Charlie Capelle is a unique figure in the French offshore racing scene. An amateur skipper from Mirecourt in the Vosges — yes, far from the sea — he has run for 30 years the Technologie Marine shipyard, a 10-person SME specializing in custom boatbuilding.
His mount? Acapella, a 35-foot bright yellow trimaran launched in 1978, sister-ship to Mike Birch’s famous Olympus Photo — winner of the first Route du Rhum. Charlie has saved her three times: wreck found in Galicia in 2000, capsize off Cape Finisterre in 2006, and several other refits in between. Each time, he relaunches her.
Competing in the Rhum Multi category with his original trimaran, Charlie remains loyal to his historic mount. Route du Rhum 2018, then Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe 2022, where he finishes 9th in Rhum Multi in 21 d 7 h 56 min 24 s, under the colors of La Chaîne de l'Espoir.
Charlie embodies a certain idea of offshore racing: pure passion, loyalty to the boat, refusal of the technological arms race. At a time when Ultims fly at 40 knots, he still sails a nearly 50-year-old trimaran — and does so with flair.
Official site: acapellaocean.com.
