aboard his LinkedOut monohull.

Big sun, little wind.

That day, his boat did not reach crazy speeds.

But you can feel it, as soon as a breeze, even a light one, rushes through the sails, the monohull leaps.

“In light conditions, it's an average boat.

But as soon as there is a little wind, with our big appendages (the famous foils), we take off, ”says Thomas Rettant.

“We almost manage to do stabilized flight where we stay in the air.

They are quite magical boats ”, testifies the skipper, including 

20 Minutes

is a partner

.

The last time I set foot on a sailboat, it was on a dinghy of less than four meters, in a sailing school in Piriac-sur-Mer.

In a light wind, I had already struggled to manage the helm and the ends of my two small sails.

The impression when climbing on this 18 meter long course boat is quite different.

I am impressed to see the multiple ropes perfectly arranged in the piloting area.

Looking up, I am almost dizzy seeing the 30 meters mast towering above me.

"These boats are capable of reaching crazy speeds"

I understand then that this formula 1 of the seas will soon be run by a single man, who will undoubtedly spend more than 70 days alone, in the middle of raging seas.

I can imagine the speed that this monohull can reach, capable of exceeding 60 km / h only with the force of the wind.

On the sides, the new foils give the impression of flying.

“We made stabilized speeds around 30 knots, which is pretty crazy for a monohull.

We are at multihull speeds.

It's a pretty fantastic boat ”.

With less than two months of his departure from Les Sables d'Olonne, the skipper of LinkedOut seems fairly quiet.

He plans a dozen outings at sea by then and will lift a little cast in the gym.

"The objective is to work on the sheathing because I will have to carry heavy loads", explains Thomas Rettant, pointing to a sail bag weighing 70 kg.

LinkedOut skipper Thomas Rettant, here off Lorient in September 2020. - C. Allain / 20 Minutes

For months, however, he has been working to lighten his boat as much as possible.

“The layout is extremely important.

We live on board and we have to hold on for the duration because the race is long.

These boats are capable of reaching crazy speeds and we need to have this comfort to rest and quite simply to live.

We worked a lot on this boat ”.

However, living comfort is limited, like the kitchen, which occupies only a tiny space.

To “rest”, Thomas Rouillard has offered himself a comfortable swivel seat from which he can monitor his control screens and steer his boat.

The only place he will have to sleep too.

As for the toilets, there are none on board.

Above all for the sake of saving space and weight.

Thank you @defiazimut!

# vg2020 @LinkedOut_VG #inclusion #tech #sport #lacourseauchangement pic.twitter.com/aeHo3kqInz

- Thomas Rouillard (@ThomasRouillard) September 13, 2020

In less than two months, the Hauts de France skipper will be hoisting his blue and orange sails off the Vendée coast.

To shine the colors of its northern department which accompanies it, but also of its partner LinkedOut, a solidarity platform which helps people in precariousness find a job.

Its founder, the entrepreneur Jean-Marc Potdevin hopes to find a job for fifty people away from employment before the return of his protégé in Vendée.

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20 seconds of context

Partner of Thomas Rettant during the Transat Jacques-Vabre in October 2019, 

20 Minutes

 continues to support the northern skipper on the Vendée Globe 2020.

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  • 20 minutes video

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  • Dunkirk

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  • Lorient