It may seem odd at this point to point out the similarity between the experience of the solo skippers when out at sea and what those in lockdown alone are feeling today, but we can learn a lot from the solo sailors who have experienced long months alone at sea.

Yards have been closed down, the Transatlantic race is postponed, launches and training sessions put back to a later date… Just like everyone else, the French Vendée Globe skippers are in lockdown and in a thick fog with limited visibility, while they wait for the situation to brighten.

Exactly thirty years ago, Titouan Lamazou was the first to cross the finishing line at the end of the first edition of the Vendée Globe Challenge. A feat that would go down in history and represented a certain way of doing things.

Like most of the other Vendée Globe skippers Erik Nigon is in full preparation mode making ready for the two upcoming Transatlantic races, The Transat CIC and the New York Vendée - Les Sables d'Olonne. But there is one small difference: Clément Giraud and his team are currently in charge of the project.