The skipper changes, but the spirit remains the same. Initially scheduled to sail his own boat "Ha Plus Pme - Phénix" in the MedMax Occitanie - Saïdia Resorts, Anthony Streicher has handed over to his co-skipper, François Verdier, but remains team manager of the project. But the initiative taken by this entrepreneur with a passion for sailing remains the same: to promote the Phare40 Sailing association, dedicated to the reconstruction, through sailing, of injured soldiers, gendarmes or police officers; to enable François Verdier to look ahead to the post-MedMax era, with the next Transat Jacques-Vabre in particular. And finally, to set up a Class40 ocean racing centre in Port-Camargue. Another asset is Phénix, the christening name of the Class40 FRA142. In the hands of a certain Kito de Pavant, the boat has built up an impressive track record...

The boat is now in the hands of François Verdier, an experienced sailor-skipper with a match-racing background, including ten years with the French team, member of various French teams for the America's Cup, world champion in team match racing with Damien Iehl in 2009, former director of the Grande-Motte Yacht Club and now head of the Occitanie Inshore Device project within the Occitanie league. He's no stranger to the boat, having sailed in its colours at the start of the Class40 season in the Mediterranean. In the Massilia Cup Offshore, he sailed double-handed with Kito de Pavant (4^e) and above all a fine second place in the Paprec 600, in the company of Pierre-Laurent Garnero, a sought-after crew member and designer at Delta Voiles. Who will be his double on the MedMax! And maybe even more.