With origins from Bretagne, a seafarer since his early childhood, Stéphane Le Diraison has strong genetic influences. He settled in the Paris area and joined Bureau Veritas as manager of the renewable marine energies activity until 2015. He is a high level sportsman and responsible citizen, involved in the protection of the oceans.  “I’m a fighter on the water as well as on land,” he explains, “to deliver this message that is dear to me”.

He has always loved the sea, ever since his early years, aboard the family’s boat. After adolescence, he sets off to discover South European destinations on a small 6m boat, always alone on board. It is at sea that this pragmatic man, who has become a methodical engineer, recharges his batteries. While living in Lorient, his neighbours on the pontoon were Alain Gautier and Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, renowned starters of the Vendée Globe. Competing in this solo round-the-world race has become a fixed idea.

Stéphane Le Diraison made his dream come true. Mini-transat on a series boat then a prototype, Class40 ; his results speak in favour of him. He gathered loyal sponsors such as his city of adoption, Boulogne-Billancourt, and enters his first Vendée Globe, which remained unfinished after he dismasted off the Australian coasts. He admitted that, the first time, “everything is new and I was seen as a novice in the class. This time, I’m not preparing in the same way.”

With two new partners (Suez and Bouygues Construction), together with Boulogne-Billancourt, Stéphane Le Diraison’s boat has changed appearance, and is now called Time For Oceans, a cause well in line with the skipper’s preoccupations. With a new mast and a great eighth place in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, Stéphane Le Diraison now knows what he must do to be ready for the Vendée Globe 2020.