With one year to go to Globe40, here are the weekly reports on the preparations for Globe40. Today, Jonas Gerckens talks about the VOLVO CURIUM project…

Unfortunately, the VOLVO CURIUM team’s season was brought to a halt last May when the boat collided with a whale while you were on delivery to the USA. Can you tell us more about this incident?

We were on a delivery trip for the start of the season with the Atlantic Cup in Charleston and the Québec Saint Malo, but unfortunately off the coast of Newfoundland we collided with a whale, which apparently was sleeping. Conditions in the zone were pretty tough with 35 knots established. We were in an area where we really didn’t expect to encounter any whales. Unfortunately, the damage to the whale and the boat was extensive. So the first objective was to get the crew safely back to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon on a badly damaged boat. Once we arrived in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, we quickly realised that the season was over. After a few makeshift repairs, we took the boat to Halifax. We then loaded the boat onto a cargo ship and returned home for a major refit, which is still under way.

So you had to cancel your participation in the Atlantic Cup and the Transat Québec Saint Malo, but you quickly bounced back with a Class30 project?

Yes, exactly. We had the advantage of having these two projects running in parallel. The Class30 project was originally intended to train young people in ocean sailing, but we quickly took over the project with Djemila Tassin to prepare for the double-handed world championship. Fortunately, we were able to sail at a very high level, particularly at this championship, where a great many people were present. We made a lot of progress in terms of pure, hard racing.

You took part in the World Ocean Racing Championships in the mixed doubles with Djemila Tassin. What do you take away from the experience?

Firstly, we got on really well together, and that’s already a good thing! It was the first time we’d sailed together at this level, so it bodes well for the Globe40, where we’ll be doing two legs together. We’ve got a pretty similar way of working, so that’s a good thing. We’ve both been able to test ourselves and learn from our shortcomings, and in the end we’ve come up against some very fine teams like the French and Uruguayans.

We’re now going to use the Vendée Globe to work on the weather in areas that we’re a little less familiar with, like the South for example.

This has enabled you to build up experience on board with Djemila, a crew member who will also be present on the Globe40. Do you already have a clear idea of your crew for the round the world?

 Yes, the crew is pretty clear. There will be 4 of us on the Globe40, with a team with a strong Belgian flavour, as that’s also the aim of the project.

So there will be Djemila Tassin as well as Renaud Dehareng, who is the team owner and who also sails a lot in Class40. The small exception to Belgium is Benoit Hantzperg who is my usual co-skipper in Class40 and with whom I did a great Transat Jacques Vabre in 2021. And so I’m here to complete the team. We’ve got a good idea of how the team will be split over the legs, which we’ll announce a little later.

Class40 VOLVO CURIUM is currently in the V1D2 yard in Caen. Can you tell us what stage the repairs are at after the structural damage suffered at the start of the season?

 It always takes too long, especially for me, who’s really looking forward to sailing.

We’ve finished the phase of deconstructing all the damage and we’re now in a reconstruction phase. It’s interesting mentally because we’re now moving forward!

We’re already in the works phase for Globe40, working on the compulsory items like adding watertight bulkheads. We’re also working on all the improvements to the boat in terms of performance and reliability. The challenge with our boat is really to finish the stages and get to the end of this round the world race and then aim for a result.

Would you like to make any major changes or adaptations for the start of the Globe40?

We know that our boat is very strong upwind and downwind. On the other hand, we’re working on the performance of the boat, which has a tendency to swell in slightly short seas. We’ve done a lot of thinking with the designers, in particular about moving the bulb to try and move the weight aft and therefore make the boat lighter in short seas. The idea is really to think about making the boat more reliable so that it becomes a Globe40-type boat. This will probably be the first Globe40-type scow on the start line!

The start of the 2nd edition of the round the world race is fast approaching. What is your race programme for 2025 before the big start?

We’re hoping to launch in February in Caen and then return to our base in Lorient. We’ll be training in Lorient in February, March and April with the other teams involved in the Globe40.  After that, I’ve got some compulsory PR in Belgium with my partners and the media, who will be following the project alongside me.

After that, the aim will be to do the Armen Race and the Fastnet Race with a crew to prepare for the Globe40.

In a year’s time, you’ll be on the point of arriving on the island of Réunion after the 1st long leg from Cape Verde.

I’m really looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to sailing because up until now we’ve been a bit frustrated at not being able to sail this season in Class40. We’ve all got our teeth into sailing and continuing to discover this great boat.

And with the start of the Vendée Globe just around the corner, we’re all keen to set off around the world. I’m also looking forward to getting to know the other competitors, who are also based in Brittany. The whole preparation phase upstream is going to be really interesting. Globe40 will start well before the big start!