Having progressed through the Mini, Class40 and Figaro Beneteau classes, Robin Marais is taking the next step this year by launching his IMOCA campaign aboard a daggerboard-equipped boat, the former Coup de Pouce sailed by Manu Cousin. With the Route du Rhum–Destination Guadeloupe later this year and the 2028 Vendée Globe firmly in his sights, Sailorz takes a closer look.
While several established IMOCA skippers – including Thomas Ruyant, Romain Attanasio and Maxime Sorel – are still searching for partners to secure their place on the next Vendée Globe start line, the 60-foot monohull circuit is welcoming several new faces this season. Most of them will line up for the Route du Rhum–Destination Guadeloupe on 1 November, sailing daggerboard boats.
Among them are Japan’s Masa Suzuki, aboard Louis Duc’s former IMOCA, Pierre-Louis Attwell, who has purchased the former Lazare (see our interview), and Robin Marais, who has acquired Manu Cousin’s former Coup de Pouce. Born in Lyon, Marais is far from a newcomer to offshore racing, having built his experience in the Mini class (Mini Transat 2013), Class40 (Route du Rhum 2018) and then across five Figaro seasons, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in the 2023 Solitaire du Figaro.
Why make the move into IMOCA now? “First of all because I’ve been thinking about it for a very long time. Everything I’ve done over the past few years has been geared towards one goal: racing the Vendée Globe one day. It’s a race I’ve dreamed about since I was a child – I had a poster of Christophe Auguin above my bed,” says the sailor, who turns 40 on 30 September. Turning that dream into reality requires climbing several steps, something the La Rochelle-based skipper has tackled patiently.
A defining experience
working alongside Phil Sharp
He first established his sporting credibility, notably through the Figaro circuit, before building extensive technical expertise across numerous projects. “When I followed the Vendée Globe, I always felt closer to sailor-engineer profiles such as ‘The Professor’ (Michel Desjoyeaux) or Jean Le Cam. They’ve always been a huge source of inspiration,” explains Robin Marais.
Most notably, he worked alongside British skipper Phil Sharp, who launched OceansLab Innovations in November 2023, a Manuard-designed foiling IMOCA powered by an innovative hydrogen-electric energy system. The project ultimately failed to qualify in time for the 2024 Vendée Globe. “That project was an incredible life experience over six to eight months, allowing me to work closely with these machines. Because Phil was busy with other aspects of the programme, he wasn’t around very much on site, so I ended up taking on significant technical responsibility.”
That experience convinced him to launch his own IMOCA campaign in 2025, focusing from the outset on a daggerboard boat rather than a foiler. “My priority is simply to be on the start line in 2028. Looking at it pragmatically, a daggerboard boat made much more sense in several respects: financially, of course, but also from a sporting perspective, with what should be a much quicker learning curve.”
The next challenge was finding the right IMOCA and securing the funding to buy it. “We came very close to purchasing Tanguy Le Turquais’ former boat (Lazare) during the summer of 2025, but it ultimately didn’t happen,” Marais explains. “At the end of last winter, I realised we absolutely had to launch the project this year if we wanted to be on the next Vendée Globe start line. For me, competing in the Route du Rhum was essential, both from a sporting perspective and as a way of bringing partners into the project.”
“The challenge is still far from won”
Following a recommendation from a friend, he eventually contacted Manu Cousin this spring. Having recently acquired Arnaud Boissières’ former foiling IMOCA, Cousin was looking to sell his previous boat, Coup de Pouce, a Farr design launched in 2006 for Jean-Pierre Dick. “This boat wasn’t originally on my shortlist. Manu invited me to Les Sables to inspect the boat and, together with my technical director (naval architect Antoine Mainfray), we immediately fell in love with her. Our number one criterion was finding a platform that was structurally sound, and this one looked impeccable. The asking price also seemed fair [he prefers not to disclose it, Ed.], so the deal was completed very soon after that first visit, financed by a long-standing investor who has supported me for the past ten years. Without him, this project simply wouldn’t have been possible.”
The purchase will become final once the sea trials are completed at the end of next week. The boat will arrive in La Rochelle on 12 July and has been renamed Respire. “Having suffered from asthma as a child, I wanted the name to highlight the importance of protecting air quality,” explains Marais, whose previous campaign supported the charity Ma chance moi aussi, which helps provide vulnerable young people with equal opportunities. “We also hope to bring two additional charities on board to work on both air quality and the marine environment.”
And what about the budget? “Our target for this year was €500,000. I won’t say exactly where we stand today, but our minimum operating threshold was €300,000, currently funded by a group of long-standing partners. Because we’ve acquired a boat that’s already in excellent condition, we can operate on a relatively modest budget this season. That won’t be the case in years two and three, when we’ll need greater technical resources and new sails, so the plan is to grow progressively. We’re targeting €750,000 in 2027 and close to €1 million for the Vendée Globe year. The challenge is still far from won.”
For now, Marais’ immediate objective is to complete his Route du Rhum qualification before 1 September, potentially race the Défi Azimut – “From a sporting perspective, starting at least one race before the Route du Rhum would be fantastic, although it’s not the project’s absolute priority” – before heading to Saint-Malo “to meet plenty of people and bring new partners into the Vendée Globe adventure.”
Photo : Bernard Gergaud
