Newsletter Dominique Wavre #25

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Summary:

• "Life ashore is not so bad!"
• Pomp and ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris
• Save the date: Exclusive conference open to the public in Versoix on 16 April
• Dominique named Godfather of the 75th Bol d’Or Mirabaud
• Dominique Wavre: the book

“Life ashore is not so bad!”

Ashore now for two months, Dominique Wavre can reflect with some objectivity on his Vendée Globe, discuss the present and look to the future.

Dominique, how is life back on dry land?
Dominique Wavre: It is wonderful to be back with my family and friends; I have been able to reacclimatise slowly to life ashore which has been really great.

You finished on 9 February, with some time to reflect, how do you feel about your Vendée Globe?
Dominique: I am very pleased with my result, especially when I see how many failures my fellow competitors suffered on board their boats. I really did benefit from having a perfectly prepared boat to race and am delighted to have avoided any major breakages. I was also very lucky of course given that I fractured a vertebra four days into the race!

What have you been up to since you have been back?
Dominique: I am quite busy but pleasantly so. Michele and I have been doing some work on Mirabaud, trying to get her back into top condition, and I have been doing a lot of conferences and am often in Switzerland.

So is the boat back in perfect condition?
Dominique: No, far from it, a round the world race takes it toll on a boat and we are slowly getting her back in shape. As we are not based in La Rochelle and don’t have a full time shore crew it takes time with just the two of us working on it.

Have you taken a holiday since your return?
Dominique: No, we haven’t really taken any time off, but we aren’t working at a hundred miles an hour either, we are taking things at a nice pace, not a holiday, but not crazy busy. I am not sure when we could have squeezed a holiday in to be honest, between media requests, work on the boat, conferences and planning for the future! In May, Michele and I travel to Montreal for Mirabaud for a conference, and as we were made to feel so welcome during our last visit between the Transat Jacques Vabre and the start of the Vendée Globe, we have decided to stay on for a short holiday to have a look around.

And the future how is that shaping up?
Dominique: Michele and I would love to race the next Barcelona World Race and we have started working on a project with this in mind. It is still early days and I am always very cautious, but I can’t deny it would be a wonderful project and we are super keen!

Copyright photo : © Jean-Guy Python/Mirabaud

Pomp and ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris

Gilles Beausse, Dominique Wavre, François Hollande, Jean-Charles Rielle

The doors of the Elysée Palace were thrown open to Vendée Globe competitors and previous winners on Monday for a reception by French president Francois Hollande.

Dominique, Michele and Nicolas de la Fournière, manager of Mirabaud’s Paris office (and an experienced sailor in his own right), attended the ceremony, along with Jean-Charles Rielle, the President of the Conseil Municipal of Geneva who extended an official gift to the President of the Republic.

“It was a wonderful moment,” said Dominique. “I was very surprised at how much time Francois Hollande spent with us. He was very approachable and despite the troubles at the moment managed to spare quite some time to chat to us. He made a heart felt speech during which he drew a parallel about the storms that his government is facing being similar to those the Vendee Globe skippers faced during the race. The Palace was packed with media, but it didn’t stop him from making us extremely welcome, it was a special moment.”

Copyright photo : © Mirabaud

Save the date: Exclusive conference open to the public in Versoix on 16 April

Dominique is scheduled to give a conference on Tuesday 16 April at 19:30 at the Salle Communale de Lachenal in Versoix. The event is organised by the Versoix Club Nautique and is free of charge for the public.

The Swiss skipper plans to show a film and discuss his most recent Vendée Globe adventures before opening the floor to questions from the audience.

Copyright photo : © Jean-Guy Python/Mirabaud

Dominique named Godfather of the 75th Bol d’Or Mirabaud

The Bol d’Or will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on the 14, 15, 16 of June at the Société Nautique de Genève and Dominique wouldn’t miss it for the world, not least because he is the event’s godfather!

“I am delighted, as ever, to take part in this amazing event,” he said. “It will be refreshing to be involved in a fresh water event again and as in years past, I will be stationed on the CGN committee boat at the start for the commentary.”

Copyright photo : © Loris von Siebenthal/Mirabaud

Dominique Wavre: the book

"Ten Times Around the World", a book by Bernard Schopfer, tells the story of Dominique’s incredible seafaring career. It will be available at a bookshop near you in September 2013.

To pre-order, please send an email to: contact@maxcomm.ch

Copyright photo : © DR