{"id":7148,"date":"2022-06-30T14:09:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T13:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.guillaumeverdier.com\/?p=7148"},"modified":"2022-07-05T14:19:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T13:19:36","slug":"a-brand-new-for-maxime-sorel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guillaumeverdier.com\/en\/a-brand-new-for-maxime-sorel\/","title":{"rendered":"A brand new boat for Maxime Sorel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maxime Sorel: The big step from being one of the pack to becoming a performer<\/strong><\/p>\n

You only have to look at Maxime Sorel\u2019s impressive Class 40 career to know that this 35-year Frenchman is a highly competitive sailor who is more than capable of reaching the podium in major IMOCA races.<\/p>\n

So far he has not had that opportunity because he has not had the boat under him to show what he can do. But the Breton skipper from Cancale, who finished 10th on debut in the Vend\u00e9e Globe in 2021 in a VPLP-Verdier daggerboard design from 2007, now has the machinery he needs to make an impression at the top end of this increasingly competitive fleet.<\/p>\n

Sorel is regarded as one of the IMOCA Class\u2019s complete professionals in everything he does \u2013 sailing, communications and management of commercial partnerships. He has no qualms about stating clearly what his goals are as his new boat, V and B-Monbana-Mayenne, comes out of the shed at MerConcept in Concarneau for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur project has changed in scope,\u201d he told the Class. \u201cWith my former V and B-Mayenne, I wanted to finish races. Today I\u2019m aiming for performance. It\u2019s very motivating to have a boat that can race at the front. We are up against boats with much higher budgets, but we also know that in a Vend\u00e9e Globe there is not necessarily a link between budget and performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And this is where Sorel and his team, which includes his brother, J\u00e9r\u00e9my, in the head management role, have been clever. They have a new boat that is a sistership of Charlie Dalin\u2019s current APIVIA, that was originally designed in 2018 by Guillaume Verdier.<\/strong> But they have taken that and modified the bow to increase buoyancy when sailing fast downwind and added new foil designs. The combination could be potent and could benefit from all the experience that Dalin has accumulated in the hull already. \u201cThe boat is a sistership of Apivia, so there are a few technical differences,\u201d summarises Sorel. \u201cIf the architects have optimised the plans, it remains the same boat overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new V and B-Monbana-Mayenne, which includes sustainable solutions using bio-sourced resins and flax for various components, is hitting the water for the first time during what can only be described as the golden age of IMOCA and Sorel is very happy to be part of it. \u201cIt\u2019s very motivating to be part of a class which is full of ambition,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think it\u2019s one of the most dynamic classes of boats and can offer so much racing at this level of competition. The IMOCAs are Formula 1 boats and the teams are real racing teams.\u201d
\nThe first goal is to complete this autumn\u2019s Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe to qualify for the Vend\u00e9e Globe, but Sorel says his new \u201cDragon of the Oceans\u201d will not be ready to sail at maximum performance until next year\u2019s Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV). After that the plan is to race in the Transat CIC and the New York-Vend\u00e9e in 2024, before setting off on the Vend\u00e9e Globe.<\/p>\n

The sailor with boyish looks, steely blue eyes and a shock of blond hair, who won both the TJV and the Rolex Fastnet Race in Class 40s in 2017, still makes the point that you have to finish the Vend\u00e9e Globe. But he doesn\u2019t mind admitting that the very top end of the fleet is now his goal, even though that is going to be a very busy echelon in a class with 14 new boats coming on stream ahead of the next solo round-the-world classic.<\/p>\n

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We asked him whether he thinks he can win the 2024 edition. \u201cThe Vend\u00e9e Globe is not a race like any other, it is a non-stop single-handed round-the-world race,\u201d he said. \u201cOur goal is not to win it, but first of all to complete it. In the last edition we were top-10; today we are aiming for top-5.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sorel runs one of the most effective communications campaigns in IMOCA with his old partners, the wine and beer retailer V and B, the Department of Mayenne now joined by the chocolate manufacturer Monbana. Together they support his efforts not just on the ocean, but his commitment to the charitable association Vaincre La Mucoviscidose (Overcoming Cystic Fibrosis). This is symbolised by the enormous dragon motif which has been executed in stunning style on his new sails in black, grey and red, following on from the theme established on his old boat.<\/p>\n

The former consulting engineer, who is committed to raising awareness and funds for the charity \u2013 he recently climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in aid of it and is even planning an assault on Mt Everest next year \u2013 is proud of this aspect of his new boat, which has been promoted with a spectacular pre-launch video.<\/p>\n