- OUR AMBASSADORS -
They have chosen to sail with us
Our ambassadors have a shared passion: sailing on open seas
Since our history is founded on people, it is entirely natural for us to turn to these enthusiasts, both professional and amateur, to share in their pleasure and identify future developments and new products. They have all made lifestyle choices to devote themselves entirely to their passion.
Two couples; one sailing regularly all around the world with a cruiser racing profile, and another choosing to live all year round on their boat in the north of Europe. Also, two experienced sailors, known for their achievements and personal qualities, with profiles as demanding as ocean racing itself and finally, two young sailors complete the list of highly select NV ambassadors. They all have in common the desire to pass on a hopeful, humanitarian message through their atypical sailing experiences. Not all have the same demands. This is what makes these ambassadors unique; their experience of all our products in all possible scenarios.
Selected for their passion during individual meetings with NV, they have agreed to support the NV teams working on our amateur-sailing product range by testing materials, components and features on board.
We invite you to discover their experiences and their opinions on NV products,
without further ado.
without further ado.
- Clara Dumard -
The Call of the North
The Morbihan department in western France is a land of sailors. Clara inherited her love of sailing there. She is young pharmacy student, who has already attempted to cross the Northwest Passage twice, once in 2018 and again in 2019. She was accompanied by her father, who is a former professional ocean racer, a weather router and an expert in the Arctic area. Clara set herself the challenge of being the first to sail the mythical Northwest Passage without any stopovers or assistance. Ice stopped her from doing so on both attempts. Third time lucky?
Clara is a passionate, confident person. She wants to pass this confidence on to girls around the world by supporting Plan International. This is an association that works for girls' rights and seeks to transform power relations, so that girls around the world can become free and fulfilled women.
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- AHOY -
Transplanting a Breath of Hope
In 2014, Alexandre and Romain, two friends who both have cystic fibrosis, embarked on an extraordinary adventure: travelling 11,000 km around Europe by car.Then, in 2017, Alexander received a transplant. For him, this was the start of a new of life. He now lives and breathes his desire to raise awareness of the fight against cystic fibrosis, to give hope to those who have not yet had a chance.
And so, a new adventure began. Accompanied by seasoned sailors Thibaud, Jérémy and Romain, Alexandre left France in September 2019, aboard their Oceanis Clipper 411 Bénéteau. They plan to cover 11,000 nautical miles in 365 days around the Atlantic. Their goal: to transplant the breath of hope.
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- Lionel Régnier -
Professional skipper
A maths teacher turned skipper. Setting out to take on the sea is something Lionel Régnier has done very often, and in this field, passion often overcomes reason.
His dream is to sail as much as possible, preferably single-handed and competitively. He has owned a number of yachts, from the Mini 6.50 to the 12 m Class 40, on which he took part in the first Mini-Transats and won the English Ostar trans-Atlantic race in 2005.
He has in fact crossed the Atlantic competitively some ten times. “I might not get myself on the podium, but I’ve never abandoned a race. I’ve travelled about 150,000 nautical miles,” he estimates. And he’s off again...
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- Josette and Jean Yves Chevalier -
Sailing as a Couple
At sailing school in 1970, the instructor fell for his trainee! Three years later, they decided to tie the knot, and to buy their first yacht, a "Corsair".Passionate about sailing, they are the original founders of NVEQUIPMENT, creating "Normandie Voiles" in Ouistreham in Normandy in 1977. They are still criss-crossing the seas today aboard several boats with a variety of itineraries.
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- Jean Luc Van Den Heede - professional skipper
His interest in sailing began with his toys and the books he read as a child. It wasn’t long before he took up the real thing: training courses at Les Glénans, regattas, mini trans-Atlantic races. Truly smitten, he bought his first boat at the age of 22.On 29th January 2019, after 7 months at sea, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede arrived in Les Sables d’Olonne, winning the 2018 Golden Globe Race at the age of 73. A round-the-world trip of yesteryear, single-handed and without GPS or electronic equipment, on a boat built prior to 1988.
Let’s take a look back over the career of the renowned “VDH”...
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- Valérie Viel
and François Dupuis -
Living Free
Valérie and François met in 2002. Boats were a deciding factor in their encounter.As a native of the Lorient area, Fraçois started sailing at the age of 11 on various cruisers his parents owned. They spent all their holidays on a boat, up to 7 people at a time (including the 5 children) on an Arpège. In other words, seawater is in his blood.
Valérie also began sailing at a young age, attending a sailing school in Finistère. She set sail among the rocks at Portsall, first on an Optimist, then a Caravelle, a Vaurien, and a 420.
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