LOUIS BURTON AND THE VENDÉE GLOBE
Posted by gill_admin on 19th Oct 2016
Read part one of our interview with French sailor Louis Burton. We've supported Louis for many years. He now sails in the IMOCA Class and has had successful Transat Jacques Vabre and Route du Rhum campaigns. His main goal this year is to finish the incredibly challenging race, the Vendée Globe.
Which part of the race is going to be the toughest?
It will surely be the start of the race – the first few hours and days. That’s because of all the other boats that will be in the water, as well as competitors. And then later the Southern Oceans…
How do you motivate yourself to keep going throughout a race like this?
A good question. I imagine my motivation will be to simply go faster than my fellow competitors. We know all situations can be challenging. But I think if I’m only skipper in a small geographic region, it can be quite difficult to have motivation. To go around the world alone is an achievement. We all know that it’s a long and hard job to manage. Every day you manage to be on the sea and sail very fast is itself an achievement. If alone and I have broken a piece of the boat then I will continue, as to finish the race itself is an achievement.
Sailing at this level you have to balance the urge to win with taking risks. How do you make a decision that may potentially win you the race, but which may risk harming the boat?
The first point is that to win a sailing race, you have to arrive.
But it’s a mechanic’s sport. If you don’t have the best machine and support, you can’t win. Nobody can ask you to win a race if you don’t have the best boat or the most experience. So you have to fix your objectives for yourself, with your team and with your sponsors. And after that, if you have the chance to sail for one, two or three years before the race, then you increase your experience with the boat. You know where that red zone is. And where there is a red zone with the boat, if everyone agrees with your objective, because you built it with these people, then you do not go into the red zone.
It can be very different if you have the best boat and you want, you can win the race, and your partners want you to win the race – then it can be difficult to answer. Then you have to be in the red zone and take a risk to break your boat.