First showdown for Arkema 4 on the Pro Sailing Tour OceanFifty in Brest

Quentin Vlamynck helming Arkema 4 © Vincent Olivaud / Arkema Sailing

On 20 May Quentin Vlamynck and his teammates will take part in the inaugural stage of the Pro Sailing Tour Ocean Fifty in Brest. For Arkema 4, which was launched in the water last September, it will be a baptism of fire.

A showdown clearly awaited by the crew, but also by their competitors, eager to see the performance of this 50 ft trimaran from the Lalou Multi shipyard. For his first event as skipper of an Ocean Fifty, Quentin Vlamynck has surrounded himself with an experienced and versatile crew, with progress and performance as foremost objectives.

"It has been two years since we raced against opponents and I miss the competition," said skipper Quentin Vlamynck. Even though the team have had plenty of outings for training around Verdon-sur-Mer since the boat hit the water a few months ago, nothing beats a proper contest. "The racing format of the Pro Sailing Tour Ocean Fifty, combining both offshore and built courses, will allow us to sail in any point of sail and at any speed, use all the sails of the boat, and analyze its behavior over time. It's clear that we'll already have some points to work on by the end of this first event. We'll have a significant amount of sailing over the season, which will be a basis for progress so we can optimize the boat as much as possible when we're off for the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre race in November," says the skipper.

A versatile and complementary crew

A rarity in the world of offshore racing, there will be no Breton aboard the Arkema 4 trimaran for this first Brest episode, but instead sailors from the Bay of Arcachon, Médoc, La Rochelle and even Guadeloupe! Lalou Roucayrol will take part in every event. Always focused on exchange and transfer of knowledge, Lalou makes sure that Quentin benefits from of his multihull experience and the development of a new boat.

Boat captain Raphaël Lutard will also be there. Always on the lookout for new solutions to improve systems and devices, he will be responsible for organizing manoeuvers on board. Guadeloupean skipper Kéni Piperol, who was heavily involved in the boat's construction, will oversee tactics. As for César Dohy, who historically has been in charge of the sails of Team Arkema Sailing on behalf of Incidence Sails and is an excellent observer of water bodies, he will be responsible for trimming the sails.

"These four crews were involved in the boat's construction and participated in virtually all of the training outings. They already know the boat very well, and we have worked a lot on teamwork on board and the sequences of manoeuvers on deck. Just like the boat, the crew is fit and ready to start the season!"

Program of the 1st episode (Brest) of the Pro Sailing Tour 2021

Thursday 20 May - 11am: start of the 24-hr challenge (approximately 400 nautical miles)
Friday 21 May: arrival of 24-hr challenge
Saturday 22 May - 10am: 1st start of inshore course (3 to 4 races)
Sunday 23 May - 9:30am: 1st start of inshore course (3 to 4 races)

The Arkema 4 crew on the 1st episode (Brest) of the Pro Sailing Tour Ocean Fifty 2021

Quentin Vlamynck - skipper
Lalou Roucayrol - hauler and gennaker trimmer
Raphaël Lutard - reefing line tuner
Kenit Piperol - tactician
César Dohy - hauler and sail trimmer