ANTHONY MARCHAND: DECEPTIVE NONCHALANCE
The story of "Antho", as he is known on the pontoons, began at the Plérin sailing centre (22), where he is still a member. The youngster showed talent from the Optimist level onwards, performing well in the Laser Radial, before landing a place in the 470 at the Pôle France in Brest. From his years as a light sailor, he has retained a universally recognised sensitivity at the helm and the ability to adapt to a wide range of craft: "He's a gifted person. You can put him on a skateboard, a kite or skis, and he'll get the hang of it in 30 minutes," says Paul Meilhat, one of his closest friends, who was delighted to have him on board for The Ocean Race last year.
© AK Jouan
Attracted to the open sea at a very young age, Anthony gave up top-level sailing and the promise of Olympic sailing to embark on trimarans. Preparer and then crew member for Yvan Bourgnon on Brossard, Antoine Koch on SOPRA and Thomas Coville on Sodebo, he tasted the exhilaration of speed on the ORMA trimarans at the age of 20, the kind of initiatory adventure that remains engraved in the back of your mind forever. It was also the heyday of selection formulas for the Figaro circuit. After a diversion via the Mini, Anthony applied and became skipper of Bretagne - Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne, taking over from a certain François Gabart. The Figaro was to occupy him for ten years of his life, an apprenticeship in rigour and exacting standards, as well as a long quest for laurels. On three occasions, he climbed onto the podium and won stages, but failed to win the trophy. As with other young people trained at the tough school, opportunities to sail on big boats then presented themselves.
Back to multihulls with Actual
In 2015, he took a break from the Figaro and became helmsman on Mapfre, as part of a highly international crew in the Volvo Ocean Race, which finished in fourth place. A diversion into the IMOCA class for the Route du Café 2017 alongside Giancarlo Pedote, then came the meeting with Yves Le Blevec in 2021, whose loyal partner Actual has just bought the former Macif trimaran: "We used to bump into each other on the pontoons, but it was during a Trophée Mer et Montagne that I really got to know Antho. As we chatted, I found his analysis of our profession interesting. He has a kind of humility which I liked. On the new Actual Ultim 3, Anthony Marchand brings his sensitivity and his analysis of performance to the table, offering more than he imposes, and is quickly making his mark. After the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, when Yves Le Blévec announced to his sponsor that he wanted to hand over the helm, his name naturally came up. "He ticked all the boxes. He's hyper-involved in all the technical aspects of the project and the life of the team. There's no activity he doesn't think is for him. Antho doesn't have that 'professional sailor' look about him, in shorts and dark glasses, who gets a boat ready and takes the keys," says Le Trinitain.
© Thierry Martinez
Hard-working but affable, Anthony Marchand exudes a relaxed attitude, far removed from the machine image of some. "He's a thoughtful person with a good sense of humour. You can't help but get on well with Antho. People talk to him easily, he knows everything" says Alexis Loison, with whom he sailed for years on the Figaro circuit.
But at 38 years of age, does the likeable Antho have the muscle to sail a machine at an average of 25 knots single-handed around the three capes for 40 to 50 days? "Ashore, he complains all the time and is scared of spiders, but in the Deep South, he can go and fix something at 5 degrees, astride the bowsprit, with his head upside down!" says Paul Meilhat, who adds that he has "never seen a hint of anxiety in his eye". This is confirmed by Thierry Chabagny, his co-skipper on the Route du café. "Antho is sensitive and endearing, but above all he's wired differently. He's one of those people who can take the stress of high speed over the long term, and there aren't many of them..."
