The SVR-Lazartigue team announced this week that Franck Cammas would be Tom Laperche’s co-skipper this year in the Ultim class, with the Fastnet, 24h Ultim and Transat Café L’Or on the program. An opportunity for Tip & Shaft to chat with the 52-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, who is still looking for partners to launch his Imoca project.
Can you tell us how you got involved in the SVR-Lazartigue project?
Tom and I met at the end of last year in Guidel-Plage, and he asked me if I’d be interested in working and sailing with him. I didn’t hesitate for long, because it was a great proposition for me, and I liked all the ingredients. First of all, it’s always an incredible opportunity to sail an Ultim, especially on SVR, which is the most innovative boat in terms of design and has great potential. This boat and Tom are a pair who can win races, and I’d love to help him get there. I’m also attracted by working with a very active and agile team, which has all the skills in-house to make things evolve rapidly from a technological point of view. In this team, there’s a constant desire to evolve, people who don’t give themselves many limits, who want to move forward without listing the obstacles, as some others can do.
What do you think of the Ultim SVR-Lazartigue?
It’s a boat that started from a blank sheet of paper, with a very innovative design, they tried to push in every corner they could by taking good ideas from around them and building on their experience with the first Macif. It’s very well thought-out, but there’s still plenty of room for development, and plenty of marginal gains to be made. So far, it’s not performance that has prevented them from winning, but more reliability and fine-tuning. We’ve seen that they haven’t finished certain races, or have finished with a damaged boat. They’re obviously frustrated at having had to give up several times on the Jules Verne this winter, but they’ve learned a lot, and in the end, they’ve sailed a lot, particularly in downwind breezes, and they really feel they’ve made progress.
And what do you think you can contribute to its development?
My experience, the ideas I’ve developed or observed myself, my own reflections after sailing on big trimarans, which began with Groupama 3, even though it wasn’t a flying boat. Each time, I try to observe and imagine what can be improved. We’re not going to change the major elements of the boat, but an Ultim is such a vast puzzle of appendages, aerodynamic shapes and systems, that a lot of layers have to be acquired before you can use it properly. Even after several years, you can’t say you’ve managed to exploit 100% of the potential, so the more you think about making sure you have better reliability and finding all the right options, the better it is. That’s really what the team’s aim is, what they’re asking for is one more brain and an outside view, with no real limits to what I can offer.
“With Tom, I have the impression
we look alike”
How do you see Tom?
He’s an extremely well-rounded sailor, someone who’s very well wired, not only to drive the boat well – he proved this by winning the Solitaire du Figaro and during his first solo Ultim race (Arkea Ultim Challenge) – but also to develop this type of boat. We know that on Ultims, it’s not enough to be a good sailor, and he has a real good technical understanding of the boat – as an engineer, he was involved in the design of certain parts – you can tell he likes it, he’s always trying to make things happen. I like this state of mind, I have the impression that we’re similar, he really wants to move forward and not stay on the boat’s achievements, that’s why he’s good. And I have a lot of confidence in him on board. He’s both very calm and very focused.
When you look back at his career, do you see any of yourself in him, given that he quickly excelled in the Figaro class before moving on to the trimaran?
I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s true that we can see parallels: we both went from the Figaro to multihull racing at around the same age. What’s more, he’s lucky enough to have been able to join a team that already had a great deal of experience with François (Gabart), which means that his future is already mapped out. His objective is now quite clear: he really wants to win, especially in the Route du Rhum. If I can help him, I will, because I think he’s a very deserving guy.
Do you see yourself going beyond this season with him?
I’m very open to it, it’s an exciting working environment. Now, we’ll take stock with Tom and the team at the end of the year, and hopefully we’ll have picked up a few medals. And as you know, I’ve got a project elsewhere, so I’ll see where it takes me.
“I’m an eternal optimist”
Let’s talk about the Imoca project. Can you tell us where you stand today?
I’m still in a commercial phase, there’s nothing concrete from an operational point of view. I’ve always said that my objective was to win, which means that I have to do things right in terms of time and means, and I’m in the process of finding the means and making sure that time doesn’t shorten too much. I’ve had some good meetings, again this week with some great companies, and I hope they’ll materialize. I’m an eternal optimist, so I won’t give up while I can, but unfortunately I can’t announce a sponsor just yet.
Have you had any exchanges with teams looking for skippers, as was the case with Team Banque Populaire?
As I told you last week (see our article), I did talk to Ronan Lucas (former manager of Team Banque Populaire), but it didn’t go beyond that, because I didn’t have the profile, they wanted someone who wasn’t from the same generation as Armel (Le Cléac’h, skipper of the Ultim). As for the rest, no, I haven’t had any contacts, which is normal, because since I announced that I wanted a new boat, all the teams launching one already have their skipper. So if I come, it’ll be with a new sailing sponsor, which is also what makes the challenge fun.
If good news arrives, have you already booked a building slot and chosen an architect?
It’s going to be hard to get a slot in France because the construction yards are so busy, and so much the better. There are good solutions in Europe, but that doesn’t scare me in terms of quality. There are many fine boats being built in certain yards, including those for the Cup, TP52s and even Imoca boats, and they are also competitive in terms of price with French yards. As for the architect, the idea is to look for a sure bet. I’m not going to take any chances on that, but let’s just say that today, I have two options.
Do you set yourself a deadline?
To launch the construction, it should be done before the beginning of July, because the aim is to take the start of The Ocean Race, and I think the best option is to compete in this race in 2027 to win the Vendée Globe afterwards. If I’m not ready by then, may be we’ll start with the Vendée Globe before doing the next edition of The Ocean Race. It would be a pity to close the door if partners arrive later.
Photo : Guillaume Gatefait
