This Transat Jacques Vabre is a bit of his revenge, two years after the fire in his boat six days before the start of the race, Clément Giraud is going to sea again this Sunday from Le Havre for the 15th edition. On board the Imoca “La Compagnie du Lit, / Jiliti”, a 60-foot boat, the Toulon skipper is embarking on this challenge with his teammate and friend Erik Nigon. And two days before the start, Clément Giraud said he was in a hurry to leave, already there he was scanning the sky.
“We are in a hurry to be on the water after these long days of preparation, in addition the weather forecast is not too bad for the start, unlike the habits where we get a lot of depression with very strong wind so c ‘is nice and we want to go! “.
And it is an unprecedented duo that the two men form. The story began two years ago when Clément Giraud’s boat caught fire 6 days before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre. A few days later Erik Nigon, who was at sea, called him and told him that he was lending him his boat for the Vendée Globe. The season of Clément Giraud is saved thanks to him, he manages to complete the tour of the world. Strong ties are forged and two years later here are the two men on the boat.
It’s really a great human adventure between the two of us. Now we both find ourselves as cronies, cronies as pigs as they say. It’s really great, it’s a fabulous story, we are finishing a cycle together and I hope we will do this well – Clément Giraud
Twenty years separate the two men, Erik Nigon has a strong experience, he is participating this year in his 11th Transat and this is also what reassures Clément Giraud “it brings wisdom. The sea is also a decision-making process where you have to know how to calm things down or on the contrary be confident and Erik he brings me that, he gives me that confidence and from time to time also he lets me express myself, he has a really almost fatherly outlook “.