EDS race favourite

Ed Gorman talks to Sill skipper Roland Jourdain, currently negotiating his entry in the next Vendee Globe...with his wife

The Frenchman, whose well-drilled crew is made up of members of his shore team and friends, will miss the third leg from Portsmouth to Baltimore because he wants to spend some time with his wife and children at home.

It is an important call because Bilou is keen to do another Vendee Globe, but that is something he must discuss with his wife. "I said at the beginning I will race only once in the Vendee because for me it is a little bit difficult, but for my wife it is very difficult. So we have to talk together - the problem is that I enjoyed the Vendee Globe more than I thought I would," he explained.

He added that, if he does go back to the race, he will be looking for a new Lombard-designed Open 60 and has no plans to go to either Finot or Merv Owen for a new boat. "No, I stick with Marc Lombard - they made a good job - I have no reason to change everything. But I have a few ideas about how to make the next boat go a little faster," he said.

For the EDS, Bilou has lightened the rig on Sill by fitting PBO rigging and swapped his Kevlar mainsail for a spectra sail. The new genoa and staysail have been made in Cuben Fibre. Down below there are a couple of extra bunks to accomodate the EDS crew.

Bilou believes winning the EDS will require a top all-round performance from his team. "You can't make a mistake on meteorology, you need a fast boat and you need a crew who knows the boat. You can't afford to break anything and, like in all sailing, you need a bit of luck. We have to push the boat 100% of the potential, so it will be a mix of everything - there are many pieces in the puzzle," he said.

Having come from the multihull circuit in France when a few years ago the big races often saw just four or five entrants, Bilou is not disappointed by the turnout for the first EDS grand prix. "Here we have seven boats, five of which are really fast and close in performance, so we can make a good race of it. The problem was that many of the possible competitors in the EDS had finished their contracts with sponsors at the end of the Vendee Globe. But I'm sure that next time there will be 15 or 20 boats," he said.

Bilou added that one of the pleasures of this form of racing was the chance it gave for people like himself, "to learn from other sailors but also to show them our boats and perhaps give them the idea to build one too."