Thomas Rettant relied on a team of ten people to succeed in his Vendée Globe -
Pierre Bouras
Thomas Rettant will start his second Vendée Globe on November 8 from Les Sables-d'Olonne.
To achieve the best possible success in this solo race, the northerner sailor has surrounded himself for two years with a team of ten people.
Before or during the race, the navigator explains
each person's role
to
20 Minutes
.
The biggest single-handed sailing race in the world, the Vendée Globe is far from being the accomplishment of a man on a boat.
If the sailor will sail well alone for at least three months, a whole team has surrounded him for at least two years before the big departure from Sables-d'Olonne scheduled for November 8.
This is the case with Thomas Rettant.
The northern skipper, who will line up at the start with his new LinkedOut boat, will be accompanied ashore by several people.
He introduces us to the TR Racing, his team made up of a dozen people.
The team helping him during the race
Mail, satellite phone, social networks… In 2020, a sailor engaged in the Vendée Globe is no longer really cut off from the world.
However, Thomas Rouillard is not the type to spend hours on the phone.
While some skippers like to communicate every day, the 39-year-old Northerner is rather fond of the old sea bass style. “I don't call a lot and especially not every day.
At sea, I really need to be in my bubble, ”explains the Dunkirk.
Suddenly, not many of them can talk to him during this world tour.
For the technique and the management of possible problems, Rettant relies on two men: Laurent Bourgues (technical director) and Lucas Montagne (data specialist).
Two trusted sailors who are the skipper's eyes on the ground during the race.
Happy Sunday everyone! @LinkedOut_VG #lacourseauchangement @advens pic.twitter.com/zS7iZOX4Cs
- Thomas Rouillard (@ThomasRettant) October 18, 2020
“They are reachable 24 hours a day and know the boat by heart.
I can call them on how to handle the problem and fix the stuff.
These are two people that I have known well for a long time.
We know exactly how each one works and everything is fluid ”.
The most popular single-handed race in the world, the Vendée Globe necessarily requires a communications manager to manage press relations.
A task that Thomas Rtant has long entrusted to Tanguy Blondel.
“With the media, everything is planned before leaving.
Tanguy organizes and calls me or sends me an email to schedule the meetings.
I also exchange with him so that he can establish the logbook.
Tanguy or Denis Van Den Brink, who works with him, call me every two or three days to tell about the race ”.
Team manager, Marcus Hutchinson may also be called upon to discuss with Thomas during the Vendée Globe during vacations organized for the adventure's financial partners.
Family and friends present but not too much
During the race, friends and close family can also reach him via WhatsApp, email or phone.
Even if this dad of two children aged 8 and 3 clearly prefers writing orally with his close family.
“The more the race progresses, the greater the gap between what I experience and what happens on earth.
So, we write a lot.
It's easier to use words to tell what you're going through.
We call each other about once a week with my wife and the kids.
All this is the result of long experience.
The biggest lack on earth is necessarily the children.
It's long for them, it's long for me too.
It's clearly the hardest part when you go away for a long time like that, ”says the navigator.
The team that has been preparing the race for two years
If there are only a few who can talk to the sailor during the Vendée Globe, the TR Racing is made up of a dozen people who formed two years ago.
Technicians (string, composite or performance managers) or project managers, they are all in contact during the race with Laurent Bourgues, the technical manager, who can come and consult them in the event of a problem or specific advice.
Although they perform different functions, they all have one thing in common: that of being a sailor.
“It was really one of my wishes.
It allows for very rich discussions on the modifications to be made on the boat.
When there is a solution to be found, we sit around a table and everyone knows what they are talking about, ”explains Thomas Rettant.
Besides, they have all sailed on the boat at least once.
Example last year when, on the return from the Jacques-Vabre transatlantic race, the team brought the boat back from Cape Verde to Brittany to soak up the place and see what was going or not.
If the dozen members of TR Racing work full time, Thomas Rettant also works with occasional contributors such as a physical trainer but also various meteorologists to better control one of the main factors of the race.
Mercato and recruitment
As in football or other sports, sailing also has its transfer window where we exchange the best according to needs.
“Sailing is a small environment where everyone knows each other.
We know who is competent, who is able to do the job.
There is a small turnover in the teams.
For example, the technicians I have on my team have worked in many other teams before, ”says the navigator.
And to compose his team two years ago, Thomas Rettant, who always consults his faithful before recruiting, did not just look at CVs.
“It has to go well humanely.
We need to have a united team.
There is a very important human part ”, recalls like a mantra the Northerner proud to have“ the most beautiful team that I have ever had ”.
And apparently the group is living well.
Even before knowing the result of the Vendée Globe, everyone is already ready to set off together for a new project.
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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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