Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière (FOR PEOPLE), first back to Brest

After crossing the finish line in the Guyader Bermudes 1000 Race Brest-Brest this Thursday evening at 20:15 02' local time, Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière (FOR PEOPLE) take victory (awaiting official confirmation) in the 2023 edition of the event. Their race time is 4 days 06 hours 15 minutes and 02 seconds.

Thomas Ruyant: “What a treat that was!”

After just six sessions out on the water, FOR PEOPLE has won her first race. A performance of exceptional rarity, she jostled for supremacy with Charal 2 (Jérémie Beyou and Franck Cammas) from beginning to end. On their arrival dockside, Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière referred to her as a boat of ‘noble birth’, their bond even closer, hopeful that their prospects will continue onwards and upwards for the rest of the season.

The first race aboard FOR PEOPLE and the first victory… How do you feel at the finish?

Thomas: “It’s not something we expected when we came to Brest! Morgan and I only began to discover the boats a few days ago. We knew we might have a good boat and ultimately, once we began racing, that proved to be the case. I think we made the best of our skills and we just got on great together, as we did in the Transat Jacques Vabre two years ago. It was a real treat to sail with him aboard this new boat. Slugging it out with Charal 2 was crazy! We loved seeing Sam (Goodchild) and Antoine (Koch) sailing well too. I’m looking forward to welcoming them in dockside!”

How would you describe the sensations you feel aboard this new boat?

Thomas: “She’s a great boat! We don’t know all her secrets, but we’re going to discover them. We know she’s a boat of noble birth, which works well and doesn’t have too many flaws. She’s demanding to sail double-handed so it’s hard to imagine how she’ll behave in solo format, but we’ll take things one step at a time. It’s a double-handed season and we’re starting off the year with a bang. I hope there will be other successes! It’s a lot of fun!”

This was the perfect race to discover the boat then?

Thomas: “We had a bit of everything on this course. It’s great. We had breezy conditions, light airs, long stretches of reaching at over 30 knots, downwind, upwind… We really had it all!”

Did the duel with Charal 2 add to intensity of this race?

Thomas: “It’s fair to say that we were in contact with one another a great deal. It gave us a reference, enabled us to get our bearings and get a feel for the boat. It’s a journey of discovery of our machine: having two references like Jérémie and Franck alongside us was the perfect way to get things rolling. We held out and so did they, which makes our victory all the finer!”

Were there any issues with the boat?

Morgan: “This is only her sixth time on the water, so yes, there were some. Each time we managed to deal with them relatively quickly, so it didn’t show on the cartography. The team has done an incredible job. To be in a position to win a race after six sessions on the water, against such stiff opposition, is not something that I believe anyone’s been able to do before. I think everyone in the team can be proud of a job well done. It’s a delight to share these moments with Thomas. We’ve got an even stronger bond now and we’re more capable of putting that into words now!”

Thomas: “We’ve raised our game too. The first time we raced together was two years ago. Today, we’re bringing our knowledge of solo sailing to the table and we’re joining forces again with more experience to share with one another. I believe that’ll be our strength for the rest of the season and the future. We’ve really come together nicely on the boat, but a year and half of work has gone into imagining her and designing her. It’s also a victory for an entire group!”