MACIF IMOCA 60 sold

Figaro sailor Paul Meilhat gets backing from French insurance company

A new IMOCA campaign, to run from 2015 until 2018, but with the 2016 Vendée Globe as the main objective has been announced. Figaro sailor Paul Meilhat is to be backed SMA, a leading French Mutual Insurance Group, and will be campaigning Francois Gabart's VPLP-Verdier designed MACIF, winner of the recent Route du Rhum and the last Vendée Globe. The sports side of the project will be managed by two-time Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux and his company Mer Agitée.

This new campaign follows the success of Paul Meilhat and SMA's collaboration on the Figaro circuit this season and SMA now wishes to take the next step in their ambitious and long term sports partnership programme using it as one the company’s long term global communications tools.

SMA wants to firmly place sailing into the group’s DNA and along with its 3000 collaborators and 150,000+ clients, sustainably share the human and competitive values of a sports discipline that resonates with the group’s own core values, based around risk management. For SMA beyond the purely sporting aspects, offshore racing yields enormous networking and team-building opportunities plus the potential for substantial media coverage.

Skipper Paul Meilhat, 32, finished fourth in the 2014 Figaro championship and will now take the helm of the former MACIF, IMOCA 60. The VPLP/Verdier-designed CDK-built and Mer Agitée-managed yacht has an almost perfect racing record to date and will shortly undergo a refit and livery change to be ready to sail at the beginning of April 2015 in its new SMA colours. Meanwhile Meilhat will sail three of the pre-season Figaro events before moving across to the IMOCA to compete in the early season French regatts.

During the summer of 2015 Meilhat will take SMA to the UK to race in the Artemis Challenge and the Rolex Fastnet Race in August. But his main objective is the 2016 Vendée Globe. Over the next four years Meilhat will also participate in two Transat Jacques Vabres (2015 & 2017), the 2016 Transat and the 2018 Route du Rhum.

Michel Desjoyeaux’ company Mer Agitée has been contracted to manage the sports, technical and administrative aspects and bring its unique combination of experience and competence in this refined area of racing to bear - a record which over the last 15 years has seen four winning Vendée Globe projects emerge from the Mer Agitée racing stables.

Meilhat, a four-year veteran of the Finistere Couse au Large-Pole Port-La-Fôret training center of excellence, will use both organisations to assist in him training to tackle the mental, physical and technical rigours of racing non-stop around the world alone.

Didier Ridoret, President of SMABTP commented: "e wanted a reliable organisation to help our skipper concentrate on his sporting priorities. The collaboration with Mer Agitée was a simple decision. The decision is even further justified when one considers the presence of Michel Desjoyeaux who is a reference in the world of shorthanded offshore racing, not only on the sports side but also on the technical side, a discipline where he always seems to have an edge. To delegate the preparation of the SMA boat to his team means that we will have an impeccable platform for the beginning of the 2015 season."

Patrick Bernasconi, President of SMAvie added: "The 2014 Figaro project confirmed not only the legitimacy and the pertinance of our choice to move into the sports territory already understood by other insurance groups, but also to realise that it was a perfect fit for our group’s values and the brand’s identity. For us, just as for offshore racing, the human dimension of this project is primordial and essential, not only for the individual but for the collective. The common values for success in our two seperate worlds can be summarised with a few key words, key words that are powerful as they are now within our DNA and our daily lives - a human story, team spirit, culture and risk management, taste for a challenge. I can summarise the values that we share by saying : Risk is our business, challenges are our passion. "

Paul Meilhat, skipper SMA said: "It has been less than a year but we have the impression that we’ve been together for a long time! SMA is a partner that is investing heavily in a long term strategy and I already feel huge support from the entire group not just the group’s directors. The Figaro project was put together at short notice and it worked well. And then things accelerated even more! SMA let me concentrate on my sports programme in 2014 before they asked me about the future. What I like about this project is that it has developed completely with SMA. Everyone is involved, a whole team has been mobilised, SMA people taking care of some aspects, collaborators, presidents and directors and of course the Mer Agitée team.

"Each person and group in their own sphere of competence is contributing to the performance and success of the project. Alone there is no way that one could achieve this. It is wonderful to see and I’m trying to feed on this aspect of the project now to use when there will be difficult moments ahead. The Vendée Globe for me will be a first and an exciting major step into the unknown. But I’m inspired by everyone around me. Many skippers who have passed before me have been through the Figaro ‘school’. The fact that I train at the Pole Finistere training centre in Port-La-Forêt, prepare with Mer Agitée and am surrounded by a team of people who are the best at what they do removes a huge part of my apprehension."

Michel Desjoyeaux said: "he goal here is to bring my knowledge of 60 footers and my experience of singlehanded offshore racing on these boats to help Paul save time and avoid errors. I’ll be wearing my coach’s hat to make sure that Paul doesn’t waste time ashore or afloat !"

Marcus Hutchinson, Project Manager SMA (!): "I got to know Paul during my recent years managing young British and Irish solo sailors on the Figaro circuit in France. I’m really excited to be able to take one of the best current Figaro sailors to the next level and prepare him and his project to be competitive non-stop around the world."