Transat Jacques Vabre - Marc Guillemot and Pascal Bidégorry in depth

by Mathilde Mermod on 31 Oct 2013 This Sunday, Marc Guillemot and Pascal Bidégorry will be lining up for the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre in Le Havre. These two exceptional sailors have already achieved a win in this legendary race. We look back at their careers.

Apart from their victories in the Transat Jacques Vabre - in 2009 aboard a monohull for Marc Guillemot, and in 2005 on a multihull in the case of Pascal Bidégorry – what else do these Breton and Basque sailors have in common? Certainly, they both have a keen competitive streak. Neither of them ever gives up. Ever. While it was back in 1994 that they first did battle against each other aboard Figaro boats in the Transat Ag2r, it was in particular on the fantastic Orma trimarans, which are no longer with us, that they frequently came up against each other. 'We’ve been bumping into each other now for twenty years,' Pascal Bidégorry said to sum it up, 'but to tell the truth, we’ve only really known each other well since 2012, when I started to work with Marc on Safran.'

When in 2005-2006, Marc Guillemot began working on the Safran project, Pascal Bidégorry was the project leader of the most ambitious crewed ocean racing programme with the maxi trimaran, Banque Populaire V. In the ORMA class, he won the 2005 Transat Jacques Vabre, alongside Lionel Lemonchois. In 2009, aboard the maxi-multihull, he went on to smash the outright North Atlantic record (three days and 15 hours) and the 24-hour sailing record: covering 908 miles at an average speed of 37.8 knots… Meanwhile, Marc Guillemot’s solo results were equally amazing: Safran made it to the podium of the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe and won the Transat Jacques Vabre. Marc Guillemot became world IMOCA Champion.

They are going to have to perform just as well this time on the long route to Brazil. For Marc Guillemot, this Transat Jacques Vabre is the year’s major race. For Pascal Bidégorry, it is a golden opportunity to do what he likes best: sailing and continuing his quest for performance. Again and again. They freely admit that they are 'very complementary' with Marc taking care of the overall management of the boat, while Pascal focuses more on looking for the best standard of performance. The two men know how to make the most of all their experience in order to constantly improve Safran’s performance. They have just done a lot of work in this area, in order to ensure that the monohull, is up to the standard of the latest prototypes to come out of the yards. The two accomplices are ready for the adventure.

Why Marc chose Pascal: Marc Guillemot: 'Pascal helped me prepare the weather for the Vendée Globe. I like the way he is always so precise and the added value he brings in his analysis and quest for technical solutions. You just have to look at his list of successes to see how much experience he has acquired. When you’ve taken care of managing the world’s largest racing multihull, you are certainly no newcomer. Above all, I believe we complement each other well and we get on well together at sea. That’s far from being a minor detail, when you’re about to set out to sail 5500 miles.'

Why Pascal likes sailing with Marc: Pascal Bidégorry: 'Marc is someone, who enjoys being out there on the water and it’s a feeling that he passes on. We honestly enjoy these times together. Technically, our talents are complementary: he knows his boat by heart and takes perfect care of her. As for me, I tend to focus a bit more on the analysis and the quest for performance. Marc is always ready and willing to try out new ideas: whatever happens, the fact that we have worked well together is something you can’t take away from us.'


























































































































































































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