{"id":20087,"date":"2018-10-26T15:48:03","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T13:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2024.vplp.fr\/actu\/les-routes-du-rhum-de-vplp\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T13:23:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T11:23:58","slug":"vplp-and-the-route-du-rhum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vplp.fr\/en\/news\/vplp-and-the-route-du-rhum\/","title":{"rendered":"VPLP and the Route du Rhum"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

This year VPLP Design is celebrating 35 years in business, while the Route du Rhum hits 40. With only a few days to go before the boats cross the starting line, it\u2019s the perfect opportunity for Vincent Lauriot-Pr\u00e9vost to reflect on the shared history between the firm and the legendary transatlantic race whose seven previous winners were all designed by VPLP. Race starts November 4.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1978<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the year before I met Marc [Van Peteghem] in Southampton, where we were both studying architecture. I wasn\u2019t taking a close interest in the Route du Rhum at the time, but Marc got to sail to Guadeloupe on Olympus, the trimaran Mike Birch steered to victory in the first edition. He came back with stars in his eyes!\u201d<\/p>\n

1982<\/b><\/strong>
\n\u201cI watched the start on TV and remember seeing all kinds of boats, an eclectic fleet featuring Walter\u00a0Greene trimarans, Guy Delage\u2019s proa Rosi\u00e8res and everything in between. The following year we\u00a0founded VPLP with our first design, G\u00e9rard Lambert, a 50\u2019 foiler for Vincent L\u00e9vy.\u201d<\/p>\n

1986<\/b><\/strong>
\n\u201cMarc and I were in Saint Malo for the start of this one because it was the first time we fielded boats for\u00a0the Rhum: Poulain, a 23\u00a0m trimaran skippered by Olivier de Kersauson (which, after much modification,\u00a0would go on to win the Jules Verne Trophy ten years later under the name Sport Elec) and Calcialiment-Laiterie du Mont-Saint-Michel (formerly G\u00e9rard Lambert) helmed by Olivier Moussy. By the time they\u00a0reach the Azores Olivier was in second place behind the 23\u00a0m Fleury Michon skippered by Philippe\u00a0Poupon \u2013 a huge star at that time. It was incredible! But then he crashed into a Chinese freighter (which\u00a0picked him up). The boat was abandoned\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

1990<\/b><\/strong>
\n\u201cIt was the year of the \u2018love boat\u2019! Well, that was the name Florence Arthaud gave to Groupe Pierre\u00a01er,\u00a0which we had designed.\u00a0A great atmosphere\u00a0reigned throughout the project. Once the race had started it was all rather harmonious, and I recall being\u00a0invited to the finishing line by Florence\u2019s mum. This victory changed everything for us as a firm. We\u00a0finished ahead of Poupon, imagine that! Especially since Laurent Bourgnon finished 3rd with RMO, also\u00a0designed by VPLP.\u201d<\/p>\n

1994<\/b><\/strong>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe but back then there were no more than fifteen boats lining up for the start! For us, it\u00a0was the start of the Bourgnon years, a Swiss skipper who would dominate single-handed multihull racing\u00a0for a long time. He won the 1994 edition (ahead of Paul Vatine) on Primagaz, formerly RMO. Laurent\u00a0had a brilliant team, and it was interesting to see how he kept improving his catamaran.<\/p>\n