Vendée Globe - Tanguy de Lamotte, the designer who became a skipper

by Vendee Globe on 16 Aug 2014 In this video you can find out more about Tanguy de Lamotte, now aged 36, who came tenth in the last Vendée Globe and is aiming to do better on his second attempt in 2016-17 at the helm of a newer boat.

Although he grew up near Paris, he got interested in sailing at an early age and took part in the Tour de France Sailing Race aboard a JOD 35 and Mumm 30. Then he went off to study naval design at Southampton, with the aim of designing his own boat to compete in the Mini Transat. The years he spent in England enabled him to sail on larger boats like the maxi-catamarans Playstation and Orange as well as the Sodebo trimaran. 'In 2000, I was lucky enough to accompany Ellen MacArthur as she prepared for her Vendée Globe. It was a very enriching experience,' explained Tanguy. He then returned to smaller boats and took part in the 2005 Mini Transat aboard a boat he designed and built himself. Then he built a Class40’ aboard which he raced for five years sailing several times across the Atlantic. ' My goal was to be a designer, not a skipper. But the opportunity arose for me to build a Class40’, and one thing led to another and I’ve become more of a skipper than a designer. One day, I’ll get back to drawing boats for myself or for others. We’ll see.'



In 2012, Tanguy de Lamotte joined the IMOCA circuit and took part in his first Vendée Globe with the Initiatives-Cœur project, which aims to got to the help of children suffering from cardiovascular problems. He remembers well the finish in les Sables-d’Olonne where a huge crowd turned out to greet him, as is always the case. After this round the world experience, Tanguy will be back again in 2016 aboard a newer boat. The new Initiatives-Cœur is Vincent Riou’s former PRB, a Farr designed boat built in 2006 bu the CDK yard in Port la Forêt. Her sistership won the race with Michel Desjoyeaux at the helm in 2008-09. Tanguy is really looking forward to this challenge. '60-foot IMOCA boats are fast, because they are big and it’s very exciting to sail such monsters (18.28 metres). They are also very technical boats. I like working through the various problems and finding the best solutions to improve performance, but also to limit the risks and ensure the boat has a longer Vendee Globe