Antoine is above all a keen sportsman, and has been ever since he was very young. Judo, rugby and finally sailing, with a notable participation in the Mini Transat in 2001. He broke his 6.50 during his North Atlantic record attempt in 2003.Antoine is above all a keen sportsman, and has been ever since he was very young. Judo, rugby and finally sailing, with a notable participation in the Mini Transat in 2001. He broke his 6.50 during his North Atlantic record attempt in 2003.
A marriage and 2 children later, he set off again for the Mini Transat in 2017 and finished 11th. Tenacious, he set up an IMOCA project in 2021, accompanied by Pascal Barreau and his company Ebac. In 2022, he met Benjamin Salah, CEO of Human Immobilier. The three men with shared values decided to sail together in the Vendée Globe 2024.
I see this race as an opportunity to gain more experience on a demanding course. Facing the North Atlantic solo in the winter is bound to be violent, and it's really useful to prepare well for the South, which I don't know yet. Last year, we went up against Iceland, and it was really tough, so this is another test. From a sporting point of view, I'm going to fight with my drifting friends and I'm going to defend myself. But I'm also going to try to do it intelligently and not blow it all up because after that the winter yard will be short. But I'm confident, because we've spent a lot of time making the systems more reliable over the past few months, so it's going to be really interesting.
It may come as a surprise, but I don't think I'll be getting a lot of rest. I'm going to sleep in a real bed of course, but I'm not going to take naps and sleep non-stop. I'm going to try to live a normal life to keep up the pace, and think of the series of transatlantic races as good physical training for the Vendée Globe too, as with roughly 35 days at sea, it's more or less half a circumnavigation of the globe. If someone had said to me "you disembark your co-skipper, fill up with water and food, and set off again without setting foot on land", that would have appealed to me as a challenge too. The idea is that I'm going to try to stay in race mode, to recharge my batteries of course, but to continue to follow the weather and not break my rhythm at sea too much.
Everything takes longer! Above all, you do a lot less manoeuvres than in double-handed sailing, and you try to think more before taking the plunge. And then, the big difference is that there are more consequences if you have a physical problem. Last year, I was injured on the return trip, with a detached pleura and intercostal tears, and I realised just how complicated it can quickly become solo. When we talk about making the boat more reliable, we're also talking about reducing these risks, and that's really very important.
2022
Route du Rhum - 22nd
Vendée Arctique - 16th
2022
Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race - 20th
2021
Transat Jacques Vabre - 20th
2017
Mini Transat - 11th
2001
Mini Transat - 10th
Name: Human Imobilier
Architect: Owen Clarke
Building: 2005, Chris Prior
Launching: 08/23/2005
Previous names: SPIRIT Of CANADA, ALGIMOUSS Spirit Of Canada, O Canada, Ebac
Lenght: 18,28m
Beam: 5,50m
Draught: 4,50m
Weight: 8,8 tonnes
Mast height: 29m
Mast type: Mât-Classique
Foils: no
Upwind: 290 m²
Donwind: 565 m²
Human immobilier
The project's main partner, Human immobilier, with its 650 branches, is a major player in the property sector. Already involved in sport through its Human Sport entity, joining Antoine Cornic and his team in this project seemed an obvious choice given their shared values.
Ebac, a company that makes mattresses from recycled plastic waste, is Antoine Cornic's longest-standing partner. Their story is one of friendship, but also of shared values, particularly through their fight for cleaner oceans.
