Denis Van Weynbergh : "I want to show nothing is impossible"

It's a long story. To take part in this race, you need an entrepreneurial spirit, to know how to manage a team, a budget. Above all it is a business project. In terms of sailing, I started with the Mini-Transat and then took part in the big races in Class40, always as an amateur. I always had my eye on the Vendée Globe, I dreamed of this fabulous adventure.

For me, the IMOCA is the ultimate class and the Vendée Globe the holy grail for all sailors. I covered several editions of the Vendée Globe as a journalist in the written press and on the radio. I particularly remember the arrival of Michel Desjoyeaux during his second victory in 2009… It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. When I started talking about my project, everyone told me that for a Belgian it was impossible. That motivated me even more. I bought my boat in 2018 but I couldn't take part in the previous edition because of the budget and the lockdown. But I didn't give up and thanks to D'Ieteren Group and then the qualifications, I was able to finalise this project.

That's the million dollar question! (laughs) Even my mental coach didn't answer that! I think there are many reasons, good or bad, like any management project. There is an incredible symbolic, in at the deep end side. For three months, you are at sea and you cross some of the most isolated corners of the planet. It forces you to constantly be out of your comfort zone. I wanted to try and go all the way: I'd rather have regrets than remorse. But the hardest part is yet to come, you have to close the loop first!

Last June, once I had successfully completed the qualification process. It may seem paradoxical but it was only then that I began to feel ready. I have sailed more than 20,000 miles with this boat! This year, there were two transatlantic races and then the summer sailing with Sébastien Audigane. It reinforced the choices we were able to make.

Like a family! We are the only IMOCA team to be exclusively made up of volunteers. It's a different way of working, it involves other constraints but it contributes to the richness and DNA of the project. We experience the joys, the disappointments, the highlights, the more complicated moments together... It's a family business.

The first time I got on it, I immediately felt comfortable. It’s like when you buy an apartment or a house, first impressions are always important! I’ve had it for six years and we have a close relationship. I haven’t always had the budget to sleep in hotels or Airbnbs. So, for 2 years, I lived on board, I cooked for myself, I slept there. With the mutual experience we have built, I know that she is kind to me and I also try to be kind to her.

I find it funny! It's a great victory to be on the starting line, as if a Belgian third division club was playing the Champions League with Real Madrid and Manchester City! There is a lot of happiness in the idea of ​​telling yourself that a little Belgian with volunteers will be there.

Yes, to go all the way by sailing a great Vendée Globe! I hope I will have great routes… The idea would also be to beat the boat record which is 94 days. Later on I will be in “competition mode”. I want to race at full speed, to overtake, to be overtaken. And then what is exciting is the unknown element, the certainty that we will have to deal with unpredictable things that we have not anticipated. It is also very challenging!

Yes, I am really looking forward to it! I have heard so much about it but I prefer to see for myself. I’m interested in knowing how the boat and I will behave. I know it will be complicated, with the waves, the wind, the unpredictable weather, the strength of the elements… I hope I’ll be up to it.

There will inevitably be, especially as we approach the start. But above all, there is a lot of enthusiasm. It’s like saying to a passionate skier: “you have three months to ski without stopping and enjoy yourself”. He’s not going to answer: “I’m afraid my legs will hurt”. He goes for it and enjoys it! Sometimes, I think it wasn’t a good idea to open my mouth and want to take part. But I’m up against the wall, I’m going to have to throw myself into the adventure!

I will be the second Belgian to take part and I hope to be the first to finish it. Yes, I claim it. I think it’s a way of working, a way of doing things seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. We often say that as Belgians we lack sporting ambition. It’s true that there’s a kind of glass ceiling as if we don’t allow ourselves to be part of major competitions. My participation is a way of showing that nothing is impossible.

Yes, chocolate, cold cuts and beer of course. I’m not going to drink three a day but I will have small aperitifs. It’s also my way of unwinding and treating myself!