Ambassador for the Pointy Boats
Louis Bregeon / Class40
After many years racing in the Mini 6.50 class, Olivier Gamot (103 – Yala) stepped up to the Class40 fleet in 2022. Working full-time in IT, he sails for the sheer enjoyment of it: being alone at sea, racing offshore, and campaigning a classic pointy-bowed Class40. Meet Olivier.
"The DRHEAM-CUP is my main sporting goal of the year. I only do one race a year, and this is the one. I'm really happy to be back on the racecourse and I get so much enjoyment from sailing one of these pointy-bowed boats.
There are four pointy boats entered this year, and since we're all pretty similar in terms of speed, it should make for some great racing.
I've based my boat in Le Havre, while I live in the Paris region, so I spend a lot of time travelling back and forth to get her ready. Unfortunately, not enough to train as seriously as I'd like. But in the future, if I can put together a more structured campaign, I'd love to train regularly with the Le Havre group.
In Class40, things are much more professional, but all the other skippers are incredibly friendly. Since the arrival of the scows, the level of competition has gone up dramatically. There are fewer passionate amateur sailors like me these days, but there are still a few of us around!
Honestly, I just love the feeling these pointy boats give you. They're still relatively affordable too — I think you can still find a really good boat for around €100,000 — and they're an absolute joy to sail. In strong winds they're incredibly seaworthy: they're fast, they inspire confidence, they're solid, and they're a real pleasure to handle. Even in light airs they can really fly. Every time I go sailing, those are exactly the sensations I'm looking for — that feeling of power that you only really get on a Class40. They're an absolute blast!
My only slight concern ahead of the DRHEAM-CUP is the start, with 108 boats all around me. That's definitely a bit stressful! But as soon as I've got the spinnaker up, I'll be busy trimming it, and then everything will be just fine.
I have three goals for this race. The first was simply to make it to the start — and that's already ticked off, which is a great success. The second is to finish the race and be officially classified. And the third? To make sure I beat at least one of my competitors!"
