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Laurent Bourgnon (April 16, 1966 – June 24, 2015) was a Swiss sailor and motorsports enthusiast. He was adept at offshore sailing, winning both the prestigious transadltanic races, the Route du Rhum in 1994 and 1998 and the Transat Jacques-Vabre in 1997. He did a lot of his racing alongside his brother and fellow adventurer Yvan Bourgnon.[1] He was born on 16 April 1966 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and disappeared after a diving accident on 24 June 2015 in Toau Atoll, French Polynesia.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Born | 16 April 1966 La Chaux-de-Fonds |
| Died | June 24, 2015 (aged 49) Toau Atoll, French Polynesia. |
| Sailing career | |
| Class | ORMA 60 |
Biography
editLaurent Bourgnon was a multidisciplinary as a sailor, airplane and helicopter pilot, mechanic and developer, engineer and creator.
At the age of four, Laurent Bourgnon took his first steps on his parents' sailboat for a two-year trip to the Caribbean, then they left for three years from 13 to 16 years old, going around the world with their family. After crossing the Atlantic in 1986 at the age of 20 on a beach machine (Hobie Cat 18 of 5.40 m), Laurent Bourgnon embarked on the competition.
He was the winner of the biggest transoceanic events on his Primagaz trimaran including two Routes du Rhum, the Twostar, the Transat Jacques-Vabre, the Québec-Saint-Malo and many other events.
He also put his know-how in aeronautics to develop a new MCR 01 two-seater travel aircraft, very fast with a very long autonomy.
On June 24, 2015, he went missing during a dive in French Polynesia in the lagoon of Toau Atoll. The people on the support boat did not see him return to the surface and alerted the emergency services. The search (by helicopter and boats) was called off on the evening of June 28, after 4 days. According to the MRCC Polynesia "The most likely hypothesis is that he was carried to the bottom by a current coming out in a pass."[2]
A Documentary entitled "The uncommon destiny of the Bourgnon brothers, icons of sailing" was produced in 2018.[3]
Sailing achievements
edit1986
edit- Transatlantic Hobie Cat 18 beach catamaran with Fred Giraldi
1987
edit2nd in the Mini Transat 6.50, winner of the 2nd stage on a production boat against the faster prototypes
1988
editWinner of the Solitaire du Figaro on his first attempt, the youngest of the competitors with one of the oldest boats
1994
edit- record for solo sailing across the North Atlantic on Primagaz in 7 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 42 seconds
- winner of the Route du Rhum
- record distance sailing in 24 hours alone on Primagaz with 540 nautical miles
1997
edit- winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre[4]
1998
edit- winner of the Route du Rhum
Motorsport achievements
edit- 1999: First participation in the Dakar Rally[5]
- 2000: 13th in the Dakar Rally
- 2001: 10th in the Dakar Rally
- 2002: 13th in the Dakar Rally
- 2003: 24th in the Dakar Rally in buggy
- 2004: 23rd in the Dakar Rally in buggy
- 2005: Dakar Rally in buggy (abandoned)
- 2008: 9th Rally Tunisia
References
edit- ^ "Yvan Bourgnon navigator and founder of The SeaCleaners". theseacleaners.org. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ^ "Yachtsman Laurent Bourgnon reported missing after dive". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ^ "Laurent et Yvan Bourgnon, deux frères en solitaire | Un film de Hélène Gautier". YouTube. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ^ "Primagaz - VPLP Design". vplp.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
- ^ ELJ. "Le Dakar et la Route du Rhum : Histoire et histoires". designmoteur.com. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
Media related to Laurent Bourgnon at Wikimedia Commons