| France. Interview with Yann Elies, skipper of Generali |
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; "Yann Elies, skipper of Generali © Th Martinez")
| Wednesday, 12 April 2006 | |
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Company news: What made you choose Multiplast to build your 60 foot IMOCA monohull? I had a number of possible options for this project but I wanted to associate yard and architect. The Multiplast / Finot tandem soon became the obvious choice. At the time I was making my decision, no-one had commissioned the Groupe Finot in spite of the fact that they had designed all of the Vendée Globe winners except the first one. I was also very familiar with the Multiplast yard given the amount of time spent there with Orange. Lastly, given that these two entities are side by side, I was sure that I would end up with a quality boat which would be reliable and delivered on time. What do you consider to be Multiplast’s greatest assets? They have managed to develop an exceptional working tool with a team you can count upon. They are always at the leading edge of ocean going boat building. Finally, I do not know of any other boat yard in the world which can claim to have so much expertise and skill under one roof. How do you approach Gilles Ollier and Jean-Marie Finot working together once again? When Gilles, Jean-Marie and I had our first meeting, you could tell that they were pleased to be working on the same project once again. Something rather difficult to describe happened. And then looking back over what has linked both men in the past, they were pleased to be doing something for the Elies son. Our trio has got everything it takes to succeed - architect, shipyard and skipper. You have set up in the yard. How are you going to supervise the construction and with whom? Two guys are working with me - Pierre-Emmanuel Herissé and Philippe Godefroy who will be supervising the construction itself. I’ll not be spending more than 50% of the time in situ as I’ve got a sailing programme to stick to. I’m project manager for the construction. Do you reckon that you will have the best boat in the fleet thanks to the architect / shipyard tandem? I’m not aiming to have a revolutionary boat but even with the strong competition that is out there, I’ll be pulling out all the stops for peak performance. I really want to be sure that I’ll have a reliable boat to sail to make sure that I make it across the finishing line and be able to fight hard on the way back up the Atlantic. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 April 2006 ) |
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