Sébastien Simon, the lucky star

A few months after his first painful experience on the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe which ended in retirement into Cape Town, Sébastien Simon was actually back to zero. Even so, in truth the winner of the 2018 Solitaire du Figaro actually still went through a period of doubts and introspection before accepting the outstretched hand of Groupe Dubreuil. That was less than two years ago. 

Since then, the 35 year old from Les Sables d’Olonne has put together a team, taken charge of a proven top-performance boat, competed in four transatlantic races and, above all, continued to write his Vendée Globe story, all about a race he grew up with and which he cherishes so much.

A change for the better sometimes only takes a text message. Sébastien Simon is probably the best person to confirm thae. The scene was in Canada, in the summer of 2023, as he prepares to return to France. The Vendée sailor competed in The Ocean Race (a crewed round-the-world race with stopovers) on Guyot Environnement (Benjamin Dutreux) which had dismasted. 

The start of the Vendée Globe was less than two years away at that point and the dream of participating in it again was fading for ‘Seb’. But then there was the text message. It was signed by Paul-Henri Dubreuil, head of the eponymous group of companies 

"It was a Saturday morning," recalled Simon before the start. "He simply told me that he had decided to do the Vendée Globe for the 100th anniversary of the Dubreuil Group." 

Two days later, they met and the project was launched. 

Express preparation

Simon quickly found the perfect boat, the had the former 11th Hour, the boat that had just won The Ocean Race. The Verdier monohull had been endlessly optimised, made super reliable and had already been through the Southern Ocean and its depressions. 

At the same time, 'Seb' put together a team, he was joined by the Spanish double Olympic medallist  Iker Martinez and found skilled guys and girls ready to give their all alongside him. Five months later, he was on the pontoons of the Transat Jacques Vabre. Time was of the essence: the Vendée Globe was in a year’s time. 

After this first transatlantic with Iker Martinez, he set off again solo on the Retour à la Base. His race proved epic. He is, notably, always near the front. But he suffers a concussion following a bash to his head. He loses consciousness, breaks a vertebra, and has to stop in the Azores to resolve technical electrical problems. Unbroken and determined he sets off again but dismasts near the finish line… However, ‘Seb’ goes all the way and, by crossing the line under jury rig completely exhausted, ensures his qualification for the Vendée Globe. It is unfortunate then that he has to spend the first months of 2024 in a corset, unable to move, to do any sport far less putting to sea!

“I am a child of the Vendée Globe”

His convalescence is difficult but his drive and enthusiasm see him through.  He will be at the start of the Vendée Globe, four years after his first aborted first experience following the loss of a foil and his damaged foil well. This race is his life. “I am a child of the Vendée Globe” he repeats in pre start interviews. He grew up here, knows the subtleties of the bay of Sables d’Olonne, the joy of walking the pontoons of Port Olona and going up the channel on his father’s boat. 

His taste for competition was born around the age of 12, Optimist racing. He does well in the 420 – “even if my feet didn’t touch the bottom of the boat”  and finishes third at the 420 World Championships in Valencia, Spain. He then learned alongside the legend Yves Parlier.

He made the grade in the Bretagne CMB selection, a talent search and development programme which has notably seen the rise of Franck Cammas, Yann Eliès, Armel Le Cléac’h and François Gabart. He excelled in the Figaro and distinguished himself brilliantly by winning the Solitaire in 2018, notably ahead of a certain Charlie Dalin (then 3rd). But “Seb” was already thinking about the Vendée Globe, his dearest dream. So he set off in IMOCA.

The Vendée native found sponsors - the Dubreuil Group was already a minority member -, he benefited from the support of a former winner (Vincent Riou), joined forces with a renowned architect, and put together a team which at one point was 39 people strong. 

But they were always short on time. The boat was only launched in July 2019, a little over a year before the start of the Vendée Globe. Their problems were many (short circuit, broke two foils) but he set off in 2020. ‘Seb’ found his Figaro reflexes again: that ability to never give up, to push the cursor hard and give his all whatever the circumstances. On the Vendée Globe he made it into the ‘top 10’ then the ‘top 5’ before that cursed OANI object that forced him to give up at Cape Town. “I only have one desire, and that is to be present in four years,” he explained from South Africa. And after that his main sponsors decide to end their shared adventures. They have to start from scratch. “It made me suffer a lot, I was very low.” 

To get his head up, Seb agrees to get out of his comfort zone. He competes in the Half Ironman des Sables giving it his all – he finishes 20 minutes behind the best – then accepts Benjamin Dutreux’s offer to take part in The Ocean Race. At the end of this breathtaking race, there is this text message that will change everything, the starting point of a story of resilience that continues in the vanguard of the Vendée Globe.

HIS MAIN RESULTS:

2002: Started the Optimist
2013: 3rd in the 420 world championships
2013: Won the Bretagne-CMB Espoir challenge
2018: Winner of the Solitaire du Figaro
2020: Participated in the Vendée Globe
2021: 4th in the Transat Jacques Vabre
2022: Participated in The Ocean Race
2024: 4th in the New York Vendée Les Sables d’Olonne