Skipper NameArnaud Boissières (003pts)

About the Skipper

Determined and professional, Arnaud Boissières, nicknamed Cali, has been a professional sailor for 15 years now. It was back in 1995 that he carried out his first delivery trips. The sailor from Arcachon did this for three years, while also sailing with Pascal Bidégorry in the Figaro circuit and took care of the support work for Yves Parlier’s Team Aquitaine. He would also work as assistant preparing Catherine Chabaud’s boat. From 1996 to 1998 he skippered boats in the French West Indies, while remaining in contact with Yves Parlier, for whom he did three delivery trips bringing home his 60-foot monohull. All of these experiences encouraged him even more to enter the world of ocean racing.

In 1999, Arnaud Boissières lined up at the start of the race he had been dreaming of - the Mini Transat. After his boat was dismasted, the skipper managed however to save his boat and complete the race. Disappointed, yet hooked on this now, he decided to set off on another Mini Transat with his friend Yannick Bestaven. They created an association and built two new boats. In 2001, Yannick Bestaven won the event, with Arnaud finishing third. He then moved to the Figaro circuit, before becoming skipper of Solune, Jean-Philippe Chomette’s monohull. After several seasons racing in England and after achieving a few records, he signed up for the Transat Jacques Vabre and the 2007 Calais Round Britain Race.

These first attempts enabled him to take the helm of his own project for the 2008-2009 Vendée Globe. On Akena Vérandas, he crossed the finishing line in les Sables d’Olonne in a fine seventh place. Since 2009, Arnaud Boissières has got his hands on another boat : the winner of the 2004-2005 Vendée Globe Vincent Riou’s former PRB. It will be on this boat that Arnaud Boissières will be taking part in the 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre and the 2012 Vendée Globe.

This sailor, who has had to overcome difficulties in his life is flying the colours of Christine Janin’s “À chacun son Everest” association, which helps children suffering from cancer to get back on their feet. This is something that particularly concerns the skipper, as when he was young, he suffered from leukaemia.