Peter Laureyssens the sole Belgian entry in the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia is currently at the top of Series class ahead of many of the faster Prototypes.
Thirty-four-year old Laureyssens, sailing Wellments (German natural cosmetic company owned by Ecover) is from the Ecover Ocean Sailing Academy. Before the start of the race on Saturday he was ranked overall Series class favourite having won virtually every race he competed in during the run-up to the Mini Transat including the Mini Fastnet, Chrono 6,50, National Pogo, Challenge Mini and the Transgascogne. He is now vying for the lead in his Finot-designed Pogo 2 with Olivier Avram (FRA) and Bruno Sottovia (FRA) in identical designs having just broken through his lead.
Chatting to Laureyssens about his previous wins and how he aims to tackle the Mini Transat it's clear why this level-headed Belgian sailor is already on the road to success. "I've spent years preparing for this race and through my association with the academy I've learnt the best way to deal with motivation. This is the most difficult thing for me. When I'm in a race I want to be in front of the other boats; this will be my longest test, ever!"
Laureyssens's early racing career started in dinghies, mainly in Cadets where he competed internationally. "My earliest, fondest memories are my Cadet days in Burnham-on-Crouch, England. I learnt such a lot from racing on the river. I then started racing big boats in IMS and it was during that period I found out about the Mini Transat and have never really looked back."
As a good introduction to the class Laureyssens decided to opt for the Series class and bought his current boat in 2003 - just after the start of the 2003 event. "Having embarked on such a big project I wanted it to succeed so I immediately set about doing my 1,000-mile qualifyer. This I completed before the end of 2003 so I've had two years to prepare and complete over 1,000 miles of Mini racing."
Interestingly Laureyssens is already looking ahead to the next race in 2007 with a new Prototype under construction. "The Series was a great introduction to the Mini class and in my opinion less things go wrong with this class than in the Protos, so you can devote more time to sailing. A lot of the Proto sailors work at repairing things 80 per cent of the time, and sailing 20 per cent of the time. With the Series class you can sail 80 per cent and work for 20 per cent of the time. It's also one-design so the best sailor wins."
So why change? "I want a bit more of a challenge, and I suppose my aim has to always be to make the transition into the Prototype class. After this race, and once the boat is completed I hope to get on the water as soon as possible and start training for the next event. As far as funding goes, Wellment are fully funding me for this event but they will obviously have to evaluate and decide after the race. There is a sponsorship proposal for 2006/7 with my new Prototype but it's pending. Although it's not necessarily based on me winning they [Wellments] need to know they are going to get some return for the deal."
Sue Pelling/Yachting World, 19 September 2005
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Peter Laureyssens the sole Belgian entry in the Transat 6.50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia is currently at the top of Series class ahead of many of the faster Prototypes.
