On Sunday 31 August, Ian Lipinski will set sail from Lorient aboard Crédit Mutuel for the prologue of the second edition of the Globe40, a double-handed round-the-world race with stopovers in Class40. A challenge full of new experiences for the skipper. Interview.
Why did you want to compete in the Globe40?
My partner and I had initially considered another round-the-world race in Class40, which was to be contested solo and with far fewer stopovers [The Race Around, scheduled for 2023, editor’s note]. In the end, this race never happened, but even if it had, I wouldn’t have taken part because at the time I didn’t feel ready to take on such a challenge. I imagined having to deal with potential structural problems on my boat, alone in the Southern Ocean, and I got scared. In the autumn of 2024, with Crédit Mutuel, we revisited the idea of participating in a round-the-world race, but this time as a double-handed crew and with more stopovers, the Globe40. Everyone was on board. I gained experience in Class40, as did my team, and it no longer seemed crazy to take on this challenge. We’re certainly heading into the unknown, but we’re not going in recklessly either.
You say “heading into the unknown”. What do you mean by that?
It’s a race that breaks with the traditional cycle. I’ve been sailing Class40 since 2019 and there’s a certain repetition to the events that take place. I wanted to do something different. With Globe40, I feel like I’m setting off on an adventure, on a journey I don’t know. I really enjoy the “usual” circuit, with the challenges of extremely competitive transatlantic races, but it’s exciting to take on a new challenge, it gives you a kind of breathing space. It’s also an opportunity to have a wonderful trip. If everything goes well on the different legs, we’ll have time to enjoy the stopovers.
Endurance will be a key factor in the Globe40…
Exactly, we’ll have to complete the stages, the equivalent of seven or eight transatlantic races, without being able to return to the stand in Lorient, our home port. So that will impose a new rhythm. We won’t be able to sail flat out all the time; we’ll have to be able to calm things down and put the racing demon aside. Because if we miss a stage due to a major technical problem, everything will be called into question. This challenge of sailing a little more sensibly interests me and makes me wonder.
“We’ll be getting into t
he thick of it gradually”
This is a particularly important issue for scows, which we will see for the first time around the world in Class40. How do you deal with this kind of uncertainty?
It is indeed a real question as to how they will cope with the course. Today, we cannot be certain that these modern Class40 models are capable of completing so many stages in potentially very demanding conditions. As they are wide and flat at the front of the hull, these boats are very demanding. In recent years, several scows have suffered structural problems, and repairs are always very complicated. It is difficult to imagine carrying them out in two weeks during a stopover on the other side of the world. We will therefore have to try, as far as possible, to avoid these structural problems. If the three scows at the start do not make it past Sydney, we will conclude that it was perhaps a little too early to set off around the world with these boats. See you at the finish line in eight months for the verdict!
With all these new developments, do you feel any apprehension?
It surprises me a little, but for the moment, not at all. Mainly because we’re sailing double-handed. In fact, I don’t realise that I’m embarking on a round-the-world trip. Perhaps the apprehension will come when we reach the Southern Oceans. Today, I’m looking forward to setting sail from Brittany at the end of August for a short leg to Cadiz. On paper, it’s a really gentle start. It’s nothing like the Route du Rhum in November, where you might have to face several fronts on your own. On the Globe40, we’ll be getting into the thick of it gradually. The first big challenge will be circumnavigating Africa during the leg between Mindelo (Cabo Verde) and La Réunion.
Can you tell us about your two co-skippers?
I will be sharing this adventure with Antoine Carpentier and Amélie Grassi. Antoine has been sailing with me for two years and it’s going very well, so it was obvious that we should continue our partnership. Amélie and I have known each other for a long time and have had quite similar careers. We have never sailed together for long in a race, but I am sure it will go very well.
You won’t be doing the Pacific leg between Sydney and Valparaiso. Why?
Because I couldn’t see myself doing eight months of racing without a break. It might be frustrating to miss out on the Pacific and its long downwind surfs, but you have to make a choice and the most logical thing is to take a break on this leg, which is right in the middle of the race. I could have skipped the next leg, between Valparaiso and Recife (Brazil), but even though symbols don’t mean much to me, I couldn’t imagine missing Cape Horn. This rotation system seems balanced to me and will allow me to enjoy a recovery phase.
“It’s up to us to show that
this is a wonderful adventure”
This second Globe40 brings together eight Class40s. What do you think of this line-up?
It’s a bit better than the first edition, where there were seven boats, but obviously I would have liked to see more entries. I hope we can inspire others to take part in the next one. It’s up to us to show them what a wonderful adventure it is.
On paper, you seem to be the clear favourite…
I hope so, because the goal is to win! The main competitors in terms of pure performance are the two other scows that have entered. Jonas Gerckens has a very good boat [Belgium Ocean Racing-Curium, a Lift V2, editor’s note], and the two young Germans (Lennart Burke and Melwin Fink) are also serious competitors. I don’t know the other sailors in the race, who are sailing older boats and have projects that are more focused on adventure than competition. The logic will be different from the races I’m used to, where there are many favourites and therefore many potential winners. If you’re in the lead, it’s easier to mark two boats than fifteen.
Last year, the beginnings with your new Class40, the n° 202, weren’t necessarily easy. Are you satisfied with its performance and reliability now?
It’s true that in terms of performance, it was a bit of a struggle at first, we weren’t going as fast as we had hoped. Last winter, we made quite a few changes that helped us move in the right direction. We are still discovering it and there is room for improvement, but today, the Class40 Crédit Mutuel is already much more efficient than when it was launched. I can’t wait to test it out in a different pace, in difficult offshore conditions we haven’t encountered yet. In terms of reliability, the boat is built for this round-the-world race, even though we didn’t know we’d be doing it when she was built. It’s more solid than my previous Class40, the 158. We increased the density of the foam and the structural mesh of the boat.
“A clearer idea of what I want
at the end of Globe40″
With a view to the 2026 Route du Rhum, is this round-the-world race the best possible preparation?
No in some respects, yes in others. In terms of developing the boat’s pure performance, it will be less effective than training in Lorient with a coach, side by side with our direct competitors. On the other hand, we will gain in-depth knowledge of our boat at sea and we will thoroughly test the reliability of the various systems. I will have much more experience when I finish. For the Route du Rhum, which is a solo race, this will be a real advantage.
Could participating in Globe40 make you want to compete in the Vendée Globe, given that your current partnership with Crédit Mutuel will end after the 2026 Route du Rhum?
It’s possible that this round-the-world race will motivate me to do another non-stop race. Or, on the contrary, I may decide that shorter races suit me better. I’ll have a clearer idea of what I want to do at the end of Globe 40. We’ll also have to see if my partner likes this experience and what they have in mind for the future. It’s something we’ll have to discuss together. In any case, today, I am not at all closed to the idea of participating in the Vendée Globe. For me, the main thing is to carry out great projects, whatever the medium. I still enjoy Class40 racing as much as ever, it’s a great compromise. I also like new challenges, trying new things, so I’m not ruling anything out.
Photo : Qaptur
