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Hervé Le Quilliec, logistics manager
Organising the travel itineraries, accommodation, catering and all the associated requirements for a team of over forty people travelling around the world, from South Africa to the United States, via Abu Dhabi, China, New Zealand, Brazil, then Portugal, Brittany in France and Ireland, is a tremendous feat... This is especially true when the sailors put into port after two to three weeks at sea and, after barely setting foot on land, must prepare for an `inshore' race and be back on the water for the next stage within a fortnight!
Of course, added to that list is the repair and maintenance of equipment and spare parts, which has to follow this planetary caravan around at a pace that cargo ships cannot keep up with. As such Groupama sailing team has had to double up on all its technical assistance equipment to erect its tents in the Volvo Ocean Race villages. In this way two sets of containers will circumnavigate the globe, just like the shore crew, who must be operational even before the yachts arrive in port. Mechanics, rigging, composites, deck hardware and electronics are all elements that must be provided and the support team must be able to intervene in a matter of days or even hours. Sometimes this takes place in ports which have only just been built, where the infrastructure is yet to be completed and is often a long way from specialised suppliers.
As a result it's a real brain-teaser that Groupama sailing team has to manage under the leadership of the logistics manager, Hervé Le Quiliec: twenty-two people follow the race to erect the village and bring it to life, from the physio to the computer analyst, from the laminator to the rigger, so as to play host to up to 55 people, crew included.
