Master of the Seas - A portrait of Francois Gabart

by Leslie Greenhalgh on 1 Nov 2014 At 31 years of age, François Gabart is amongst some of the greatest champions in solo offshore racing. Current IMOCA World Champion, this skipper sailed before he knew how to walk.

'As an infant, I was already on board a cruising boat, going on adventures and voyages. I started sailing an Optimist at the age of six, then motorop, then a Tornado dinghy and then the Figaro class, my first trial of offshore racing, before moving into the IMOCA class a couple of years back. As I grew up, boats have grown up with me.'

A first French Champion title in the Optimist class was achieved at the age of 11, in 1993, and more victories followed. 'I won the Youth World Championship in the Tornado and then I got into the offshore race circuit. I won the French offshore Championship in 2010, and that enabled me to move into the IMOCA class and to win the Vendée Globe one year ago, on board MACIF in the 2012/13 race edition.'

'We entered the IMOCA class in 2010 with ambition, but also with the awareness of the scale of the challenge ahead of us. They are quite tricky and complex boats. The class consists of some of the best solo sailors in the planet, it really is the class of reference. Becoming the World Champion is amazing, that means we did a good job, it means I am amongst the best sailors in the world and I am really proud of that. It means we achieved our goals.'

Fascinated by the sea, by offshore racing, by boats, François describs himself also as a dreamer and a hard worker. 'I dream, but I work hard to achieve my dreams.'

Coming from a marine background, he is naturally drawn towards this element, where he turned when he had to make his career choice, but that passion might also have led him to other horizons.

'If I was not a professional sailor, I would certainly be involved in something related to the sea. I am a trained engineer, so probably I would be behind a computer and in an office creating boats, designing them, realising them….or else with my head in the clouds studying the weather….but if I had a completely different passion, I would probably have foind myself in the mountains. That would not have surprised me. Those two worlds are pretty different but also with some similarities.'

This year, François is focusing on his first Route du Rhum, and his last race in the IMOCA class.

'My first memories of this race were the arrival of Florence Arthaud in 1990. I was lucky to travel and live on a boat when I was a child and I went to Guadeloupe the year before. We cruised across the Atlantic as a family, and a few months later, I was watching the victory of Florence on the TV. She had just crossed the Atlantic. She arrived into the same area that I had been in, the same island, the same beach. Those formed strong memories in the mind of a young boy of seven years of age and it’s true that I hold onto them very dearly, as I was very affected by all of that.'

'What is beautiful about our sport, is the number of fantastic events and good memories. If I have to focus on one, it’s a bit anecdotal but it’s my favorite and that’s the finish of the Vendée Globe. A lot of people followed the adventure, and for me as a sailor it was an incredible moment, for the moment itself but also for what it all represents. It’s a real achievement. But I also hope there will be lots of other great moments like that to come and I hope too that my great moments at sea are still to come in the Ocean IMOCA
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