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“We're having trouble recovering. It's the same for everyone, but it's going to take time.” Less than 48 hours after crossing the finish line in 16th and penultimate position, Tiphaine Rideau makes no secret of her exhaustion. Nor does her team-mate, Pier Paolo Dean. We took a lot,” he says. It was tough. But it was an incredible race!” On Banques Alimentaires, the two youngest skippers (Tiphaine is 19 and Pier Paolo is 20!) experienced a most eventful offshore race. Like many crews, but with less experience. “Arriving nine hours after the frontrunners, after everything we've been through, is satisfying and a great achievement,” assures Tiphaine.
Until now, the two young sailors had never spent more than four days at sea. Among the world's best in lightweight sailing, they decided to embark on the great adventure of the Transat Paprec. “We prepared for something we didn't really know,” explains Pier Paolo. We'd been warned that, because of our age, we'd have a bit of trouble with the sleep phases, but also with the sun,” recalls Tiphaine. We also realized that we'd made some bad choices. Pier Paolo confirms: “We mismanaged our sleep and our equipment. We broke a spinnaker, a halyard... But we only set out with one objective in mind: to make it to the finish. It may not sound very motivating like that, but what we experienced was so powerful, with situations we couldn't have predicted. Above all, our strength is that we've managed to solve all our problems!” Tiphaine enthuses: “We climbed the mast on the open sea for the first time! The others also had some breakages. But we managed to get through it. Even if it was sometimes very hard mentally and physically.” Especially with the sargasso. On arrival, every five minutes we had to go to the front to remove them,” Tiphaine complains. Going down the length of Africa, there were already some. But the further we went, the worse it got. For me, it was physically difficult. For Pier Paolo, it was mentally difficult. He was losing it! And the young skipper agrees: “It was a constant battle.”
Despite the hardships, both young skippers came out of their crossing stronger than ever. I learned a lot about the technical aspects,” says Tiphaine. Twenty days like that are very enriching for the future. In fact, it makes you want to go back! But this time it's for performance, to win. Like the woman she admires so much, Charlotte Yven. “She's my role model,” says Tiphaine. All she has to do now is follow in the footsteps of the two-time Transat Paprec title-holder.
