Judo champion, rugby player, business manager… Antoine Cornic presents an explosive journey in the world of ocean racing. With the oldest boat in the fleet, the skipper is not claiming victory in the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe. Describing his project as “adventurous”, the Rochelais fought to be on the starting line. From buying a boat to the difficult search for sponsors, the sailor confided in IJ.
Antoine Cornic. MATHIEU MARIN – IJ
“I love making people dream, but maybe I wasn’t making business leaders dream enough. » These few words reveal the difficulty of taking part in the most demanding of offshore races. At the front of his Imoca in Les Sables-d’Olonne, Antoine Cornic remembers his years fighting to start the 2004 Vendée Globe. Failure of the North Atlantic record attempt and loss of his sponsors: the project will not come to an end and puts an end to the Rochelais’ hopes of touring the world.
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Twenty years later, at the end of October, the skipper is savoring every moment at the start village of this tenth edition. A wink to partners who came to visit the boat, a gesture to children greeting him from the queue to access the pontoon, a brief with his teams to resolve final technical points. Antoine Cornic is on all fronts. An effervescence which does not displease him, he who worked so hard to appear on the list of participants, while admitting half-heartedly “ that he can’t wait to go into solitary mode.”
A decisive meeting to bring the project to life
For around ten years, he had started another life far from ocean racing. A reconversion as a business manager at the head of two restaurants on the Ile de Ré, a family life and a rise in rugby, right pillar at the Stade Niortais. But he is approaching the world of competition again in 2017 with the Mini-Transat, a solo transatlantic race. Everything changes. “I no longer thought about the Vendée Globe. You have to be able to mourn and move forward. But in the middle of the race, I quickly understood that I was missing this challenge, to close the loop on this aborted project and continue my life. »
Questions arise, doubts remain, memories of the budget to be completed come back… But Antoine Cornic believes in it and begins his four-year campaign, with his goal in mind: the Vendée Globe 2024. A decisive meeting with Pascal Barreau , director of the Niort-based company Ebac, a French manufacturer specializing in bedding, seals his ambition. The manager becomes the owner of the boat: the Spirit of Canada by Australian Jack Bouttell. They already know that heavy work is to be carried out in this Imoca dating from 2005, 18.28 meters long and weighing 8.8 tonnes, the oldest in this edition’s fleet. A race to plan the work begins, a race to participate in the qualification deadlines and a race to attract sponsors.
The skipper does not want to see the shadows of the past resurface so he plays the frankness card. “I never told my partners that I was going to win the Vendée Globe. Never lie. We are here to tell a human adventure. On a first world tour, we cannot talk about victory. You have to finish the round. We sent six hundred people into space, there are only one hundred and twenty skippers who took part in the race,” he recalls.
“The budget is never closed, we are going to be in deficit”
Ebac supports Antoine Cornic to launch into the Imoca circuit but a main sponsor is necessary. Word of mouth works. “Before embarking on the Vendée Arctic – Les Sables-d’Olonne in 2022, I meet the manager of Human Real EstateBenjamin Salah, at the head of a network of real estate agencies. Our values are common. The lawyers check the contract, finally quickly signed, the project works on humans. Human is the title sponsor until the finish of the Vendée Globe. »
For each skipper, the mission is to convince the partners, to inject financial contributions, for a period of three to four years, “a Vendée Globe campaign”. Antoine Cornic measures the progress made with funding of around €3 million over four and a half years. One of the smallest budgets of this edition. “A huge investment, we had to convince them to adhere to our message and join the campaign despite the work, because there was a broken mast and the keel needed to be repaired. A real adventure”, smiles the skipper. Transformations ranging from purchasing second-hand sails to a more secure cockpit cap or new rudders.
MATHIEU MARIN – IJ
Beyond the major sponsors, around thirty have also embarked on the epic: Pochon, Smala connection, Home Box, Mat de Misaine and Timezero. In the village, certain names are added at the last minute to the others on the mast, like a resort in the Alps in recent days. However, the skipper now prefers to concentrate on his race: “The budget is never finalized, we will be in a deficit of €50,000. But I’m not going to run around the offices trying to find them before departure. » Before changing your mind: “I will be able to repay this sum and balance the accounts when we have sold the boat. »
The used boat market, a gateway to 2028
If the village breathes and vibrates to the rhythm of the 2024 edition, the skippers are already thinking about the next deadline. Different generations of boats will be on the starting line. The most recent in the fleet may be bought by other skippers, some will end up in the hands of individuals, others will have educational purposes or will end their lives in marinas. Heavy projects to put together and less and less amateur in an Imoca circuit which is becoming more professional, particularly since the technological revolution of foils. A tipping point with “the world before”.
The former French judo champion in 1997 is categorical: “The second-hand market is growing very quickly. With my team, we will not build a boat so we are working on different options. A business plan for 2028 has been established for a project that is more sporting than adventurous. » A financial director is already studying all possibilities.
And inevitably, the budget will be well above €3 million. Sporting fairness, safety of sailors: the Imoca gauge has defined numerous criteria which lead to multiple works on the oldest boats. “We will no longer be in the same amounts with a completely different team structure. Our home port will perhaps no longer be in La Rochelle”he asks himself.
Ideas flow, projects for two editions mingle. But the Rochelais refocuses his remarks on his priority: the departure on November 10. “The various stages of construction of the project have been completed. I show that we can achieve it, make people dream and keep the soul of the Vendée Globe, even with one of the smallest budgets. But the challenge remains significant, as for all the others, I am going on a world tour and facing the southern seas at the age of forty-four. The age to take stock of my life and reflect”philosopher Antoine Cornic, turning his gaze towards the facade of the village decorated with the winners of the race, just in front of his boat. “I fought to be at the start. Finishing the Vendée would already be winning. »
MATHIEU MARIN – IJ
