Four Vendée Globe races, including one completed without a keel
Jean-Pierre Dick, born on October 8, 1965, in Nice, is a veterinarian and HEC graduate. Son of the founder of the Virbac laboratories, he took to the sea in an IMOCA in the early 2000s and competed in four Vendée Globe races between 2004 and 2017. He has since led the Absolute Dreamer team, now focused on the design and construction of the JP54.
The 2012–13 Vendée Globe without appendages
Around 500 nautical miles northwest of Cape Verde, during the Atlantic crossing, the keel of the Virbac-Paprec 3 breaks. Dick decides to continue. He reaches the Azores, then Les Sables-d'Olonne without appendages, managing the boat's trim with ballast tanks. He finishes 4th. This is the second time an IMOCA completes a Vendée Globe without a keel — a textbook case for the class.
The double: a field of dominance
In short-handed races, the record speaks for itself: four wins in the Transat Jacques Vabre (2003, 2005, 2011, 2017) with four different co-skippers, and two consecutive Barcelona World Races (2008 then 2010–11). Few skippers have achieved as much in this discipline. Named Sailor of the Year 2011 by the French Sailing Federation, knight of the National Order of Merit.
The JP54: an IMOCA for cruising
After the 2016–17 Vendée Globe, Dick refocused Absolute Dreamer on the JP54, a fast 16.45 m cruising sailboat designed with Guillaume Verdier: carbon fiber, canting keel, displacement around 9 tonnes. The concept: translating the technical choices of an IMOCA into a bluewater cruising program. In 2022, he won the Route du Rhum in the Rhum Mono class aboard the JP54 Notre Méditerranée - Ville de Nice in 16 days, 13 hours, and 57 minutes — proof from racing that the boat holds its course.
Palmarès
- Vendée Globe 2004–05: 6th
- Vendée Globe 2008–09: retired after collision with a growler off New Zealand
- Vendée Globe 2012–13: 4th on Virbac-Paprec 3, completed without a keel
- Vendée Globe 2016–17: 4th on StMichel-Virbac (VPLP-Verdier foil design)
- Transat Jacques Vabre IMOCA — 4 wins: 2003 with Nicolas Abiven, 2005 with Loïck Peyron, 2011 with Jérémie Beyou, 2017 with Yann Eliès
- Barcelona World Race — 2 wins: 2008 with Damian Foxall, 2010–11 with Loïck Peyron on Virbac-Paprec 3
- Route du Rhum: 3rd in 2006 (IMOCA), 4th in 2010 (IMOCA), winner Rhum Mono in 2022 aboard the JP54 Notre Méditerranée - Ville de Nice in 16 days, 13 hours, and 57 minutes
- Sailor of the Year 2011 (French Sailing Federation)
- Knight of the National Order of Merit
