NICOLAS TROUSSEL’S VENDÉE GLOBE

“Once you’ve tried it, you can’t get rid of it.”

- Nicolas Troussel, Offshore Sailor

Photo credit – Mattieu Hacquebart / CORUM L’Épargne

Nicolas Troussel

Growing up in Baie de Morlaix France, Nicolas has sailing in his blood and has had his sights set on the Vendée Globe for the past 15 years. Since the take-off of his professional career in 2004—catalyzed by his win of the Transat AG2R aboard the Figaro 2—he’s seen the podium numerous times in international races; surprising the industry with his skill and strategy on the water.

The race is an obsession for most solo offshore sailors and for Nicolas the Vendée Globe is ‘The greatest offshore race. The pinnacle of offshore sailing.’ On November 8th Nicolas set sail in his IMOCA class boat Corum L’Epargne from Les Sables-d’Olonne for the race of a lifetime.

Photo credit - SevenOneThree

VENDÉE GLOBE

This famed Vendée Globe is a solo non-stop round the world race which is often referred to as The Everest of The Seas. Starting and ending in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France the route consists of 40,075km around the globe. Much of the route is spent sailing in the relentless Southern Ocean along with passing the three capes—Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn. The race requires sailors to test their mental and physical strengths to the limits as they sail solo through some of the most remote areas of the world. Since its resurrection in 1989, only 167 sailors have attempted the course. This year Nicolas Troussel adds his name to that list.

Photo credit - Yann Riou / CORUM L’Épargne

THE RACE OF A LIFETIME

“After winning my first Solitaire du Figaro back in 2006, I felt like my next challenge would be to take on this incredible race that is the Vendée Globe. Since then, it’s been my ultimate dream. Now I’ve got the opportunity to do it, onboard CORUM L’Épargne, a new generation boat that we specifically designed for this race.” - Nicolas Troussel