Between the last Spi Ouest-France, which he raced in an Open 750, Erik Maris’ MOD70 Zoulou, which started the ArMen Race Uship on Thursday, and above all the 52 Super Series circuit with Paprec, Loïck Peyron remains, at 65, a popular and busy sailor. Ahead of the Baiona leg of the 52 Super Series (June 2-7), he answered Tip & Shaft‘s questions.
Can you tell us how you got involved in the 52 Super Series?
Stéphane Névé, who is in charge of the Paprec sailing program, contacted me three or four years ago to compete in the Copa del Rey on their old TP52, which was playing in the “B group”, which I did. He called me back a year and a half ago to see if I’d be interested in doing a full season in tactics. I was delighted to accept, firstly because I’d already had the opportunity to discover the circuit by racing in the Copa del Rey, and secondly because, as a passionate sailor, I’d loved to follow the videos of the regattas for years, ever since the Audi Med Cup [a circuit that ran from 2005 to 2011, of which the 52 Super Series is an extension, editor’s note], the images were magnificent and the boats sublime.
And is the reality what you saw on those videos?
Completely! It’s an incredible opportunity to sail on these TP52s, the maneuvers are brilliant, the spinnaker drop-offs magnificent, everything is fine-tuned, the choreography on board is perfect, very aesthetic, it’s a lovely ballet! And the cast of “kings” is quite staggering: there are a good hundred kilos of Olympic and world medals, America’s Cup winners and the like, and it’s really nice to be up against these people, who are really good. It’s true that there are a lot of grey hairs among the strategists and tacticians – myself included – like Ed Baird, Warwick Fleury, Terry Hutchinson, Murray Jones, Ray Davies, Hamish Pepper… there are even some who are just coaches, like Santiago Lange or Francesco de Angelis! Fortunately, there are also a lot of young people from all over the world on the boats. This is perhaps one of the last places where you can find pure racing, on boats that aren’t very fast, but where you can still feel great sensations. And what’s more, we get to sail in nice places, which is really the idea, because it’s an owner’s class. Owners who, for the most part, steer, which is not our case, since it’s not Jean-Luc Petithuguenin but Cédric Chateau who’s at the helm and does things very well.
“The level is both
very high and homogeneous”
What are Team Paprec’s ambitions?
Last year wasn’t so bad, because we finished seventh overall, winning a leg at the end of the season. That’s never happened before and it’s not easy, because the level is both very high and homogeneous – for example, Platoon, second overall last year, finished last in the first race of the season in Saint-Tropez. Up until now, the team wasn’t as well equipped as the others in terms of equipment and sails, but that’s more the case now. The project is evolving in the right direction, and we finished fifth in the first event in Saint-Tropez. We’re getting more respect from our competitors, and they’re beginning to realize that we know how to sail. But, once again, it’s very volatile, and there are a lot of changes from one regatta to the next. Everyone has the impression that the boats are one design, but in fact, it’s a box rule, sufficiently well designed to keep them close to each other. This is one of the difficulties of the tactician’s job, in the sense that, within half a length after ten minutes of upwind sailing, you could be first or last at the first buoy.
So where does it all play out? At the start?
It’s always better to get off to a good start, but statistically, there are a third of boats that get off to a bad start but still finish ahead. Tactically, Gladiator is quite fond of the rhombus, going hard right one time, hard left the next, and one out of two, or even two out of three times, it works, so it’s quite interesting to see how they do it. What’s quite amazing in terms of strategy is that you don’t necessarily have to start on the side that looks the most favorable, because the most important thing is to have fresh wind, so you have to avoid being blocked by the others. The other mistake not to make is going too far on the lay-lines, on the contrary, it’s often a little underneath! With Jean-Charles Monnet, who’s in charge of navigation, we’re in constant discussion, and tacking and placement are done to the nearest half-length. I’m learning every day, and every night I’m making films in my head!
“The Vendée Globe remains
a small exception”
Let’s talk about one of your other activities: since 2023, you’ve been chairman of CDK’s strategic committee. Can you tell us about your role?
It’s essentially consulting, which is perhaps a bit of a strong word. In any case, it’s about discussion and reflection, particularly on new markets, but also about promoting the company, which was lacking a little recognition, even though it’s one of the best construction companies in the world. It’s quite exciting to be surrounded by really competent people, CDK is a hell of a company, and we’ll be inaugurating the new premises shortly. The company has made a major investment in the huge extension of the Keroman site.
Is this what makes it possible, for example, to build four Imoca boats in two years?
Yes, exactly, that’s the whole point of increasing production capacity. That’s what Hubert (Desjoyeaux, one of CDK’s founders) and Philippe Facque (former CEO) had already done when he invested in the large autoclave. We’ve even had to turn down customers; now we have to be wary, because the economic world is very sinusoidal, as we can see from certain signs: I think that for the first time this year, there was no waiting list for the Mini in Mai, and there are still quite a few 40-footers on the quaysides. I have the impression that after the little bubble we experienced, things are starting to normalize a little, even if the Vendée Globe remains a small exception, because, whatever the skipper’s result, there’s always a good story to tell. I have to admit that it’s a bit of a mystery that there are still new boats to be built.
When you talk about new markets, what do you have in mind?
When I look at TP52s, which are more of a Spanish and Italian specialty, I think it’s a market that could be interesting, not necessarily financially, but because of its slightly different requirements, which could enrich the company’s level of technical expertise and know-how. And then, of course, there’s top-of-the-range cruising, and we can see that a shipyard like Gunboat (of which he is one of the ambassadors) is keeping the wind in its sails, because people who have the means and the desire to get away from the land will always want to have pretty tools with which to do so. CDK is ready to build this kind of exceptional boat, and we’re in the process of doing so, by building a large Ultim-style cruising trimaran. It’s the kind of niche market we can go after, even if we’re suffering from a slight lack of skills in Brittany on the whole systems and interior outfitting side.
Photo : Martinez Studio
