Kevin Pepponet (Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France; 33 years old), pilot of the Orient Express, greets his uncle Thierry, 64 years old, before boarding the AC75 on the second day of the Round Robin of the America’s Cup in Barcelona. It’s Friday, the sun is shining and the 60 or so fans and family members who have come to the base bid farewell to the team with a corridor where the sailors pass at the rhythm of the We will Rock You of Queen in a show an improvised event that looks more like the Superbowl than a sailing competition. Kévin smiles as he walks through the crowd, waves and smiles even more when he catches his uncle’s eye along the way. He owes all the secrets of a century-old competition that has accompanied much of the family’s life to him. Thierry, who competed against King Felipe VI in the qualifying campaigns for the 1992 Olympic Games and shared the helm with King Juan Carlos in the Rascalwho has participated in three editions (the last one in Valencia, in 2007). Kévin is making his debut with the aspiration of turning the ugly duckling of the competition into a high-flying swan.
The positive energy of the boat’s farewell can be explained by one reason: winning. After a rather worrying participation in the preliminary races held between 22 and 25 August, where they only managed one victory out of five races and because their rival suffered an electronic failure when they were leading, the Orient Express made its debut on Thursday with a victory in the Round Robin, the qualifying phase currently being held in Barcelona until 9 November in which the last-placed boat is eliminated. The team was so liberated that when the French AC75 crossed the finish line ahead of Alinghi Red Bull Racing (Switzerland), the shouts of joy from the crew of its support boat could be heard from all the boats watching the competition from more than 100 metres away. “This victory is pure hope. The goal is to reach the semi-finals,” shared Kévin from his base before boarding the boat. Experts point to the French, Swiss and British (Ineos Britannia) as the squads that will fight to avoid elimination, so the point has more value because it came against a direct rival.
Until recently, the Orient Express was a team without a boat. After a few years away from the America’s Cup, it was the last team to sign up for the Catalan edition, two years ago, and it did so without the support of the large fortunes that usually accompany the squadrons. “We only have the money from sponsors (the main one being Accor, a hotel giant). Our budget represents approximately a third of the rest of the teams (which have spent between 150 and 200 million),” says Stephan Kandler, executive director of the project. “We are the most successful team in the world, and we have a very good budget, and we have a very good budget.” outsiders”, he classifies himself.
With no room to build their own AC75, Orient Express bought a reproduction of their boat, considered one of the fastest, from Team New Zealand. The problem is that they were not able to use it until 6 June and that its configuration is adapted to the strengths of New Zealand sailors. “We know that we have less experience than the rest,” admits Pepponet. “We lack experience in the starts (the most important phase of the race because it is very difficult to overtake) and in competing in the Match Race format (one on one), but we are growing. In the end, piloting an AC75 is like piloting a plane: you need hours,” he compares.
The best thing about the first few days is that the French team has performed in adverse conditions, with very little wind, to which they are not accustomed. “We are better prepared with a strong wind than a weak one. We have trained a little at less than 10 knots (the races are allowed with a wind of between 6.5 and 21 knots), when flying is more difficult,” explains Pepponet. Without wind power, the boat’s manoeuvres to find the most suitable direction are multiplied, as is the risk of human error causing it to lose flight. This happened this Saturday in the race against the American Magic, which ended in defeat. Once the base of the AC75 touches the water, recovering speed is very difficult and often requires time that cannot be recovered in races that last about 25 minutes. “Every day of competition we will go further because our learning curve is greater,” warns the pilot, who speaks a more than remarkable Spanish because he spent the summers at his grandmother’s house in Seville. “She didn’t know French and she spoke to me in Spanish. I learned it there.”
It was in front of the television in Seville that he watched his uncle’s last participation in the America’s Cup aboard Areva Challenge, the French squadron that participated in the Valencia edition in 2007 and was the seed of the current project, now with Kandler in charge of the team. “I remember that it was very hot and that watching them compete helped me get through the summer. It was nice.” In a sport where family heritage has a greater weight than in other disciplines, the Pepponet surname once again aspires to revolutionise the competition. “My uncle has helped me a lot,” Kévin thanks. “His experiences and those of my father (470 world runner-up in 1982) have made things easier for me. Thierry already warned me that the intensity in the America’s Cup is very high, that there is little sleep and that it will not be easy, but that the performance of these boats is crazy,” he adds.
His uncle, dark-skinned and worn, wearing sunglasses and a cap, keeps his hands tapping to the beat of Queen’s notes. The sailors pass one by one through the aisle of people. Kevin arrives, half-hugs him, and takes over from him in the America’s Cup. “Good luck!” May the ugly duckling become a swan.
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