Question: To inaugurate the new OceanFiftyy circuit, the Ocean Fifty Series, you have chosen MEDMAX - Occitanie - Saïdia Resorts as one of the five acts. Was this a choice of the heart or of reason?

Thibaut Vauchel-Camus : " The MEDMAX Occitanie - Saïdia Resort is a great opportunity, both from a sporting point of view and in terms of image. On the one hand, it diversifies our programme with a brand new ocean race in the Mediterranean, which some skippers are not familiar with. The Ocean Fifty Series comprises three major inshore races (Saint-Malo in May, La Baule in June and Sainte-Maxime in October) and one transatlantic race (the Route des Terre Neuvas in August). Then, of course, there are the other races open to OceanFifty sailors, such as the Route du Rhum and the Transat Jacques-Vabre. All in all, it's a more varied programme, but a very sporting one. With the MEDMAX, it's another form of ocean racing, like a Transmed. It's going to be exciting. On the other hand, it's interesting to show off our beautiful boats, to let people in the South discover not only their performance but also the advantages in terms of communication.
The Ocean Fifty Series allows guests to sail on the boats, inshore of course. For the moment, there is only one Ocean Fifty based in the Mediterranean (Wind of Trust - Christopher Pratt's Fondation pour l'Enfance, based in Marseille).

Question : From this point of view, the Ocean Fifty class is very dynamic.

TVC The OceanFifty class is the successor to the Multi50 class. The aim wasn't just to change the name, but to think of something more structured, with a homogeneous fleet, limited by a numerus clausus, with a well-established circuit, well-controlled budgets that are affordable for SMEs, and a limited impact on the environment. In sailing in general, there are far too many projects that don't come to fruition. It's a waste. Furthermore, to respect our playground, the sea, we limit or even ban the use of certain materials, such as carbon fibre. And some sails have a three-year life expectancy. There's an ecological dimension to our approach to sailing, so we don't fill up the rubbish bins in our ports.

Q: That doesn't stop Ocean Fifty from always wanting to innovate. What new things are you preparing for the MEDMAX Occitanie-Saïdia Resorts?

TVC : First of all, the course and the environment will be a discovery for some of the skippers, even though last year, on the Pro Sailing Tour, we raced a leg of the circuit to Corsica. Racing in the Mediterranean on these craft, double-handed, with the specific weather conditions we're going to encounter, is going to be great fun. Especially as we've chosen to experiment with the absence of weather routing. (editor's note: discussion with a person ashore about the best route to take during the race in relation to the weather forecast).  

The MedMax will serve as a laboratory for us, as part of our drive to keep costs down, but also to return to a certain autonomy for the skipper and his or her sense of seafaring. That's part of our philosophy. But here, double-handed, on the Mediterranean, which is notoriously unpredictable, we're in for a real treat".

The ten teams present

"Solidaires En Peloton", skipper Thibaut Vauchel-Camus.

"Wind of Trust - Fondation pour l'Enfance", skipper Christopher Pratt.

"Koesio, skippered by Erwan Le Roux.

"Viabilis Oceans, skippered by Baptiste Hulin.

"Realites", skipper Fabrice Cahierc

"Upwind by MerConcept, skippered by Anne-Claire Le Berre.

"Inter Invest, skippered by Matthieu Perraut

"Primonial", skipper Sébastien Rogues

"Le Rire Médecin - Lamotte", skipper Luke Berry

"Mon Bonnet Rose", skipper Laurent Bourguès.