Armel Tripon competing in the Rhum without a sponsor

 

Armel Tripon, the skipper from Nantes, will be the only rookie in the IMOCA class in the Route du Rhum finding himself up against the Vendée Globe stars. Over the past few months, the skipper of "For Humble Heroes" has been getting to know his boat and getting used to how she feels. It’s all new for him in this series, which makes his observations all the more refreshing. Armel will be setting sail in the Route du Rhum without a sponsor on his sails, but is hoping to attract the attention of a major partner, as he looks forward to the Vendée Globe. 

 

Avoiding mixing up his goals
Aboard For Humble Heroes (a VPLP-Verdier designed boat from the first generation, Kito de Pavant’s former Groupe Bel), the skipper from Nantes will of course not be seen as the favourite. “I’m not getting the goals mixed up,” confirmed Armel Tripon. “François Gabart and Vincent Riou are in it to win it. My ambition is to complete the race and honour those who support me.” So his aim is to finish the legendary Route du Rhum, but also have a great story to tell as he tries to win over a major partner with the Vendée Globe coming up...

In terms of the race, we should not run away with the idea that Armel Tripon has somehow found himself by chance in the tenth Route du Rhum. Fans of ocean racing will remember his win in the 2003 Mini Transat. In that year, Armel won all the major races of the season aboard a boat that was just a third the size of For Humble Heroes (a mini measures 6.50 m in length, while an IMOCA measures more than 18 m). After that, he battled it out for several years in the demanding Figaro circuit (transatlantic races and the Solitaire du Figaro), before doing particularly well on his Class40 over the past few years, in particular alongside Fabrice Amedeo and then Sébastien Rogues, with whom he won the Les Sables-Horta race last year. In other words, he is far from being a rookie in the world of ocean racing, although he is exactly that in the IMOCA circuit.
Looking for a sponsor for the Vendée Globe
Armel Tripon’s IMOCA monohull will be the only boat lining up for the Route du Rhum in St. Malo without any names on her sails. A way for Armel to attract the attention of one or more sponsors, a major company or brand, which wants to join him, give their name to the boat and benefit from the huge media coverage offered by getting involved in the Vendée Globe. So if anyone is interested...

(www.vendeeglobe.org)