“It’s a hell of a job to be a sailor”, greeted Saturday November 6 on franceinfo Edouard Philippe, the mayor of Le Havre, on the eve of the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2021, which will start on Sunday November 7 from the port of Le Havre. The mayor of Le Havre was able to sail for a few hours with the Normand Charlie Dalin, winner of the last Transat Jacques Vabre in 2019, in the Imoca category.
“It was great”, recognizes Edouard Philippe a few days after his experience aboard the monohull. In 12 knots of wind and a “about 21 knots”, the former Prime Minister admits to having been “impressed” by Charlie Dalin. “We took off the boat. Since it’s a monohull, when it takes off, it leans. Since it’s an Imoca, when it goes fast, it makes a noise. I assure you, it’s quite impressive. And again, he wasn’t going as fast as Charlie can push him. “, says Edouard Philippe. “So it’s totally comfortable because we’re with a real pro.” He could see how these boats are “condensed technologies, how demanding they are. I assure you that when you are on them, you realize that it is a sacred job to be a sailor”.
Edouard Philippe pays tribute to “values which are carried by champions like Charlie, which are values of effort, of humility”. “It’s a sport that takes place in the face of the elements. So we stay humble in the face of the elements. Or it means that we didn’t understand anything.” He sees in sailors men and women with “a lot of humility, a lot of character, a lot of determination, and a mastery of technology which is very impressive”.
The former prime minister admits to loving water, “the fact of being quite calm on the water. Being a little alone, that can be pleasant”. He appreciates “the atmosphere that you can have when you are on the water. I like the fact of being quite peaceful on the water. It must be recognized that, when you are on the water in general, you is a little more alone. And when you are a little more alone, it can be pleasant “.
“It is necessary to measure the physical intensity that this represents for the organisms which are subjected to this rhythm”
Edouard Philippeto franceinfo
During these three hours of navigation, Edouard Philippe was able to taste the freeze-dried meals that runners take with them during the crossing. “Nice is not necessarily the word that comes to mind”, to qualify what he ate. “But let’s say it feeds her man.” The mayor of Le Havre underlines again “sports performance” sailors, “the resistance to fatigue, the conditions of noise and very relative comfort, to say the least, in which they sleep. The durations of sleep”, adds Edouard Philippe.