Season begins for Team Foncia

News on Michel Desjoyeaux's Open 60 campaign while Alain Gautier takes on the Solitaire du Figaro

Following the relaunch today in Port la Foret of Michel Desjoyeaux's Foncia IMOCA Open 60, so Team Foncia begins their 2008 season with two major campaigns: the Solitaire du Figaro for Alain Gautier and the Vendee Globe for Michel Desjoyeaux. But as a prelude to all this, both skippers have a rather full agenda

Over the last four months the Foncia 60ft monohull has been having repair work carried out to her following her collision with a fishing boat a few miles short of the finish line of the Transat Ecover BtoB last year. The boat was pulled out of the water as soon as she arrived back in mid-December.

Damaged by a collision with a fishing boat a few dozen miles from the finish at Port-la-Foret, Michel Desjoyeaux sailboat came into work as soon as he arrived in mid-December. "We did not conduct optimisation or modification of the boat only repairs," says Desjoyeaux. Neither have they fitted the strakes along the topsides at the bow like many of the other Farr designs. "I will wait until after The Artemis Transat artifice to see if that makes sense… " said the skipper as Foncia was lowered into the new haul-out facility in Port la Foret built especially for the IMOCA Open 60s.

The weekend Desjoyeaux will being his training and will test the boat before taking part in the singlehanded training session for the IMOCA Open 60s (nine boats are attending this) being organised by the Pol Atlantique training centre in Port la Foret. Then it is on to Douarnenez for the Défi Petit Navire over 25-27 April before heading to Plymouth for the start of the The Transat Artemis, the race Desjoyeaux won four years ago on board his Geant trimaran.

On his return from the US, the Foncia Open 60 will take part in the Record SNSM from Saint-Nazaire on 22 June when Desjoyeaux will be attempting to defend the record he set last year. The rest of the year will be spent focussing on preparations for the legendary Vendée Globe.

Meanwhile for Alain Gautier, the season resumes at the end of April with the launch of the Foncia Figaro Bénéteau 2 before the racing season starts with the Course des Falaises from Quiberon (16-22 June) in preparation for the Solitaire du Figaro (19 July-17 August).

In addition to this Gautier will only again be competing in the Challenge Julius Baer, the championship of D35 catamarans held on the Swiss lakes! This program has expanded and will begin on 2 May with the Grand Prix Chopard and end on 5 October at the Grand Prix Beau Rivage Palace. "These catamarans on Lake Geneva lift a hull in as little as five knots of wind!" says Gautier. "There are ten boats, but the level is very high: we finished third in the first season in 2006 and second last year, so the goal is to move up one more.

"As to the Figaro, I know that the competition is strong, but I like to win at least one more stage in my 16th participation in the Solitaire!" continues Gautier. In 2003, he finished second only 13 seconds behind the winner, Armel Le Cléac'h.

The diversity of the program for Team Foncia and her two skippers is depictive of both them and their sponsor: versatile, equally at ease in that monohulls as in multihulls, solo or fully crewed, on lakes or around the world.