Sailing: “May the Med Max continue and become a classic of ocean racing”, hopes Guillaume Rottée, the race director

Guillaume Rottée a déjà dirigé de grandes courses comme la Route du Rhum, the Transat ou l’Arkea Ultim Challenge. Med Max

Coordinateur du pôle France et directeur du Centre d’entraînement méditerranéen à La Grande-Motte, le Nancéien de naissance est aussi directeur de course. C’est lui qui est aux commandes depuis le départ de Port Camargue.

It seems that with Kito de Pavant, they were made to work together. In the early 2000s, they were at the root of the creation of the Mediterranean Training Center in La Grande-Motte, which was at the time dedicated to ocean racing. “I remember that from time to time, he asked me to go and put buoys to go and turn and train, but he really did it all by himself”, recalls Guillaume Rottée, impressed by the skipper of Port-Camargue

Who would accompany him more than twenty years later for another experience in ocean racing, as race director. An additional function, one more cap for someone who was born in Nancy and who you wouldn't imagine on the edge of the pontoons.“My father did a lot of boating. But I've been in the South for a while now. I started by studying biology, but I wanted to work in the marine environment, not necessarily sailing. The bug was already there early on. At first, I wanted to be an oceanologist, but at the time, it was still quite complicated in terms of curriculum and studies. So I quickly stopped because there was no real identified sector, I had to do jobs here and there with little promise of employment in the end."

State patents in maintenance and sailmaking

He got his first job at the Yacht Club de La Grande-Motte after having passed several state certificates in the sailing world, including boat maintenance and sailmaking… A broad knowledge that he developed in 2007 when the federation created the position of race director, which did not exist before.
“The organizers were a bit like judge and jury. That is to say, they also had interests, especially in the starting phases because there are devices, media, etc. And so, there are a certain number of risks that have been taken with accidents and sometimes, bad decisions…", explains Guillaume Rottée.

Who found himself leading his first race almost by chance. “Jean-Marie Vidal, who was in charge of a mini race in the Mediterranean, which incidentally was going to Morocco, found himself unable to carry out his duties because his wife had a stroke. He told me: “If you want, you can take my place.” So, that was my first qualification as race director. That's how I got into this circle of race directors because there aren't very, very many of us in France."

The Mediterranean, a beautiful playground

Since then, he has directed major offshore events such as the Route du Rhum, The Transat and most recently the Arkea Ultim Challenge. "A non-stop, solo round-the-world race. A great challenge for me",admits the big 51-year-old. Which he successfully took on despite the fatigue that this kind of race engenders. “I like it because it's a position where you have to have a global vision of the event because your missions are the general coordination so that sporting fairness is respected. That is to say, ensuring that the organizer's course project meets the specifications, safety and sporting interests.”

Working with Kito on Med Max, all of that was done in good intelligence. “We already had a little idea of ​​the route because the Mediterranean is a beautiful playground even if it is not necessarily easy in terms of weather conditions.”

Despite this, Med Max has responded to all the expectations that an offshore race requires. “It's already a great success. We'll do the accounts next Sunday, when all the boats are in port. I hope that this race will continue for many years and that it will become a classic on the offshore racing circuit."

And it's a race director who says it.

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