SolOceans - News - Prologue and Arrival of the SolOceans in Cherbourg-Octeville (10/27/2007)

Prologue and Arrival of the SolOceans in Cherbourg-Octeville

Saturday October 27th 2007 News RSS

The first unit of the one-design monohull from the Veolia Oceans^® series especially designed for the SolOceans entered yesterday the harbour of Cherbourg-Octeville at 10.00 am arriving from Caen, concluding its very first sailing session under sail. This arrival in the harbour where she had been built (at JMV industries) allowed people to discover this sleek monohull, endowed with a very original shape and decorated with its swaggering leopards.

First tacks - October 27th, 2007 The Veolia Oceans® one-design for the SolOceans made its first tacks while arriving at Cherbourg-Octeville on Saturday 27th October 2007 from Caen, as a conclusion to its first sailing session under sail
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Photo Jean-Marie Liot - SailingOne

Just after having been moored, this first Veolia Oceans^® was christened by Gérard Fries, Service Global Technical Director of Veolia Environmental Services, representing the 83.000 colleagues of the SolOceans' main sponsor.

It was then the opportunity to sign the agreement uniting SailingOne, the company designer and organiser of the SolOceans and the city of Cherbourg-Octeville and locating the prologue and arrival of this competition in this great harbour: at the end of September on one hand and in mid-march on the other hand.

The SolOceans is the first single-handed oceanic round the world race sailed on equal footing on sixteen-metre (52.5') high-tech one-design monohulls all identical to each other: the Veolia Oceans^®. This class has been named Veolia Oceans^® after the main sponsor of the SolOceans race, Veolia Environmental Services. The race will start in Lower Normandy (France) and will stopover in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, with the arrival of the return leg in Cherbourg-Octeville. The start of the first SolOceans is set for 25 October 2009. The SolOceans will then run every two years (2011, 2013, 2015…).

Prior to this, the first Veolia Oceans^® will sail around the world for reconnaissance purposes , starting from Lower Normandy on Sunday 9 December 2007, with on board four sailors, including Erwan Lebec as Boat Captain - in charge of the technical aspects of the boat.

Bernard Cazeneuve, MP and Mayor of Cherbourg-Octeville insisted on the fact that "the SolOceans is an opportunity for the city to affirm its international maritime calling, far beyond the Norman territory. It's a worldwide communication vehicle which will reinforce the city's positioning as a major actor, among great cities open towards the open sea and the future" added Bernard Cazeneuve before evoking the economic and social aspects in relation to this agreement into a unique nautical event in the world. "Through the SolOceans' international media coverage, we hope to encourage more and more professionals and amateur sailors, as well as foreigners, to consider Cherbourg-Octeville as a pole of excellence in terms of sailing with many different experts. We then all have to convince them to settle here on a long time basis".

"Lower Normandy is opening up to the world and the SolOceans while sailing around the globe, shall be its ambassador," added Philippe Duron, President of the Lower Normandy's Regional Council, and MP for Calvados. "Establishing a close link with New Zealand, a country of excellence in terms of competitive sailing, is a concrete opportunity to develop the Lower Norman Sailing Industry to an international level. It's also the opportunity to remind us that numerous New Zealander risked their lives for the Liberation. We will be eternally grateful for that".

Jean-François Le Grand, Senator and President of the Manche's General Council, through his Vice-President, Jean Lemière, insisted on "renewing his wishes of success for this beautiful and great race. The Manche is proud to host the Prologue and Arrival of this round the world race - a first for this département (county). It's a well-known promotion factor for the Manche's Sailing Industry, thanks to skilled people such as JMV Industries, which is building the monohull of the Veolia Oceans^®' fleet".

Denis Gasquet, General Manager of Veolia Environmental Services, represented by his Service Global Technical Director, Gérard Fries, underlined that "each one-design Veolia Oceans^® will be fitted out with OceanoScientific^® equipment allowing the automatic and continuous collection of environmental data in areas largely unexplored. The aim of this Veolia OceanoScientific Campaign is to make this information available to scientists all over the world, in order to have a better understanding of our planet and to know how to better protect it".

Yvan Griboval, Initiator of the Veolia Oceans^® monohull, Designer and Organiser of the SolOceans through SailingOne, which he manages, was of course moved: "This oceanic sailing yacht is born, it's undeniable. Last night, while the wind wasn't going above 9.5 knots, we were sliding under the full moon at 10.5 knots. It was at the same time a fantastic reward and the illustration of the competence of all the team that started this operation under the supervision of Christian Brit, in charge of the series production of the Veolia Oceans^®. We feel that the architects at Groupe Finot Conq & Associés went above our expectations in terms of performances and in terms of adequacy with the Veolia Oceans^® specific program. Moreover, all the enthusiast expertise working on the project to create this oceanic one-design series were complementary. Their part is decisive and we deeply thank them. It's an undeniable guarantee of success. This Veolia Oceans^® is an exceptional sailing yacht and will seduce the more demanding oceanic sailors".

The following weeks will be dedicated to the various tests, the adjustments and the preparation of this first Veolia Oceans^® unit for her commitment in the SolOceans' "Tour de Reconnaissance" from Lower Normandy to Wellington, and then from New Zealand back to Cherbourg-Octeville. The start is scheduled on Sunday 9 December 2007. Erwan Tabarly and Erwan Lebec are leading the sail tests and finalizing campaign.