Testimony of Sébastien Marsset about Squid
Sébastien Marsset was born in 1984, he improved his skills at the Sailing School in Quiberon. He participated in the Class 40 preparation for the Route du Rhum 2006 and runned on the Mini circuit. He then joined the Groupama sailing team in preparation for the Jules Verne Trophy and participated in the successful campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race. He repeated this experience three years later with Team ALVIMEDICA (USA). He also collaborated with Spindrift racing team. Combining technical and physical power, Sébastien showed his skills during the winter 2015-2016 at the very exposed position of number 1 (bowman) during the round the world Jules Verne Trophy.
Sébastien Marsset was born in 1984, he improved his skills at the Sailing School in Quiberon. He participated in the Class 40 preparation for the Route du Rhum 2006 and runned on the Mini circuit. He then joined the Groupama sailing team in preparation for the Jules Verne Trophy and participated in the successful campaign in the Volvo Ocean Race. He repeated this experience three years later with Team ALVIMEDICA (USA). He also collaborated with Spindrift racing team. Combining technical and physical power, Sébastien showed his skills during the winter 2015-2016 at the very exposed position of number 1 (bowman) during the round the world Jules Verne Trophy.
1. Since when do you work with Squid ?
SM : I started to use Squid during the previous Volvo Ocean Race in 2014, particularly in the preparation of each step of the race.
2. What is your use of Squid ?
SM : It depends on the situation in which I find myself. Offshore, I'm generally not responsible for navigation. However, I use the software to view the upcoming weather before taking my shift (as ALVIMEDICA). This allows me to anticipate weather changes during my shift.
3. How often do you use Squid?
SM : Almost daily.
4. For what purpose and in what context?
SM : Offshore, I use it to prepare my shift. On land, I sometimes use Squid when I want to follow the races where I am not participating. I can also use it to help friends prepare for their races (like I did during the last Mini Fastnet), or for my personal pleasure.
5. When you talk about personal hobbies, what do you mean?
SM : (Laughter) When I want to do moth, kite surfing or even surfing... This allows me to aim for the best weather window and optimize my leisure time according to the analysis I draw from the weather files.
6. So even when you're onshore you are using Squid?
SM : Absolutely, my skipper job is a passion. I'm following almost all the sailing related news. I often make my own weather analysis, according to the current sailing news. For example, I use Squid to find the best weather window for a record break or analyze a difficult situation of a specific race, etc.
7. When you talk about the record attempt you followed, you are talking about Best-Start?
SM : Absolutely, I recently followed the record attempt of François Gabart. Best-Start has enabled me to understand the issues and decisions that were made by his team in real time.
8. A final word on Squid?
SM : What I find really nice is that Squid centralizes all the data needed. We don't need to browse many places to get different data sources. Off shore, we are sure that with this software we will have access to everything we need. Squid benefits from an exceptional concentration data, which is amazing. The time savings offered by Squid is exactly what you need during navigation.