Justine Mettraux : " I have tried to tick all the boxes."

“I am super happy to be able to do this race. For the moment, I am approaching it quite calmly. It is my first solo round the world race. So there are many, many unknowns, even if  having been able to sail a lot in the IMOCAs in recent years, and in particular The Ocean Race with 11th Hour Racing Team on a boat similar to mine, removes some doubts and gives a good deal of confidence. I will never have never spent so much time at sea before. So I obviously have a few questions running around in my head. How am I going to live for 80 days all alone? That is the main question I ask myself?”

“I am someone who did not have a Vendée Globe project happen so fast and it so I have been thinking about it for a while, preparing for it and working on it with my partners and the whole team. Now I appreciate my luck to be able to be at the start because it was not an easy thing. Now that the qualification is done, there is the desire to take full advantage of this opportunity and do well. My experiences in recent years were not necessarily all about the Vendée Globe in mind. It was very much a series of opportunities and, of course, the response to desires that I could have had at certain times. Being able to juggle between solo and crewed allowed me to acquire quite a comprehensive experience. When I got the ex-Charal, I was certainly able to take charge of the boat without it being too complicated. I knew where I was going and I had a certain legitimacy. All that helped me feel good about the project, to be able to lead it better, no doubt, than if I had it earlier."

"Yes, but my experience of the south is nevertheless very limited and what I have experienced will certainly not resemble what I will experience this time. However, I cannot deny that the fact of having already sailed in these places allows me to at least put certain things into perspective.” 

“To get to grips with the boat, I was lucky enough to be able to sail with a crew and then double-handed. This helped me a lot to understand more quickly how these boats work, how to use their potential and how to make them work. The people at 11th Hour Racing Team clearly helped me to progress more quickly. On the boat, since we got it back, we haven't made any major changes but we tried to improve the ergonomics and then we tried to stay competitive by changing the foils which were still the original ones and which dated back to December 2018. We tried to compensate for the lack of performance that we could have compared to some new boats by putting a new pair of foils on this year. However, I don't have a specific result target in mind. My goals are to do things well and take care of myself and the boat. If I manage to do that, I'm pretty sure that the result will follow."

"I tried to prepare seriously and tick all the boxes. I think that mentally I'm pretty well equipped. With a view to a Vendée Globe, there are so many different things that you could get lost in. Experience allows us to always go further in the detail in certain aspects of performance. For my part, I tried to identify the points on which I really had to focus personally.”

“Mainly, the possibility that would that something would end my race prematurely. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“It’s a project that is close to my heart. This international network, made up of professional female sailors, is intended both to promote the practice of sailing among women and also diversity in boating. It’s a major subject. Today, there are many more opportunities for girls than in the past, with some ambitious projects, but there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve greater equality. As proof, there were six women at the start of the Vendée Globe during the last edition four years ago. There are the same number this year but the ratio, compared to the overall number of participants, is lower. There are plenty of positive signs but we clearly must not stop halfway."

"An image of a boat in the middle of nowhere, with a solo sailor on board. If I have to give a more precise image, it is that of the finish of the last edition. It was the first time that so many people arrived in such a group, and therefore proof of the intensity of the race today, even if it lasts several months."

"At sea, whatever the race, there are always lots of great moments like a great sunrise or sunset, a great maneuver, an encounter with a marine mammal..."..  

“I would say the finish of the Transat Jacques Vabre – Normandie Le Havre last year, with Julien Villion. We had a great race and we always got on really well on board. It remains a good memory.”

“To perform beyond my expectations.”

“I always have a little lucky charm in my belongings. It’s a small plastic egg.”