The Cigare Rouge, the story of an extraordinary sailing boat

Designed to take part in the 1992 Vendée Globe, Jean-Luc Van den Heede's Cigare Rouge has had a successful career as an ocean racer. A career that will continue in 2022... on the Route de Rhum

François-Xavier Ricardou Published on November 3, 2022

Built in composite in 1991 for skipper Jean-Luc Van den Heede, this 60-foot monohull enters the IMOCA class. Her skipper, nicknamed VDH, had designed her with the architect Philippe Harlé to take part in the 1992/93 Vendée Globe.

Narrow as a corridor

Contrary to the current fashion at that time for very wide and powerful boats, because they are very canvasy, the VDH sailing boat is on the contrary very narrow and not very canvasy. A recognizable design that immediately gave the nickname of Red Cigar to the sailboat. She raced in the Vendée Globe 92/93 under the name of her sponsor Sofap-Helvim Group. With a width of 3.76 m, this Open 60-footer stood out from the sledges designed by Finot at the time (5.80 m wide for Bagage Supérior!). To gain in stiffness, it was equipped with two ballast tanks.

Cigare Rouge — Arrival of the Vendée Globe with the hull very delaminated.

A first Vendée Globe in second place

For his first Vendée Globe, Groupe Sofap-Helvim in the hands of VDH finished second in 116 days. Rigged as a yawl (with a mizzenmast aft of the rudder) this yacht had the advantage of being very simple and above all not too powerful, not putting too much strain on her skipper and the automatic pilots. On the other hand, its lack of seating at the stern does not favour downwind sailing and limits starts to the schedule.

A stranding in Australia that could have ended badly

Still in the hands of VDH, this boat made the headlines on a stage of the Boc Challenge in 1995 when VDH, exhausted by electrical problems which deprived him of automatic pilot, woke up stranded on a beach in Australia less than 60 miles from the finish... He still managed to get out of this bad situation and finish the stage.

Tailored for girls

Then this boat helped the girls to come out of nautical anonymity, as it was still with this Cigare Rouge that Catherine Chabaud managed to complete the 1996/97 Vendée Globe. In spite of a last place, she was the first woman to cross the finish line. Then it was Karen Leibovici, who succeeded her in this race in 2004/05, finishing 13th ^e out of 20 participants.

Attempt to set a world record upside down

In the meantime, VDH used the boat to attempt the return trip around the world in reverse. Alas, after rounding Cape Horn, following the encounter with a floating object, the bow began to delaminate and take on water, forcing the skipper to stop in Chile.

Abandoned in La Rochelle

Since 2005, the yacht continued to interest skippers to take part in races, but no budget was secured and the yacht remained alongside the quay.

Faced with unpaid debts, the badly-paying owner was forced to accept a forced auction. Jean-Marie Patier, an amateur with a Route du Rhum project, became the new owner.