Yann’s sailing CV shows two passions that have driven Yann Eliès since he was a child: the sea and sailing. The 37-year old sailor hailing from Saint-Brieuc has good results in every discipline, with a special mention for the Solitaire du Figaro where he stands out…With his grandfather, father and uncle addicted to ocean racing, it would have been hard ftor the young Yann not to dive head first into the ocean lapping over his childhood.
It all began with sailing dinghies: from Saint-Malo to Quiberon, from Bénodet to Brest, he got the taste for competition from this school that taught discipline, commitment and perseverance. But sailing also became a trade for the young sailor who became apprenticed to sail-making at X-Voiles in La Baule. And moving on from sailing dinghies to the Figaro, where he carried off the Crédit Agricole Trophy in 1996, Yann Eliès began to make his mark.
The adrenalin of competition
Yann soon took up ocean racing and by 2001 he was starting to make a name on the circuit. His experience on board Cam Lewis’s maxi-catamaran in ‘The Race’ was a gateway for the open sea and let him discover the pleasures of ocean sailing. With Halvard Mabire and Lionel Lemonchois, he learnt the ins and outs of these maxi-multihulls associated with the adrenalin of competition. For Yann this ocean experience sparked off his return to the monotype circuit, to great success: two Jules Verne Trophy wins with Bruno Peyron, and a host of Figaro successes! Hardened by the diversity of these voyages, driven by the will to take everybody on, this all-round sailor, whether solo or with a crew, in monohulls or multihulls, set off in the 2008 Vendée Globe in his 60’ Generali… South of Cape Leeuwin, an accident: with a broken thigh bone, Yann sent out an SOS. Marc Guillemot, the competitor closest to him changed course to help him while the Australian rescuers made their way towards them.
After just six months’ rehab, Yann Eliès was back in competition with a vengeance: he grabbed second place in the 2009 Solitaire du Figaro then set off in the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V. As Marc Guillemot’s teammate in the next Transat Jacques Vabre, "Yannou" will be back to his first love, the monohull …
Some of Yann Eliès’s achievements
2010
17th in the Solitaire du Figaro
19th in the Transat AG2R with Jérémie Beyou
2009
Quarter Master on the Banque Populaire for the Jules Verne Trophy
2nd in the Solitaire du Figaro
Vendée Globe 2008-2009: abandoned on 38th day on account of a fractured thigh bone.
2008
3rd in the Artemis Transat
2007
9th in the Transat Jacques Vabre with Sébastien Audigane
5th in the Calais Round Britain Race
2006
French Champion in the Course au Large
5th in the Solitaire du Figaro
2005
5th in the Solitaire du Figaro
Winner of the Jules Verne Trophy with Bruno Peyron on Orange 2, crewed Round the World in 50 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes.
2004
2nd in the Solitaire du Figaro (winner of stages 1 and 4)
2003
9th in the BPE Trophy with Bruno Jourden
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13th in the Solitaire du Figaro (winner of stage 1)
2002
Winner of the Jules Verne Trophy with Bruno Peyron on Orange I (64 days)
10th in the Solitaire du Figaro (winner of stage 4)
2001
Winner of the Generali Solo
3rf in The Race on the maxi-catamaran Team Adventure with Cam Lewis
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