Back from the Vendée Globe with an excellent 10th position, Skipper Maxime Sorel has discussed the feedback of his race with the Incidence team. Very satisfied with the profile of his sails, the technical support and the overall collaboration with Incidence, the V&B Mayenne skipper has decided to continue to team up with the 1st French sailmaker. He is already looking forward to the Vendée Globe in 2024 with a program focused on further performance improvements.
« I just got back three weeks ago and I have only spent 24 hours at home ! It’s a bit tiring as we are already preparing for the next phase…I had already completed the budget for the Vendée Globe in 2024 before crossing the finish line, working on my excel spreadsheet on the chart table ! » laughed Maxime Sorel.
As part of his « Vendée Globe 2024 » preparation the V&B Mayenne skipper visited the sailloft in La Rochelle, a first opportunity to debrief the feedback with the Incidence Team.
« The first two years with Incidence have proven to be very successful. We have been perfectly aligned right from the start! They spent a significant amount of time on the boat, not enough to their liking but it was already lot!
Even though neither Incidence or myself had the time to do everything we would have liked, they have the skills and the know-how to meet their clients needs. The quality of work provided by the team is exceptional and very rare in the sailing world. I am very keen to continue our collaboration and look forward to improving the performance of their membrane ».
Ronan Floch, designer at Incidence of the V&B Mayenne sail says: « it has been a real pleasure to work with with Maxime and his team. It’s a Small team but Maxime knows how to surround himself with quality professionals, that are always open and a pleasure to work with. »
Some thoughts around the next edition of the Vendée Globe in 2024
« Our two teams are already starting to work on the Vendée Globe 2024. We are looking at a three years program with a more modern boat this time. Their approach will therefore be different with a continuous focus on driving optimum performance, the workload will be even higher. If we can help them with our feedback from each sailing sessions to confirm the progress of each development, that will be a real plus! »
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For the anecdote…
I was very impressed!
« I tore the frontsails due to issues with my autopilot …. I was amazed to see how responsive Ronan and his team were, trying their best to help me. Ronan worked with Maxime Paul and Pierre-Antoine Morvan to implement the best repair protocols with what I had on board. It was really a plus; they didn’t have to do it… »
The Incidence sails have well resisted the weather and sea conditions that were especially harsh on this edition of the Vendée Globe. However, according to Ronan Floch: « Consideration is already being given to the design of the sails for such an endurance race, and in finding the right balance between producing stronger sails and weight… »
