Organised every two years, the 2010 edition of the SUI Sailing Awards, given by the Swiss Cruising Club, the Swiss Sailing Federation and the magazines Skippers, Voile & Océan was held at the Maison des Sports in Bern on 20th November in the presence of 180 presidents from the sailing clubs and classes of Switzerland. In the offshore sailor category, the three nominees were the Swiss sailors Jérôme Clerc (CER), Stève Ravussin (Groupama and MOD70), and Yvan Ravussin.
It’s Yvan’s versatility and consistency, which set him apart from his brother Stève with the jury. Yvan hasn’t just been a boat builder since 1996, he’s also a specialist in composites and fibre rigging. He and his crew have strung together a series of successes over the period taken into account by the Awards 2010 (2009-2010). In this way, aboard the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire in 2009, he broke the record for the greatest distance covered in 24 hours (907 miles), as well as the Transatlantic record (3d, 15hr, 25mn). Added to that, he is the actual helmsman responsible for the highest peak speed reached during his watch: 47.16 knots! With his crew in 2010, they set a new reference time in the Trans-Mediterranean (14hr, 20mn) and won the Challenge Julius Baer on their D35. Always calm and cheerful, Yvan is recognised and respected throughout the Swiss sailing community, just as much for his skills as a sailor as his human qualities. Assets which are especially crucial during a crewed round the world record attempt without stopovers, such as the one which awaits him and the rest of Pascal Bidégorry’s crew this winter.