The unstoppable rise of Yoann Richomme

A key player in the race, battling with Charlie Dalin for victory, the skipper of PAPREC ARKÉA has climbed the ranks thanks to a combination of meticulousness, seriousness and impeccable attention to detail. Above all, Yoann is very demanding of himself and wants to master every element of his success with the certainty that he is capable of reaching the top in all circumstances.

Yoann lights up every time he talks about the race, the weather and the strategy. During the last edition, four years ago his series of ‘L’œil du Vendée’ – The eye of the Vendée – videos his analysis of the maps, the weather and the routings from his living room won great acclaim from knowledgable devotees of open ocean sailing and say a lot about who he is.

We see a character passionate in disciplines from regatta sailing to trans-ocean battles and tactics. Yoann likes to pass on this passion and to make the jargon understandable to everyone.

A FAMILY STORY

Understanding this rise requires going back to family roots and Yoann’s early years. His paternal grandfather introduced the family to sailing. “It wasn’t very popular in the 1950s and 1960s,” says Yoann. “He just wanted to sail, invite friends, share moments with his family.” Yoann’s father, Yannick, picked up the torch, bought a boat, and traveled the Breton coast with his family. When he was posted to the United States, father and son continued to sail in the Chesapeake Bay before the duo crossed the Atlantic together.

This transatlantic crossing made Yoann want to go offshore. His desire to become a carpenter or to train in IT was quickly forgotten and he began a course in naval architecture in Southampton. During his student years, he sailed more and more and discovered high-level competition on the Tour de France à la Voile, with Roland Jourdain, Nicolas Lunven, Charles Caudrelier.

Next he was second rookie in his first Solitaire du Figaro in 2010, before being selected for Macif in 2013. His inexorable rise continued with a second place in the 2014 Transat AG2R and overall victory in the 2016 Solitaire, just five minutes ahead of a certain Charlie Dalin, who was also a Macif skipper.

FROM THE SOLITAIRE DU FIGARO TO THE VENDÉE GLOBE

He then won the 2018 Route du Rhum – the most important French offshore race after the Vendée Globe – in a Class 40, before turning his attention back to the Solitaire. For 2019 big stars including legendary sailors Armel Le Cléac’h, Michel Desjoyeaux and Loïck Peyron had returned to the Solitaire du Figaro, yet the young Richomme took a second victory.

His talent, work ethic, rigour and determination have all been widely praised. Yoann wants to understand everything to the point of “watching a tutorial at night if a subject is bothering me,” he confides. The opportunity offered by Paprec Arkéa was a key turning point. “This chance is beyond my expectations,” he adds. Yoann has been involved in every element of the project, participating in the design of his boat with Antoine Koch, and talking with numerous skippers to learn about the little tricks that can make a huge difference.

To keep his hand in during this work, Paprec Arkéa launched a Class 40 project in parallel with the construction of his new IMOCA, creating an opportunity to compete in the 2022 Route du Rhum and defend his title. His second victory revealed a dogged determination in the event of set backs. After being penalised for crossing the starting line early, Yoann overtook his competitors one by one, tanking a lead he never relinquished after just five days.

In his new IMOCA he took second in the Rolex Fastnet Race and in the Transat Jacques Vabre, racing double-handed with the very experienced Yann Eliès. Yoann then went on to win his first solo IMOCA race in a super-competitive fleet only eight months after launching his boat.

It was a December evening at the end of the Retour à la Base, between Martinique and Lorient. On the pontoons, Yoann was already making a date for the Vendée Globe: "If the Southern Ocean is anything like what we just saw, I'm ready to go!" A year later, almost to the day, he finished with the Pacific Ocean by crossing Cape Horn at the head of the Vendée Globe.

HIS MAIN VICTORIES

2024: Winner of The Transat CIC
2023: Winner of Retour à la Base
2022: Winner of the Route du Rhum (Class 40)
2020: Winner of The Ocean Race Europe (VOR65)
2019: Winner of the Solitaire du Figaro
2018: Winner of the Route du Rhum (Class 40)
2016: Winner of the Solitaire du Figaro