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Quentin Vlamynck's Ocean Fifty Arkema 4 was christened in Bordeaux on Monday 27 September, one year to the day after its launch, and just a few weeks before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre – Normandie – Le Havre race. In the presence of Arkema employees involved in the construction of this innovative trimaran, and with the support of the boat’s honorary patron Pauline Déroulède, French Wheelchair Tennis Champion, emotions were running high in the splendid Capital of Wine.

The Ocean Fifty Arkema 4 was indeed christened in an idyllic setting, in the heart of Bordeaux at the foot of the famous Jacques Chaban Delmas Bridge.

Arkema and Lalou Roucayrol’s Lalou Multi team, both driven by the common values of innovation, commitment, performance and sustainable development, have been collaborating on the construction of racing boats since 2013. This latest Arkema 4 trimaran marks a big milestone in a unique partnership that stretches well beyond sporting competition.

What they said:

Thierry Parmentier, Arkema Executive Vice President Human Resources and Communication

This is a big day for Quentin, for Lalou Multi, for this fine-looking trimaran, but of course for Arkema and everyone involved in this project. Arkema 4 is the result of 8 years of close and rich collaboration between the Arkema Group and the Lalou Multi team. What a long way we have come since then! Victories, adventures, boats, thrills, problems, doubts, but above all beliefs and always the same desire and the same motivation. This boat is an exemplary technological showcase for Arkema’s innovative, sustainable and high-performance materials. Typical of this, among other products, are the Elium® resin for recyclable composites, and the special adhesives from our Bostik subsidiary. When I talk about what we have achieved with Lalou Multi, I like talking of our collaboration on both a human and a technological level: encounters, personalities, materials, innovation, perseverance, daring, desire, boldness, teamwork. We do have all the ingredients that often make a difference and the success of a team, and you are living proof of this. The entire Arkema Group and our 20,000 employees wish Arkema 4 fair winds!

I would also like to say a few words about our honorary patron, Pauline Déroulède, whose history I know indirectly and personally. With her motivation, her taste for challenges, her passion for sailing and the sea, and her endearing personality, Pauline is the person who can best exemplify our values, our messages, and our outlook. Just like Quentin, or Clara Matéo in women’s football, she will be part of an Arkema team of athletes that our Group will be supporting over the next few years.”

arkema-4-bapteme-1.jpgThe Ocean Fifty Arkema 4 christened by Thierry Parmentier

Quentin Vlamynck, skipper of Arkema 4 trimaran:

I am very pleased to be in Bordeaux today with the Arkema 4 trimaran. This past year has taught us a great deal, and the results are encouraging with our 2nd place in the Pro Sailing Tour.

We are now looking forward to a new target date, with the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre on 7 November that will take us from Le Havre to Fort-de-France in Martinique on a long journey of 5,800 nautical miles. With this challenge on the horizon, it was important for me to have Arkema 4 christened. As with many sailors, superstition is still with us! Let me thank Pauline, our honorary patron, with whom we share many values when it comes to pushing our own limits. I would also like to thank Arkema for their trust and confidence over the years, and finally Lalou, who will be accompanying me in this race across the Atlantic. Lalou, thank you for everything you have taught me in the last 10 years.”

Pauline Déroulède, honorary patron of Arkema 4, French Wheelchair Tennis Champion

I am very honored to be honorary patron of Arkema 4. I want to express my admiration for Quentin and Lalou whom I have had the honor of getting to know. They let me into their world, and they are both great champions. I too am drawn to the world of sailing, and I am impressed by their level of commitment.

I can see that this boat is really the work of a lifetime, a crazy project they have carried through from start to finish. I am deeply touched to be the honorary patron of this adventure, which is above all a human adventure. This is sport, competition, top level, and that is what we love, no matter what sport we are involved in. I will of course follow their adventures very closely, and hope to have the chance to step on board soon and sail with Quentin and Lalou. After swapping my own sport discipline on land to compete with them, it would really be a huge honor for me to be able to experience theirs on the ocean. I am fully behind them, for the win!

Lalou Roucayrol, co-skipper and manager of the Lalou Multi team:

The christening of a boat is a key moment in the life of a sailor and a boat. We are honored to have a patron who espouses our values, and privileged to have a splendid boat that has already shown plenty of potential. The technical collaboration between our company and the Arkema Group means that our sport, and more broadly all applications related to composite materials, can indeed be aligned with environmental issues.

It will have taken a lot of patience, 10 years of research, ingenuity and know-how to build a boat partly from recyclable and recycled composite materials. We stand at the dawn of a new generation of boats that combine performance with environmental and societal respect. Fair winds, Quentin, on this fine-looking boat!

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