"I'd skipped school to go and get Laurent Bourgnon's autograph at the marina. It was in Pointe-à-Pitre, the Swiss yachtsman had just won the Route du Rhum and young Thibaut Vauchel-Camus began dreaming of the open sea. Little did he know, the native of Périgueux, who had followed his parents to Guadeloupe, that one day he would be sailing with another legend. It's with Yann Eliès that this multihull specialist will be racing the MED MAX I Occitanie - Saïdia Resort. It's a partnership which has come about rather late, given the schedule of the three-time winner of the Solitaire du Figaro and the Transat Jacques-Vabre (on one hull and three hulls!). But who could be the winning ticket for this Mediterranean ocean race, on a course that will require a bit of acrobatics and seamanship.

Thibaut Vauchel-Camus is no stranger to acrobatics. From the Hobie Cat shared with Yvan Bourgnon, the French Espoirs Tornado pole in Quiberon, the Formule 18 (six times French champion...) and the Flying Phantom. His brief switch to a monohull saw him come 2nd in the Class40 class in the 2014 Route du Rhum, win the class championship twice in a row, before winning the legendary Transat Bakerly (now known as The Transat CIC) in 2016. But the call of the 'boat that lifts the leg' is stronger. It will be in a 50-footer. In the process, he won the Drheam Cup twice, finished 3rd in the 2022 Rhum, and won the 2023 Transat Jacques-Vabre, double-handed. He has also raised the profile of his partner, France Sclérose en plaques, which, through its "Solidaires En Peloton" programme, aims to encourage sufferers through sport. It goes without saying that "Monsieur le Président" (he was appointed president of the Ocean Fifty class last year), now a Cancalais by adoption and based in Saint-Malo, is delighted to have included MEDMAX Occitanie-Saïdia Resorts in the programme for the 2024 Ocean Fifty Series. "The MedMax is exactly what we're looking for in our programme. To raise awareness of the association and the message it delivers. And, in sporting terms, the route is exciting. The Bouches de Bonifacio, the Stromboli, the crossing to the Balearics. The arrival in Morocco will bring back memories: I sailed there on a Formula 18 raid with Yvan Bourgnon". And maybe a kid will come up to him and ask for his autograph when they get to Saïdia. Rather than Yann Eliès?