After the traditional and inevitable introductory speeches by the organiser, sponsor and skipper, 3 children from the "Coup de pouce" association - an association supported by the skipper of Groupe Setin, which helps young children in difficulty to succeed in their school careers - gave letters and drawings to Manuel Cousin so that he could distribute them in Guadeloupe.
The bottle of champagne was then broken by Eric Loizeau and Catherine Chabaud, godfather and godmother of the boat: Arnaud Boissière's former Mie-Câline, Farr plan built in 2007 for Jean Pierre Dick.
Since the acquisition of the boat at the TJV2017, have you optimized or modified your boat?
No big modifications, on the other hand we made a lot of small improvements on the technical aspect to go to the end of the race. For us what is important is to reach the end, to go to Guadeloupe so we have made the boat as reliable as possible.
Does the boat suit you, does it satisfy you?
I am very satisfied with it. Everyone says it all: it's a reliable, robust boat. Obviously in terms of performance we suffer a little bit compared to foilers, but the goal for us is to finish the races. We had the chance to finish them all this year. The boat is not surprising or unpredictable, it suits me well, it is in my hand. Safe and reliable, I sailed 10,000 miles on the boat this year, I sailed a lot and it's a big plus for me.
On this Route du Rhum, what is the objective?
The objective is to go through with it. There are about ten foilers and about ten straight drift boats. So we will try to fight with our means and against the boats of our generation: 2007 - 2010. There will be two races in the race, especially since even on drift boats, there are clearly boats that are super fast, more prepared and more recent. I am thinking of SMA, for example, who is still going very, very fast.
What is your history with the Route du Rhum?
My story dates back to my childhood - I don't say "when I was a kid" because I didn't grow up much. I have family in Saint-Briac, near Saint-Malo. My uncle was a sailing instructor and at 4-5 years old I started Optimist in Saint-Briac. I came to see the Rum race with my parents who were keen and passionate about sailing. I saw the first races start and I don't think I've missed any since the beginning 40 years ago.
What is your best memory with the Route du Rhum?
It's when you're little because you have stars in your eyes. Not that we lose them as we get older, but inevitably the smaller we are, the bigger the boats are, with people like Alain Colas, Philippe Poupon... it's necessarily good memories.
In a nutshell, how would you describe the rum route?
It's a big sprint complicated at the start, complicated in the middle and very complicated at the finish with the Guadeloupe round. So basically it's "quite complicated".
How do you see this first great ocean race? Serene or a little stress?
It's a little bit all at once. I think I'm relatively calm, the boat is ready, I think I am too. On the other hand, there is necessarily a tension, it would be a lie to say that there is not a sailor - even among the greatest - who is not tense. We have to be apprehensive at first. With 123 boats at the start, it's going to be very hot, we'll have to be very careful during the first few hours of racing. The weather, even if it's still a little far away, looks a little strong. So there is necessarily tension, but also excitement and enormous joy. It's just a dream I'm living.
What will be the difficulties of the course?
Pass the first depressions, make a round back when necessary. I look forward to arriving in the trade winds and enjoying the beautiful slides with the boat. That's all he wants.
