A word with the skippers: Jérémie Beyou & Christopher Pratt, Charal (IMOCA)

One of the favourite duos to win on handling Charal, one of the six latest-generation racing machines in the IMOCA fleet.

Jérémie Beyou, skipper of Charal (Imoca)

“One thing's certain, in a duo, manoeuvres are twice as easy as when you’re solo, especially for sail changes. The foils also use up energy: You’re moving 200kg. The boat is powerful and physically demanding, but it requires a lot of finesse in getting the settings right. Get an adjustment wrong and it doesn’t cost you tenths of knots but knots...It's the big difference with the 2015 generation of boats. In the end, it’s like you’re sailing a multihull because with these higher speeds, the apparent wind is greater. We’re not training harder than before on land, but what is certain is that after a day sailing Charal, you’re knackered even without manoeuvring like crazy. Life on board is even more uncomfortable (laughs)!

Christopher Pratt, co-skipper Charal (Imoca)

“We went from boats ranging from 15 to 20 knots, to racing cars capable of doing 30 stable knots. Imagine the difference to life on board. It’s uncomfortable at all speeds, especially downwind, but perhaps less uncomfortable upwind. That's what's crazy! Before, you used to say that the upwind was the most draining past, now it's the opposite... Jérémie and I have sailed a lot together, we can say that we have fulfilled our objectives in terms of preparation. But we’ll still be learning on the Transat Jacques Vabre. It’s a long race and always super interesting in terms of weather strategy.”