Thierry Duprey du Vorsent
To be Parisian doesn't stop you from being a sailor! Examples of this are numerous, especially when the skipper is an accomplished sportsman. Thierry Duprey du Vorsent is just such a character and is someone who has racked up the hours of physical preparation, days of competition and months of motivation. The proof… after having sailed on a Rolls Royce of the seas, the 60' trimaran Gitana 12 during the Route du Rhum 2006, the skipper, keen to learn, didn't think twice about returning to the roots of sailing and registering in this year's ambitious Figaro programme! A compléter par Tiphaine avec les événements de la saison 2007
Nautical track record
- Grand Prix de Fécamp 2003: 4th with Marc Guillemot on La Trinitaine
- Grand Prix de Fécamp 2002: 4th with Marc Guillemot on La Trinitaine
- Grand Prix de Belgique (Belgium) 2002: 4th with Alain Gautier on Foncia
- Grand Prix de Lorient 2002: 3rd with Marc Guillemot on La Trinitaine
- Double-handed transatlantic 2002 on the ex-Uunet
- Transat Jacques Vabre 2001 with François Denis on Gitana IX
- Challenge Mondial Assistance 2001 on Gitana IX
- Quebec – Saint-Malo 2000 on Gitana IX
With his slender frame, middle and long-distance running was the obvious choice of sport. However, the stadium horizon was too restricted for someone who loved nature so Thierry put his studies in Paris to one side and, after his A' levels, headed off to settle in Annecy. Thierry took on a series of small jobs prior to putting in his first tacks on the local lake. The desire to get to know this constantly moving environment better, on boats enabling him to go beyond the horizon, came to him in a flash of inspiration…
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent then settled in Cancale, on France's northern coast, to get some intensive sailing practice under his belt. In the process he took all his sailing instructor qualifications and taught at the Cancale sailing school for three years. Here, just a stone's throw away from Saint-Malo, the pirate city which plays host to the famous Route du Rhum every four years, the sailor racked up the miles and the time on the water, alternating between teaching and intensive practice. After numerous delivery trips to the West Indies, he embarked as crew to François-René Carluer aboard the ex-Elf Aquitaine-III in 1998. He really relished the voyage and crucially it provided him with the opportunity to become the boat-captain when he crossed paths with Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, who was looking for a sailor for this trimaran which had recently been acquired and rechristened Gitana IX.
At the helm of this boat, Thierry was to participate in the Quebec-Saint-Malo in 2000 as well as the Challenge Mondial Assistance and Transat Jacques Vabre in 2001. He went on to sail with Marc Guillemot and integrated the Gitana Team alongside him in 2004, as boat-captain and crew on Gitana X. The following season, he took the reins of the trimaran, which from then on was dedicated to training up young talent. He had a very fine season and came fourth in the Transat Jacques Vabre 2005 with Erwan Le Roux.
In 2006, Thierry Duprey du Vorsent took charge of the new Gitana 12 and successfully saw through his project: to get a young crew sailing, make progress with every race he sailed and participate in the Route du Rhum 2006. It was an opportunity for him to discover solo sailing… on his arrival in Guadeloupe after a little over 12 days' racing, Thierry had just one idea in his head, to really hone his skills in this discipline, which he is all too aware he has integrated straight in from the top.
A compléter par Tiphaine avec les événements de la saison 2007