The Race of a Lifetime

Nicolas Troussel is about to set out on a lifetime goal. Sailing the most famous non-stop solo round the world race and navigating some of the world’s most challenging waters.

THE VENDÉE GLOBE

A fabled race familiar to most hardcore sailors, the Vendée Globe was inspired by the 1968 Golden Globe race, when 9 sailors hit the high seas for 313 days at sea.

It took just over 20 years for it to make its second appearance under the name of the Vendée Globe when another brave set of sailors took off on the course. 13 boats departed that year, from Les Sables-d’Olonne.

Since 1989, 167 sailors have attempted the course. 89 have been able to cross the finish line. The record? 74 days - a standard set in the last running of the course in 2016.

Now, the important word to focus on is ‘sailor’ - not ‘team’. Because beyond one of the most challenging routes on the race circuit, the entire haul is done solo. One skipper. One boat and no stepping foot on shore until they’re back at the finish line.

Circumnavigating the three capes—Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn—it demands the skippers complete 40,075km (21,638 miles).  Which, to no surprise, takes a certain mindset, will, focus, and skillset to take on this prolific course. 

Photo: Eloi Stichelbaut / polaRYSE / CORUM L’Épargne

NICOLAS TROUSSEL’S FOCUS, PLANNING + PREPARATION

This year, Nicolas Troussel is about to step up to the start line of a race he’s had in his sights for nearly 15 years.

“After winning my first Solitaire du Figaro back in 2006, I felt like my next challenge would be to take on this incredible race that is the Vendée Globe. It’s been my ultimate dream of mine. Now I have the opportunity to achieve this with  CORUM L’Épargne, and a state of the art, new generation boat, that has been specifically designed for this race.”

Though an experienced and decorated solo sailor, and with over 11,000 nautical miles logged as preparation and training for this race, there are still elements of the course that will present new waters and new challenges for Nicolas. 

“I’ve never been in the Southern Ocean… I’m very curious about it for sure but I will be approaching it with a lot of humility.”

Known in the sailing scene as the most treacherous and relentless ocean of them all, with towering waves, freezing winds, and big storms. Nicolas is taking on this new challenge—and doing so with a healthy amount of humility—is a huge test for him as a sailor.

Photo: Mattieu Hacquebart / CORUM L’Épargne

Taking on that kind of challenge backed by a team is tough enough. The fact he’ll be doing it solo is a whole other demand on his physical, mental and emotional game.

“As a team, we have used the time we had as efficiently as we could...personally, I feel like I’ve been preparing for this for more than 14 years, so I’m fully focused!”

He’ll apply that focus from the first push off the start line, through every challenge, and onto the finish line. His way to tackle the grittiest moments?

“I tell myself that we [ the competitors] are all facing the same conditions, we are in the same race, the same seas, I’m not alone in that respect”.

Beyond the situations posing obvious physical challenges (think freezing temperatures, unpredictable waves, and the possibility of technical failures the skippers have to handle themselves), there’s the fact that he’ll be completely solo for as long as it takes him to complete the race.

And while the world’s had its own taste of turning inward with varied levels of lockdown, due to 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic, this is a whole different experience.

To Nicolas, it’s about choice:

“[Dealing with the isolation is] not too bad. I think the key difference is that I choose to sail solo around the world; it’s not something that I’ve been told to do. I often communicate by email with my family, and my team and I’ve downloaded a lot of podcasts to help me escape mentally”.