what would you say to someone to encourage them to take up sailing?

Sailing is freedom: which means both commitment, autonomy, responsibility, also dealing with mother nature. Every kind of sailing and racing : solo, two handed, or with a crew.

THE “RED CIGAR” TOWARDS A SIXTH ROUND THE WORLD…

This 60 feet designed by the office Mortain/ Mavrikios pursing the work done by the late Philippe Harlé was built in 1990/1991 for Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, pioneer of the first Vendée Globe and competitor of the second edition on this new boat recognizable by her small width and her yawl rig. The red paint of this narrow monohull quickly earned her the nickname of «Cigare Rouge». On board, «VDH» finished second in the Vendée Globe in 1993. Two years later, he finished 3rd in the Boc Challenge (solo round the world with stops) and, in 1998, second in the Route du Rhum. Meanwhile, the boat, chartered by Catherine Chabaud, went for a new VG. Catherine was awarded a nice 6th place and thus became the first woman to complete a solo race around the world without assistance.  In 2000, Joe Seeten took the helm for a 3rd VG that he finished in 10th position. 4 years later, the «Cigare Rouge» begins her fifth solo round the world race, helmed by Karen Leibovici. In the years that followed, the two-masted boat experienced various fortunes led by different sailors and ended up as a wreck at La Rochelle. In 2017, the boat abandoned is put on sale by the harbour of La Rochelle. Jean-Marie Patier, Catherine Chabaud’s partner, buys her and starts a complete refurbishment at the V1D2 shipyard in Caen with the prospect of entering the 2018 Route du Rhum which he finished 4th out of 17 entries in the «Rhum» category. In 2022, Catherine succeeds to Jean-Marie at the helm in this same solo transat and finished 2nd in the category. This mythical boat was then put on sale and is actually purchased by Patrice Carpentier with a new challenge: the Wordlstar. This will be the sixth round the world race of the “Red Cigar” in the west to east direction.

… AND HIS NEW SKIPPER TOO

Patrice Carpentier raced 5 times around the world. His history as a circumnavigator began in 1973 with the first edition of the Whitbread, race around the world. He sailed the second edition aboard Gauloises II (Pen Duick III) for both legs in the southern seas. In 1989, he took part in the first edition of the Vendée Globe and 11 years later, he was again in the same race aboard the 50-foot VM Matériaux with a win in his category (and 11th elapsed). 4 years later, Patrice went back to the Vendée Globe but had to stop in New Zealand due to technical problems. Apart from these world tours, the navigator journalist multiplies his participation in ocean races and builds a solid palmares. In May 2024, after his 46th crossing of the Atlantic, he decided, with his partner Téo Georges, to join the World Star. His choice to participate with the «Cigare Rouge» has several reasons: the simple (one fixed keel and one centreboard) boat completely refurbished by Jean-Marie Patier is remarkable for her reliability and performance. His qualities make her a formidable contender in elapsed time and for the overall victory that rewards the best boat in IRC corrected time. Another reason, more sentimental to his participation is that the RWYC of Plymouth, organizer of the event, is this legendary club which saw the birth of the Ostar, transatlantic race in which a certain Eric Tabarly won two editions, and Patrice, that of 1984, in the 45-foot category. Patrice has multiplied the races around the world in solo and crew. He lacked a participation in two handed: it will be the World Star. A 6th round the world for him and the boat… Departure from Plymouth on 26 September 2026.

Fort de France to Brittany. I embarked a “last minute” crew, Téo Georges (26), who proved to be an excellent sailing companion, and when I got acquainted with the WordlSTAR, I thought it would be a good idea to do it together. I raced around the world solo or with a crew, but never two-handed. Time is on!

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