Sébastien Marsset: “Let's keep this sport accessible!”

I'm glad it's really happening now, we've been talking about this for so long. I have two young children so I had to explain to them why the house is emptied of so many of my things, but they've been hearing about the Vendée Globe for two and a half years now, so it’s no surprise. You have to realize that an adventure like this takes up a lot of bandwidth in the family!

What it changes is that we're always looking for partners, even now! In fact, we've never stopped, we offer something accessible, not excessive, I'll take the opportunity to keep promoting the project looking for more money(laughs). Otherwise, what it changes is that I'm not just a sailor but a business manager. It is so much more than being the helm of a boat where my only role would be to make it go fast. I am the owner of the boat, I am liable for the loans I have taken out, it adds pressure and workload, but you have to follow your dreams. 

I have always dreamed of it, even though I sailed with a team for a long time. But I really set this goal of the Vendée Globe 2024 at the finish of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019, double-handed with Romain (Attanasio, editor's note). I started the selection process in 2021, still sailing with Romain, but I quickly understood that I wasn't going to find a budget to buy a recent boat, but also I wasn't going to find a budget until I had a boat either...it was chicken and egg. 

Clearly, I won't be able to win the Vendée Globe with it, but it has its advantages: it's been around for a long time, it's robust. But it has some disadvantages. As it is old, it is technically almost more difficult to do things, many bits on these boats are almost unique and previous owners did what they could but often the suppliers no longer have the equipment in question and it becomes necessary to  make custom-fittings, which is expensive. But I am not complaining at all, I have the advantage of having a boat, full stop!  You have to realize how difficult and lucky you are at the same time but how much work it requires.

Yes, there are always things to do in terms of sport. I'm a competitor, I only look at the general ranking. I am never telling myself that I can't be up there at the same level as the others. Afterwards, what's great about this race is that there's always a match within the match, and you can have a fierce race and give it your all, including in the peloton. Between boats with daggerboards, for example, we fight with as much intensity as the last foilers in front.

I have plenty, otherwise I wouldn't be going! What is certain is that I will look for something out there, even if I can't describe it completely. I was lucky enough to sail around the world three times with a crew and those are incredible memories. To do it solo is really the goal. And then there is the challenge. Sailing around the world without any other boat around is already a but mad, so you add to that the competition, the demands on you at sea, and you are always pushing yourself to do better, go faster. 

Everyone dreads a breakage! But yes, of course, when you have a smaller budget, you can't change everything you want. We're always on the edge, any expenses are scrutinized with a magnifying glass, even for a few hundred euros. It's a very heavy discipline to adhere to on a daily basis for the team, and above all we don't have the right to make a mistake. When choosing between a 110 m2 or 130 m2 sail, you have to think carefully because you know that you won't have the means to make another one if you make a mistake. You have to be super careful, very conservative all the time. 

Except that I think that a good dad would never have embarked on such a crazy project (laughs)!

Yes, but even so today there is still a little room for stories like mine, but it is up to the organizer and the IMOCA class to ensure that this is preserved in the future. What interests the public is the diversity of projects, the human stories behind each boat, that is what makes ocean racing and the Vendée Globe beautiful. We need renewal, young people, diversity, so that we don't all have the same profile. For me, the worst would be for this race to become like the America's Cup, with an uber elite group that does not match with the DNA of the people who follow the Vendée Globe. Let's keep this sport accessible! Today, there are a lot of inherent expenses that are the same for all racers, whether it's race registrations, satellite communication, class memberships... All of that eats into your budget.

What challenges us all is also the sustainability of our sport. I find that today, there is a material overuse which is worrying. I want to see the impact be reduced all the time that we move towards a more sustainable sport. I think we don’t re-use things enough. I have sails that have already been around the world, but which are not at all obsolete. It is both a guarantee of sustainability for ocean racing, and also a form of protection for the skippers who invest everything, everything, everything for this, whether it is professional money, personal money, and even some take on debt. 

In two and a half years, there have been plenty! The finish of the Route du Rhum and this eleventh place, for sure. I was proud, proud of everything that had been achieved. I had bought the boat in March, I had no team, no one. From March to November, we achieved all that, two weeks before the start we didn't even know if we could go. In those moments, the emotions that it engenders it's incredible. And you know that all that, it is above all thanks to a few people who are similarly passionate and give their all to support you. My project is held together thanks to five people who gave their all, but also thanks to the loved ones of these five people, to my family of sponsors… That’s the most beautiful thing in the end, the human adventure that lies behind each sailor! To get there, I have never met so many people in four years! You can’t work alone in a project like this, you have to reach out to others. That’s both exhausting and exciting.