Charal 2 wins IMOCA fleet Beyou and Lagraviere triumph

One of only five sailors to have won La Solitare du Figaro three times, Beyou leads one of the best resourced IMOCA programmes in the world, one which has always led the technology race and has delivered many podiums but he and the powerful black hulled IMOCA have struggled to win. He has finished on the podium many times but too often encountered issues which have compromised the result. 

Typical was the last edition in 2023, sailing with Franck Cammas who has just extended his own Coffee Route record to five wins, they lost their masthead zero sail at the entry to the Trade Winds and then after leading the race could not keep pace, finishing fourth. 

Lagravière, the X Factor

This time Beyou’s Charal 2 has profited from a noted speed edge, one highlighted during the course by all of their rivals, but there is little doubt that Lagravière is the missing piece in the winning jigsaw. Not only is he a great technician with an eye for detail is a fast, natural sailor with an exceptional feel for speed and endless energy, the perfect foil for the hyper intense, ultra competitive Beyou. Lagravière is a former 49er skiff sailor who graduated through the Figaro class to his own IMOCA programme. 

But it has been as partner to Thomas Ruyant, with whom he won the 2021 and 2023 editions, that Lagravière has really stood out. With Ruyant’s team they developed a race winning headsail configuration, running two smaller headsails at the same time, and it is sure that the Charal team have taken that initiative forwards this time as well as updated the Sam Manuard design with deeper, flared out rudders to provide more stable, controllable  ride when foiling as well as adding more lift.

“For me there is no doubt the Morgan factor has made the difference. Besides everything else he his a fast, natural helm and you can see that even on the race trackers when he is steering.” Asserts Marcus Hutchinson, the Irish sailor who ran Ruyant’s programme when they first won the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2021. 

“I believe Morgan has brought the knowledge about flatter non overlapping gennakers.” Suggests Antoine Koch, the co-designer of Ruyant’s winning IMOCA. “With TRR (Thomas Ruyant Racing) and North Sails we kind of invented this sail we call the Quad which has been instrumental in Thomas 3 transats wins. When they’re re not sailing dead vmg (downwind) they might use the J0 instead. Coming from TRR as well the fact that Charal went for the smaller J2 and J3 (headsails) in order to use them more efficiently as staysails downwind in triple head mode at the price of a slight penalty upwind. Ad the last thing coming from TRR is… helming ! Two years ago only Thomas and Morgan were helming (by hand as opposed to by autopilot). It seems like all the top boats have followed some of these trend… and have caught up. We have known for a long time that Charal is very quick but was very hard to manage. She probably benefits more than the other boats in having a talented helmsman driving. Well done to them. The future is going to be interesting!”

The victory is one to be cherished for Beyou and one which exorcises many ghosts. A pure, hard bitten sports fan, he  spends countless hours ashore watching Formula 1 Grand Prix races, football matches, and thrilling to the exploits of athletes from numerous disciplines. He knows that the greatest sporting stories are written by champions who overcome everything. And he also knows that he and Morgan Lagravière have authored a memorable one today. 

The Long Quest for Victory

Beyou’s career has been tempered by many potholes on the road. There was a collision with a UFO (Unidentified Floating Object) forcing him to return back to Les Sables d’Olonne in the early days of the Vendée Globe (2020). He and Cammas had that gennaker failure in the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR (2023), problems with his winch system on the Retour à la Base (2023), a broken J2 forestay in The Transat CIC (2024). 

On the last Vendée Globe, he put up an incredible fight among the leading pack but he lacked the consistent high average speeds and was caught out in a light zone in the Pacific but finished fourth Even so Beyou is a regular contender for top spots showing remarkable consistency: 3rd in the Route du Rhum (2022), 2nd in Retour à la Base (2023), 3rd in New York-Vendée (2024), and 4th in the Vendée Globe (2025). 

Beyou has won this race before, but as hired gun co-skipper to Jean Pierre Dick on the 10^th edition, winning into Puerto Limon in 2011. And this is his first major win since he triumphed on the inaugural Vendée Arctique race in 2020 and before that the New York Vendee solo race from New York to Les Sables d’Olonne in the summer of 2016. 

His self belief has no doubt been challenged but certainly will be restored today. His previous life as a Figaro skipper shaped him, racing La Solitaire 18 times, securing three victories (2005, 2011, and 2014). 

But key this year has been convincing Lagravière to join him. He became available as Ruyant transitions his IMOCA to the new Italian owner Ambrogio Becarria but the Beyou and Lagravière are good friends and former sparring partners. Beyou says of Morgan , “Morgan is a friend who has an exceptional feel for things, considerable experience, and his perspective on the project, as well as his approach, will be invaluable," Beyou explained at the beginning of this season. Lagravière has embraced the idea of ​​being fully dedicated to what he does best: finding all the details to make a good boat even better. The two quickly found common ground, as did the division of tasks. Jérémie handles the weather, strategy, and tactical choices; Morgan focuses on the settings and going fast…very fast.” 

This season allowed them to refine their teamwork, especially in a crewed configuration, at the Course des Caps (5th) and then the Rolex Fastnet Race (2nd). "I've never experienced such high-quality preparation in terms of optimization and strategic thinking," Morgan confided just before the start of this race. 

They had everything they needed to be ready for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR: and they were, right from the start. Constantly at the forefront, they held the lead intermittently in the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and on the leg down the coast of Portugal.

Experience and composure

In the Canary Islands, a ridge of high pressure brought together the entire leading group. Jérémie and Morgan needed incredible composure to persevere, hold on, and find the best way to break free. They were the first to point their bows westward, the first to benefit from the trade winds and the significant boost they received. Breaking into the solid trades first their speed edge saw them escape from Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar (Macif Santé Prévoyance) and ensuring the preservation of their monohull. 

In recent days, Jérémie explained that he wanted to "disconnect from the outside world." The needed to focus on their winning bubble, not to distract themselves and potentially compromise the intense concentration. Their experience and composure did the rest: Jérémie Beyou and Morgan Lagravière arrived in Fort-de-France this Friday morning as clear cut winners with the second placed boat more than 120 nautical miles behind. 

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