Yannick BESTAVEN

Yannick was born in Saint Nazaire, then spent his childhood in Arcachon. He is initiated to sailing from a very young age. Hardly finished his engineering studies, Yannick is interested in competition and more particularly in ocean racing. It was during a decisive meeting with the sailor Yves Parlier in 2000, that Yannick launched himself into transoceanic competition by entering the 2001 mini-transat (6.50m monohull) which he won without leaving any chance to the other competitors.

In 2007, Yannick launched, as a precursor and out of personal conviction, the project to sail around the world in a race using only renewable energies (sun, wind, water....) to produce the electricity necessary for the boat's proper operation.

In 2008, Yannick took the start of the Vendée Globe on the former Aquitaine Innovations belonging to Yves Parlier. Keen to reduce the weight of his boat to improve performance, he had the idea of substituting the 300 litres of fuel on the boat for a device to produce electricity aboard. He installed a reliable, light and eco-friendly hydrogenerator.

In 2009, Yannick created the Sarl (LLC) WATT & SEA, which designs, develops, manufactures and distributes hydrogenerators.

In 2010, the hydrogenerators graced several international boat shows: Grand Pavois in La Rochelle (France), METS in Amsterdam (Holland), Nautic de Paris (France). They proved to be a big hit.

A pledge of solidarity with the ECHO-MER association

Beyond an annual donation, Yannick is a standard-bearer for the ECHO-MER association, which works to limit the impact of pollution caused by Man. Echo-Mer is involved in a host of environmental projects, always with a connection to the marine environment and sustainability development. Yannick cannot imagine setting sail alone without sharing his experience and passing on his passion to those who need it. Between 2013 and 2015, he supported the ROTARY cause to fund vaccines aimed at ridding the world of polio. During the Transat Jacques Vabre 2015, with the support of Conservateur, over 175,000 children were vaccinated worldwide.