Please select your home edition
Edition
Armstrong 728x90 - HA Foil Range - TOP

Mixed Crews in the Transat Jacques Vabre

by Ed Gorman / IMOCA Globe Series 26 Oct 2023 06:48 PDT
Justine Mettraux © Jean-Louis Carli / IMOCA

One of the outstanding features of the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre in the IMOCA Class is the number of mixed crews, with no less than nine male and female pairings among the 39-strong fleet - a record for the biennial double-handed classic.

In this regard professional sailing is a stand-out sport in the way it accommodates men and women, not just racing on the same playing field - or ocean - but on the same boats too.

Among the mixed teams this time are two pairings on fast foiling boats who will both be looking for top-10 finishes at Martinique - Justine Mettraux and Julien Villion on Teamwork and Sam Davies and Jack Bouttell on the new Initiatives-Cœur 4. We caught up with Villion and Bouttell in Le Havre to find out how they are enjoying sailing with their new skippers.

Villion has been with Mettraux's team since early in 2022, working as a strategist and performance expert before stepping on board Teamwork for the Rolex Fastnet Race and the Defi Azimut 48 Hours. This transatlantic test will be his first big race with the Swiss skipper who sailed much of The Ocean Race on board 11th Hour Racing Team.

So how does he find sailing with Mettraux? "Firstly, she is a really good sailor with great experience because for the last three or four years she has sailed nothing but IMOCAs and has been doing more than 200 days a year," said Villion. "Second, she's a person who is really happy when we are out on the ocean sailing long distances and she is good when sailing alone or double-handed."

Mettraux is known as "JuJu the machine," a nickname she earned aboard 11th Hour Racing Team because of her relentless work ethic, competitiveness and obsession with squeezing every ounce of speed from her boat. But Villion, 36, who hails from La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany, isn't sure that the nickname is quite right.

"I don't like this term 'machine' because I don't think people can be machines on a boat," he said. "But Ju Ju is, for sure, very calm and very steady in her emotions and that is really important and really nice for me because, if you sail with someone who is always high or down, it's hard."

On the bright red Initiatives-Cœur 4 at the other end of the race village, Bouttell has had less time to settle in, having joined Davies only the week before the Défi Azimut. But the 32-year-old Australian-Brit has enjoyed his early sailing with the British skipper who has been racing in the IMOCA Class for 16 years.

"You've got to find each other's strengths and weaknesses quickly and being able to trust each other is a big thing, and I think we've managed to do that quite quickly," said Bouttell who, like Mettraux, was a member of The Ocean Race-winning 11th Hour Racing Team crew.

"Straightaway with Sam it was easy to see that she knows her boat really well, she's a solid offshore sailor and she's not afraid to get stuck in," he added. "From personal experience, I've never seen this sport as male or female, but as something for a crew, or a team or a skipper. The hardest thing for female sailors is not a question of skillset, but experience and Sam has that and she has an engineering background which is great."

Bouttell talks of many of the same characteristics in Davies that Villion observes in Mettraux. "Sam has a clear objective and works to that," he explained. "She knows her limits in terms of the time frame of what we are trying to achieve. She focuses on the important things. She is very calm, very relaxed, which comes from experience and being confident in her boat. The nice thing is that she's trusted me from day one - she lets me try different things and she doesn't necessarily have to stress about that."

Back on Teamwork, Villion says although his skipper is very focused on the next Vendée Globe, she is also determined to achieve a good result in the Transat Jacques Vabre. "She knows how to break her campaign down and is very dedicated to the Transat Jacques Vabre and then she will switch her focus to the Vendée Globe - she knows how to plan," he said.

We asked Villion about Mettraux's reputation as quite a shy person but someone who can bring the house down away from the public eye. "My opinion is that it is great that people also know that Juju is also a funny person," said Villion. "Maybe because she's a bit shy, she doesn't express herself too much in public, but when she is confident and in our environment, or at sea with a small group, she can be really funny."

While Mettraux and Villion will undoubtedly be aiming for a top-10 finish, Davies and Bouttell will be battling them hard in what is likely to be one of the most interesting feature-contests of this race. Davies will be looking to follow up strongly on her three consecutive fifth place finishes this season and Bouttell has high hopes for the new partnership on Initiatives-Cœur 4.

"For me," he said, "it's top-five. That's what we did in the Défi Azimut and what Sam's done this season - she's done five, five, five with three different co-skippers. That's a good level of consistency."

Related Articles

Everything to know about The Ocean Race Europe
One month to go to the race start in Kiel One month out from the start of the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe seven mixed-gender crews made up of sailors from across 13 nations are in the throes of their final preparations for the Race start in Kiel, Germany. Posted on 10 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe Video Preview
We speak to Phil Lawrence, Peter Rusch & Pip Hare to find out more The Ocean Race Europe will take place between 10 August & 21 September, following a debut event in the summer of 2021. The racing is in IMOCA yachts, the same as the Vendée Globe, but this time with 4 crew and an OBR who will document the action on board. Posted on 8 Jul
Tom Dolan flies to the finish in Course des Caps
Irish offshore champion finishes 5th in 2,000-nautical-mile race around Britain and Ireland Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan has completed the Course des Caps in an impressive 5th place, racing aboard the IMOCA 60 Charal alongside legendary skipper Jérémie Beyou. Posted on 7 Jul
Goodchild takes his first win in the IMOCA Class
After a dominant performance in the Course des Caps The British skipper Sam Goodchild celebrated his first victory in the IMOCA Class yesterday after crossing the finish line of the Course des Caps - Boulogne-sur-Mer - Banque Populaire du Nord, a 1,800-nautical mile sprint around Britain and Ireland. Posted on 6 Jul
Biotherm has arrived in Kiel
Ahead of the Start of The Ocean Race Europe on 10th August At 1:00 am on Saturday 5 July, Biotherm came alongside in Kiel's marina, north-east Germany, following a 48-hour delivery trip across the Baltic Sea. Posted on 6 Jul
Team Malizia secures 4th in Course des Caps
After thrilling high-speed finale to Boulogne-sur-Mer After six days of intense racing around the British Isles, Team Malizia crossed the finish line in Boulogne-sur-Mer to secure an impressive fourth place in the Course des Caps 2025. Posted on 5 Jul
Holcim-PRB finishes 3rd in the Course des Caps
Despite a bowsprit failure occurring just 40 nautical miles from the finish After 6 days, 4 hours, and 26 minutes of intense sailing around the British Isles, the Holcim-PRB crew crossed the finish line of the Course des Caps Boulogne-sur-Mer – Banque Populaire du Nord, completing a route as demanding as it was strategic. Posted on 5 Jul
MACIF Santé Prévoyance wins Course des Caps Race
An exceptional performance in terms of speed and focus throughout the race This Saturday, July 5, the IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance crossed the finish line of the Cape Race in Boulogne-sur-Mer in first place. After six days at sea, the crew achieved an exceptional performance in terms of speed and focus throughout the race. Posted on 5 Jul
Sam Goodchild in the Course des Caps
The final phase is full of potential pitfalls Sam Goodchild, the British skipper of MACIF Santé Prévoyance who has been dominating the IMOCA round Britain and Ireland race since the start of the third day, says the goal now is to focus on the complex finishing section. Posted on 4 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race IRC One preview
Beyond the French legends there is plenty of international talent with podium potential With 17 editions of the Rolex Fastnet Race to his name, including five class victories along the way and an outright victory in 2015, could anyone bet against Géry Trentesaux doing it again? Posted on 4 Jul
RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERV-DRY-XNorth Sails Loft 57 Podcast