Four years after his first appearance, Nicolas Rouger will be back on the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe this November, having been awarded a wildcard by the organisers. The 46-year-old sailor from Marseille, whose previous boat fell from its cradle in August 2023 and who is still awaiting the outcome of the legal case against the boatyard where it was stored, explains to Sailorz how he intends to relaunch his Vendée Globe campaign.
First of all, can you tell us how the idea of doing the Vendée Globe first came about?
Ever since I was a kid, the Vendée Globe has been my dream. I remember Bertrand de Broc stitching up his own tongue, I followed all of Michel Desjoyeaux’s adventures, I thought those guys had incredible nerve. Sailing solo around the world seemed completely unattainable to me. Later, I failed my high school exams rather spectacularly, averaging just 2.7 out of 20, and suddenly I had no idea what to do. By chance, I ended up delivering a boat from Marseille to Djibouti. That was my first experience of offshore sailing, and I absolutely loved it. When I returned to Marseille, I worked for a while in boatyards, started doing deliveries, and eventually built a Mini campaign that led me to race the 2007 Mini Transat. Afterwards, I realised I couldn’t make a living from offshore racing, so I moved on to other things [he ran a bar, organised mountain adventures, etc.], but I always kept that Vendée Globe dream somewhere in the back of my mind.
How did that dream eventually become a real project?
During Covid, I came up with the rather unusual idea of having an artist paint my mainsail to help finance my Vendée Globe campaign. Through a mutual friend, I met Hervé Di Rosa in a bar in Sète. He said to me: “So you’re the crazy guy who wants to sail with one of my paintings? You know what? I’m not particularly into sailing, but I love crazy people, so I’ll support you.” The whole conversation lasted about 30 seconds, and he’s never left my side since. The same thing happened with IAM. One day I presented my project to their manager, Akhenaton’s wife, and said: “Aïcha, I’d love to have your name on my boat because I believe diversity makes us stronger, while division makes us weaker.” A few seconds later she replied: “OK, we’ll be with you.” That’s how the project started, with an original funding model: Hervé painted 300 small characters on my mainsail, creating one-square-metre artworks that partners could acquire for €20,000 each.
Did it work?
Yes. I bought Miranda Merron’s boat (the former Campagne de France, a 2006 Owen Clarke design) in April 2022, and by the time I started the Route du Rhum that November, I had sold 50 of those artworks.
What do you remember from that first Route du Rhum, where you finished 34th and last across the line?
An incredible memory. I was living a waking dream. That’s why what happened afterwards was even harder to take, because that dream collapsed as quickly as it had arrived. Everything came to an end on 5 August 2023 with a single phone call.
“My dream took everything from me”
What were the consequences of losing your boat, which meant you could no longer continue the project?
I’d taken out a bank loan to buy the boat, with a personal guarantee. When the project suddenly came to a halt, I was no longer able to repay the loan. I’d built up a small property portfolio for my retirement and for my daughter, but I had to sell everything, assets were seized, it was catastrophic. I spent three years crossing the desert. My dream took everything from me. When you lose everything at 42, it’s incredibly brutal. Not just for you, but above all for your children. You don’t want them to face an uncertain future. Beyond that, I don’t believe I’m responsible for what happened, and I still trust the justice system.
Where does the legal case stand today?
The proceedings are ongoing. We’re waiting for the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal’s decision at the end of September [he lost the initial case before the commercial court, Ed.].
Have you managed to get back on your feet?
Not yet, but I will. As you know, I received a wildcard for the Route du Rhum, which is something I never dared hope for, because it gives me the opportunity to relaunch the whole project. Partners have already called me to say: “Nicolas, congratulations on your resilience. We’re going to support you financially.” Until now, it was impossible to approach sponsors with a boat lying in pieces on the ground.
“When life gives you a gift , it’s wonderful”
What boat will you be racing in the Route du Rhum?
When my boat fell, I immediately called Michel Desjoyeaux to ask whether he thought it could be repaired, because I knew he had the expertise. Since then, he’s been incredibly supportive and has given me a huge amount of advice. He even sent a team to inspect the boat and told me: “Nicolas, the boat now requires major structural work. It would be difficult to ask partners to support the project without being able to guarantee that it will be fully ready for the Route du Rhum.” He advised me instead to buy an identical boat, for roughly the same budget as the repair costs (around €600,000). That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. As we speak, I’m travelling between Concarneau and Port-la-Forêt to see whether there are still daggerboard IMOCAs available that would allow me to race the Route du Rhum and continue through to the next Vendée Globe. I hope to complete the purchase within the next two weeks.
Are you now 100% certain you’ll be on the start line?
Yes, absolutely. But even when my boat fell, I never doubted that I would get back up again. I believe that when you have a goal—in my case, the Vendée Globe—there are 50,000 different paths to reach it. That’s the message I want this project to convey: when you have a dream, it’s up to you to make it happen. Today, thanks to this wildcard, I can once again tell potential partners that I have 150 one-square-metre sections of my painted mainsail [another painted and signed cotton sail by Hervé Di Rosa is stored at the Paul-Valéry Museum in Sète to guarantee the investment, Ed.] available to support the campaign. What I like about this model is that everyone who joins the adventure keeps something tangible forever.
How much money do you need to get to the Route du Rhum start line?
That will depend on the purchase price of the boat, but after that, I need another €300,000. One thing is certain: this wildcard is an opportunity I simply cannot let slip away. When life knocks you down, it’s incredibly painful, but in the same way, when life gives you a gift, it’s wonderful. With the trust shown by the artists and all the people supporting me, I have no choice but to see this through.
Photo : Demain C’est Loin
