Antoine Cornic: "Knowing how to go the whole way and realise your ambitions"

I dreamed about it for so many years! It’s one of the races that I have absolutely always wanted to do and today, I’m finally there! After the Mini Transat in 2001, I just didn’t bounce back, unlike guys like Yannick Bestaven or Arnaud Boissières who were part of the same “class” at the time. I tried to set up a Vendée Globe project, but with no success. It really wore me out mentally. So I had to do something else, which I did. The next Mini Transat ran from La Rochelle in 2017. For me, it was quite easy to do that race again whilst working on the side with the restaurants. However, I didn’t think that the ocean racing bug would bite me again so hard and make me want to go and do the  big “tour”. So I got the whole Vendée Globe project back together. It took almost a year to come to fruition. I bought the boat and then boom I was off and running! My wife has given me a lot of encouragement. She always pushed me to move forwards even when it wasn’t easy during these the last four years. I’m lucky to have her support me so much, but that’s how we’ve always been, When she went off to race rallies, I helped her and I was very proud of what she did. I have an old memory of my father who wanted to enter a Paris-Dakar when I was a kid. He was 30,000 francs short at the time. My mother suggested he take out a loan, but he didn’t want to, thinking it wasn’t responsible. He always regretted it. As a result, I think it’s better to live with remorse than with regrets. It allows you to move forward and constantly question yourself. You have to know how to go through with your ambitions all the way. Sometimes, of course, it's not possible, but if it is, you have to do it.

I can't wait to be in the final phase of the project. To switch to race mode and try to enjoy it as much as possible. I don't know how things will go, but I'm going to try to make the most of this chance I have to be in this Vendée Globe. However, it's a chance without being a chance because I really fought to be able to be here.  I have to live this adventure to the fullest and I think it's going to be huge! I think this is going to be a huge Vendée Globe! The new boats will probably take the event into the next universe. For the boats with daggerboards, like me, there will be the race within the race. We can already feel the excitement, the competitive spirit and I like that. It will add to the game. Everyone will have lots of stories to tell and I think it will be fantastic!

With my team, we tried to be “clean” everywhere. We tried to do things well and think about the most advanced preparation possible within the means we had. For budgetary reasons some technical choices were sometimes difficult to make. We worked a lot with older second-hand sails during the first four years to ensure that we could set off on the Vendée Globe with new sails. We changed the mast, the keel, the rudders. Very often, friends opened their workshops to us and allowed us to use parts that were left on the shelves in order to give them a new life. Reliability has constantly remained our guiding principle to maximize our chances of completing the race and finishing it in the best possible conditions. We never went to extremes, or into  fantasy world where we didn't have the human and financial resources to do that anyway. What I hope at the end is to be able to tell Michel Desjoyeaux that the Vendée Globe is no longer on shit thing every day but only one every three days!

I think I'm going to have a great time because I like being alone for a long time at sea. My other strength is that I have no pressure to achieve results. With the project partners, they always said that we were going there to live an adventure. We never talked about ranking. The only pressure I have is the one I put on myself to complete the circle. Although I left the ocean racing world for a while before returning, I have always sailed a lot. I think that I am first and foremost a sailor and that I will find solutions to be able to bring the boat back to port. My wife and my team are fully behind me. I know that I will not receive any pressure from land either at that level.

The return! Going from nothing to everything all of a sudden, after 90 or 100 days spent alone, promises to be a bit of a crazy time. I don't know how I will react.

I think of this group of friends who, in 1989, set off on a round the planet race without knowing where they were going! Alain Gautier, Titouan Lamazou, Philippe Jeantot, Pierre Follefant… all these guys were pioneers. Their adventures left a such mark on me. I particularly remember the rescue of Philippe Poupon by Loïck Peyron. I see his boat again with all its sails torn and its mizzen mast which ended up being cut off. From all the editions, there remain so many incredible anecdotes and each time a part of the dream comes out.

There are so many! It’s hard to answer this question. It’s perhaps the finish of my first Mini Transat, in 2001, in Brazil, but there are so many others! At sea, I like to experience moments of plenitude surrounded by marine mammals, watch a sunset or receive an email from my wife in the middle of the night… All these little things are always very pleasant!

My first delivery trip, between Lorient and La Rochelle. I had just recovered it as a wreck but it was the moment when I realized that I was getting towards my dream.

I don’t really have any other dreams than to finish it. That would allow me to close this whole chapter. The person with whom I do mental preparation tells me that I work in cycles. If I don’t finish this one, I’ll have trouble starting the next one. I want to go all the way for me, but also for the boat. It had to abandoned during the 2008-2009 edition and now deserves to complete its first round the world passage I want to give the boat a victory in crossing the finish line and proving that it is indeed a boat made for this type of challenge.

Francis Joyon. He has always impressed me. He is one of the guys I would have liked to find myself at sea with. I like his way of sailing and managing his immense career. I also like his serenity.

I am an epicurean, a foodie. I like having lots of people around me and sharing good meals with them. I also spend a lot of time in the cellars working and tasting wine with my wife. It is one of our passions. We like talking with the winemakers and understanding the winemaking process. I also try to be very present for my children. I also like spending a little time in nature and walking with my dog.

Polaroid photos of my children and my wife. I also take vacuum-packed sliced ​​sausage. It’s a real anti-depressant on board, especially since each bag is hidden in my bags and contains little notes from my friends. As I like a plan to go smoothly, I also take a cigar that I save for when I arrive. I’ve been doing it for a very long time but I only smoke it if everything has gone the way I wanted. For example, I didn’t smoke the one from the English Transat. I hope to light this one and enjoy it!