SolOceans

For this first leg leaving from Lower Normandy on the 16^th of December in the early afternoon, Charles Caudrelier will be accompanied by three sailors: Liz Wardley, the Anglo-Saxon, native of Papua and of French sailors, Erwan Tabarly and Erwan Lebec. Liz Wardley has the experience of the hostile oceans of the South Hemisphere, thanks to a victory in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart (1999) and a round-the-world tour in crew in the Volvo Ocean Race (2001-2002). Liz Wardley will arrive in New Zealand in a known place as she built there a Mini 6.50 prototype. For Charles Caudrelier, Erwan Tabarly and Erwan Lebec it will be a first in the Great South, as they have never sailed towards New Zealand through the Indian Ocean.

“Innovation is one of the key factors of Bostik development” said André Ladurelli this morning “on that account, we are proud to be the first company to embark on the SolOceans. This new challenge is at the same time a sportive challenge with sailors on equal footing around the planet and a platform for scientific studies thanks to the collection of environmental data in isolated areas of the oceans in order to contribute to the protection of the environment. Our commitment illustrates the permanent will of Bostik to build the future”.

Bostik, a 100% subsidiary of Total, is one of the world leaders in the adhesives and sealants business. Its most famous brands are Sader, Quelyd, Araldite, Simson and Bostik. With more than 4,700 employees and 48 manufacturing sites in 45 countries, Bostik reaches an annual turn over of 1.4 billion euros.

Bostik has started in 2002 with the sponsoring of sport and choose sailing as the communication and promotion tool. One of the reasons was that Bostik is very present in the nautical industry. For instance the North 3DL sails, to be found on the Veolia Oceans^® one-design, are made with the polyester adhesives Bostik Vitel^®, and the Simson^® Marine product range is well known for gluing composite materials, wood and metal. But most of all it were the following values that motivated Bostik to participate in sailing: bringing together individual talents and team spirit, boldness, courage, technical competencies, tenacity, performance and innovation.

In 2002, Bostik decided to appoint a young and talented sailor, Charles Caudrelier who won the Solitaire du Figaro single-handed race in his third participation, in 2004, followed by numerous victories on the Single-handed Ocean Racing French Championship circuit. The young Nicolas Lunven succeeded from Charles Caudrelier at the helm of the Figaro Bénéteau one-design under the colours of Bostik and got his first title as first rookie in the Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro single-handed race 2007.

Bostik is very present in the international nautical industry. It offers polyurethane adhesive systems for the structural bonding of internal partition walls inside motor and sailing boats. The unique and patented technology gives Bostik a leading position in a variety of important business segments, above and below the waterline. The Bostik marine sealants for example are fire-resistant and help yacht and shipbuilders meet the strictest fire prevention and retardation standards.

This first Veolia Oceans^® chartered by Bostik for this winter circumnavigation 2007-2008 will also sail the two Summer Transat under the colours of the adhesive company of the Total Group next Summer. Three or four Veolia Oceans^® one-design build during the coming months will also this double oceanic trek.

The first transatlantic, from East to West, will be a four crew members with maximum two professional sailors on board. In those circumstances, the sponsor of the one-design or his guests, but also journalists for example could share this unique experience with oceanic racers. The second annual transatlantic, from West to East, will be a double-handed race. The Bostik one-design will inaugurate those two courses and will also stay a bit in the Mediterranean sea to take part on an experimental and promotional basis to two more traditional competitions: the Voiles de Saint-Tropez and the Rolex Middle Sea Race from Malta.

Let us recall that, the SolOceans is the first single-handed oceanic round-the-world race sailed on equal footing on sixteen-metre (52.5feet) 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 start of the first SolOceans is set for the 25^th of October 2009 from Caen la mer urban area with a stopover in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand with a return in Lower Normandy, in Cherbourg-Octeville where the final ranking of this round-the-world through the three Cape (Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn) will be given.

The first Veolia Oceans^® will be christened under the colours of Bostik on Saturday 8 December at 3.00pm along the New Basin of the Port of Caen, on the territory of Caen la mer urban area.

The start of Bostik for the first leg of the round-the-world reconnaissance Tour of the SolOceans is set for Sunday 16 December from Caen la mer and Ouistreham (Lower-Normandy) towards Wellington (New Zealand) through Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) and Leeuwin (Australia). The second leg will link up Wellington to Cherbourg-Octeville (Lower Normandy) through Cape Horn (South America). During the stopover, Liz Wardley and Erwan Tabarly will step aside to two other sailors. Each leg will take between 50 to 55 days of sailing.