His name is now officially on the entry list for the start of the 2022 Drheam Cup in Cherbourg on July 17. François Gabart, winner of the Vendée Globe and holder of several sea records, will return to Cherbourg where sailing enthusiasts have already had the opportunity to meet him, particularly during the Solitaire du Figaro. few years ago.
This time it’s at the helm of her brand new maxi flying trimaran “SVR Lazartigue”that he will take the start of the race towards La Trinité-sur-Mer, in the category of Ultim trimarans, in the company for the moment of Yves Le Blévec (Actual Ultim 3), Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) and Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3), all three members of the Ultim class, with whom François Gabart is in conflict.
Objective Route du Rhum
A dispute over the conformity of the boat opposes the skipper to the Ultim class and could deprive him of the Route du Rhum, a solo transatlantic race which takes place every four years and whose start will be given on November 6 in Saint-Malo. In question, the very design of the new boat and the choice ofa closed cockpit limiting the visibility of the helmsman, which represents a danger estimate the competitors of François Gabart. The latter brought his dispute before the courts and the summary hearing will be held this Thursday, June 23 in Paris.
If it is important for the rest of François Gabart’s season, this hearing will have no impact on his participation in the Drheam Cup made possible by a regulation which does not require a measurement certificate, the famous document that the Ultim class refuses to grant for the time being to the boat “SVR Lazartigue”.
The winner of the Vendée Globe 2012 will therefore race from Cherbourg in his first race since his second place acquired in duet with Tom Laperche during the Transat Jacques Vabre last November, four months after the launch of the boat. And we can already bet that his boat will be one of the most photographed among the 128 expected in the Chantereyne port.