Global Solo Challenge: François Gouin's qualifier on Kawan3
by Margherita Pelaschier 11 Jul 2023 07:36 PDT
François organized an advanced medical training course for other GSC competitors. Phelipon, Scharr, and De Keyser © François Gouin
François Gouin, a French skipper entered in the Global Solo Challenge, successfully completed his qualifying passage and he's making final preparations to be on the start line in A Coruña for his depart on 28/10/2023.
As part of his "OKéania 2022-2025" project, he will serve as the ambassador for the values of Unicancer, the federation of cancer treatment centers in France, and the association Te Mana, te Moana in Polynesian, during his circumnavigation.
In early June, taking off his surgeon's coat for eleven days, François immersed himself in his world of solo sailing, taking on the challenge of a 2000-mile qualifier. He set sail from Saint-Nazaire, a port in southern Brittany, heading towards Ireland. The trip was aimed at validating the work carried out during the winter, but it was also an important time to familiarize himself with the new configuration of his boat.
"The weather conditions were favorable and mild. The qualification went as planned and the boat responded exactly as I had hoped. I was finally able to get to know her better", he confides.
Three days before departing for the qualification, François had organized an advanced medical training course for other GSC competitors. Phelipon, Scharr, and De Kayser took advantage of this unique opportunity to meet together in Pornic, a seaside town in Loire-Atlantique, and receive training from one of their fellow sailors. It was a significant moment of exchange and comparison among the skippers.
Setting sail on June 4, the first four days of Gouin's qualification went optimally: "I chose easy conditions to test the boat. I started sailing as soon as the work was finished, and these favorable conditions allowed me to quickly adapt to sailing."
Initially, there were some technical issues, and François had to recalibrate some instruments such as the Log and the Iridium connection. But within a few days, he got everything back on track.
Gouin and Scharr had decided to start the qualification together: one from Saint-Nazaire, the other from Arzal. They met south of Belle Île.
Continue reading the full article here...