Launch of the Class40 Seafrigo Sogestran
July 20th, 2023
Launch of the Class40 Seafrigo-Sogestran on 20 June 2023 in La Trinité-sur-mer
On 20 July, Class40 Seafrigo-Sogestran was launched in La Trinité-sur-Mer. It was an emotional moment that brought together skippers, their technical team, their families and partners. Cédric Chateau et Guillaume Pirouelle will be lining up at the start of the next Transat Jacques Vabre in Le Havre on 29 October.
A second-generation scow...
This is a new step for the Seafrigo Sogestran crew: the ownership of their first racing boat, a Mach 40.5, with the Le Havre skipper duo Cédric Chateau and Guillaume Pirouelle at the helm. This scow will join the fleet of new boats at the start of the 15th Transat Jacques Vabre.
"We’re launching a beautiful boat that we hope will perform well. There are a lot of emotions and a lot of pride because it represents an investment on the part of a lot of people, all the partners but also the whole technical team" (Seafrigo and Sogestran groups).
Built by the JPS Production yard and designed by the architect and racer Sam Manuard, the Class40 Seafrigo Sogestran offers greater power and comfort thanks to its revised hull lines, which reduce the waterline area and improve the boat’s behaviour in heavy seas. It also offers a more protected cockpit, with very high freeboards at the stern so skippers are less exposed.
"This monohull is designed to match our ambitions; it is the very reflection of our collaboration, a project with a human dimension and reliable, solid values" (Cédric Chateau and Guillaume Pirouelle).
...For a 100% Le Havre duo
Cédric Chateau, director of the Normandy Elite Team and 3rd on the podium in the last Transat Jacques Vabre, will be racing alongside Guillaume Pirouelle, engineer and rising star in the world of sailing.
It won’t be the first time the duo have sailed together. Guillaume’s former trainer, Cédric recalls: "During training sessions, it wasn’t necessarily his performances that surprised us, but the rigour he put into them. Guillaume wanted to learn and understand everything. Very quickly, we knew we had a champion in our sights, and that’s never been denied.
The results are there to prove it. Young world champion in the 470 in 2015, winner of the Tour de France à la Voile in 2019, the shy skipper was also second overall in his first Solitaire du Figaro, a legendary event reputed to be the hardest to win.
"I’m delighted to be sharing my first transatlantic race alongside Cédric. Passionate about sailing, he also attaches a great deal of importance to training and passing on his knowledge to the younger generation. His experience in several transatlantic races, coupled with his latest solo adventure in the Route du Rhum, are real advantages" (Guillaume Pirouelle).
The duo will set off from Le Havre on 29 October, bound for Martinique.
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A reminder
For 10 years, the Sogestran Group has supported the Normandy Elite Team, a team that brings together and supports the best sailors in Normandy.
For the past 2 years, alongside Seafrigo and CIM, the Group has been supporting Cédric Château, the sporting director of the Normandy Elite Team and an experienced sailor, in an even more ambitious project, the Normandy Offshore Program, a talent incubator to help one or more of the team’s young athletes progress to the top level and ocean racing.
On Thursday 20 July, the Class40 Seafrigo-Sogestran on which Cédric Château and Guillaume Pirouelle will be racing in the forthcoming Transat Jacque Vabre was launched.
Find out more about Sogestran’s commitment
Guillaume Pirouelle and Cédric Château aboard the Class40 Seafrigo-Sogestran just after the launch.