Guirec Soudée

Barely 30 years old, Guirec has already acquired a solid experience of the sea and a remarkable notoriety in the maritime and adventure sports world. At the age of 21, the young Breton undertook a 5-year round-the-world sailing trip through the 2 poles, during which he spent 130 days locked up in the Greenland ice without assistance, without communication, in complete autarky.

He then spent several years sailing the different seas of the globe and became the youngest sailor in the world to sail the Northwest Passage, before reaching Cape Horn and the South Pole. In 2021, he set himself a new challenge: a double solo Atlantic crossing by rowing boat, from East to West, then from West to East, still without assistance. In total, Guirec will have spent more than 670 days alone (or almost) at sea during his oceanic journeys.

In 2022, Guirec is starting a new ambitious adventure: to participate in the most prestigious and well-publicised ocean races in the world. This is what he will do with his boat (the IMOCA with which Benjamin Dutreux finished 9th in the last Vendée Globe), which will bear the name and colours of Freelance.com, during competitions such as the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe and then the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2023, The Transat CIC in 2024 with the Everest of the seas in his sights: the next edition of the Vendée Globe in 2024/25.

To achieve this, Guirec Soudée has set about building an experienced team, with Sébastien Audigane in particular as boat-captain, who is currently preparing Freelance.com in Port-Bourgenay with Eole Performance, Benjamin Dutreux's company. After the Guyader Bermuda 1000 Race in May, the team moved to Kairos Sailing Team, the structure of the experienced Roland Jourdain in Concarneau in Finistère.

To achieve this, Guirec Soudée has put together an experienced team, with Sébastien Audigane as boat-captain, who will accompany him throughout the preparation of his 60-foot boat and will race the 2023 season with Corentin Douguet.

Suivre sur les réseaux :

"Adventure, facing yourself and the elements"

 

Guirec, what are your objectives for this "Retour à La Base"?

First of all, to get the boat and myself back to Lorient. After a double-handed transatlantic race just before, I'm not going to put too much pressure on her... And then the basis of sailing for me is to try and enjoy being at sea.

What's your "basic" trick for recovering as quickly as possible between these two upcoming transatlantic races?

I don't have any tips whatsoever, I'm always running back and forth. So I'd say the trick is not to have any. I have to admit, though, that I find it hard to reconnect the phone when I get home, so I might not be reachable for several days...

What's the "base" of solo versus double-handed sailing?

A double is an exchange, a learning process, a social relationship that forges links between two people. Solo has nothing to do with that. It's an adventure facing yourself and the elements. You forge links with nature, with your emotions too.

EXTRACT FROM THE PRIZE LIST 


EN IMOCA

2023
Rolex Fastnet Race - 20e
Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race - discontinued

2022
Route du Rhum - 25e
Défi Azimut - 20e
Vendée Arctique - 6e
Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race - 16e







OTHER CATEGORIES 

+ More than 60,000 miles single-handed at the age of 29
+ More than 670 days of solo sailing

21 years : single-handed Atlantic crossing under sail without assistance

23 years : 130-day wintering in the ice of Greenland, completely self-sufficient

24 years : he becomes the youngest sailor in the world to cross the perilous Northwest Passage

25 years : crossed the Pacific from North to South





THE BOAT 

 

Name :FREELANCE.COM
Architect : Bruce Farr Yacht Design
Building : 2007, Offshore Challenges Sailing Teams, Cowes Royaume-Unis
Launching : 06/25/2007
Old names : ESTRELLA DAMM, BT, Veolia Environnement, Hugo BOSS, Neutrogena, Adopteunskipper.net, Safran, Spirit of Yukoh IV, Water Family, OMIA - Water Family

Lenght : 18,28m
Beam : 5,85m
Draught : 4,50m
Weight : 8,4 tonnes
Mast height : 29m
Mast type : Mât-classique
Foils :no
Upwind :296 m2
Downwind : 700 m2


THE SPONSOR 

FREELANCE.COM

Positioned at the heart of the transformation of the labour market and the French leader in the relationship between companies and their external talent, Freelance.com relies on a community of 370,000 consultants and experts working on a freelance basis or in hyper-specialised SMEs. Freelance.com offers a complete range of services: sourcing of expertise, management of external resources, project management, wage portage, etc. With a presence in France and abroad, Freelance.com is the key player in the "Future of Work".

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