There are stories of the sea that transcend mere competition. That of Romain Attanasio andThere are stories of the sea that transcend mere competition. That of Romain Attanasio andMaxime Sorel is one such story.
In the autumn of 2024, during the Défi Azimut, Romain's IMOCA Fortinet – Best Western wasthe victim of a dismasting. It was a heavy blow, especially as it came just a fewmonths before the start of the Vendée Globe. His dream of sailing around the world seemed to be crumbling. Butin this moment of doubt, a gesture of solidarity changed everything: Maxime, a competitor butabove all a friend, offered him a replacement mast. Thanks to this rare generosity, Romain was able toget back on his feet, repair his boat and line up at the start of the Vendée Globe. He completedhis round-the-world trip, carried by this chain of mutual aid that is also part of the beauty of ocean racing.
This ordeal gave rise to a solid friendship, a bond forged in trust andmutual respect. Today, this story is being written by two voices. In 2025, Romain and Maximewill team up aboard the IMOCA Fortinet – Best Western to share a newjoint adventure.
Their season will naturally begin in Lorient, on the Défi Azimut 2025, beforecontinuing with the Transat Café de l'Or. Beyond performance, this is the story of anencounter, of solidarity that became partnership, and of a shared passion that drives themever further across the ocean.
A unique duo, where friendship and challenge become one.
Nothing predisposed Romain Attanasio to become a sailor, since he was born into a family of... high level skiers, from the Hautes-Alpes. As a child, he nevertheless spent all his holidays with a great uncle in Port Navalo. This one took him to sea aboard his Poker, a small family cruiser from the 70s. The destinations were then not very far away: Houat, Hoedic, Belle Ile-en-Mer, the Gulf of Morbihan.
The browser virus is taken. As a teenager, Romain was passionate about big ocean races from his boarding school room in Compiègne. He begins in drifter at the local club and then, against all odds, manages to join the sports-study section of La Baule, by laser. In one school year, he discovered a real talent for sailing.
He managed to set up a Mini 6.50 project, but in 1999 a huge storm hit the Bay of Biscay and his first major ocean race experience - the Mini Transat - was frightening: the boat was turned over, saved in extremis by a cargo ship, then hoisted and repatriated to Spain and France.
Without clothes, without paper and with an improbable look, "I arrive at Orly in flip-flops and tracksuits', with a garbage bag in my hand... Today, I would be arrested by the police with such a look!"
Failed? Not exactly, because his partner at the time found the start experience exciting and gave him the means to continue in Figaro Bénéteau. Romain joins the Pôle Finistère of Port-La-Forêt, the royal road for a Figarist. He is becoming one of its pillars, with excellent results in line with La Solitaire du Figaro and the Transat AG2R. He will follow ten seasons, while also sailing for the best in multihulls, at the time of the Orma trimarans: with Michel Desjoyeaux first on Géant, then with Franck Cammas on Groupama. A skilled strategist, he is often hired as a navigator.
After completing his first round the world voyage in the Vendée Globe 2016-17 in 110 days, Romain is already preparing for the 2020-21 edition.
After completing his first round-the-world race during the 2016-17 Vendée Globe in 110 days, Romain chose to repeat the experience four years later on Fabrice Amedeo's former IMOCA (Gitana80 designed for Loick Peyron). He then finished his single-handed round-the-world race 14th in 90 days.
A few weeks after crossing the finish line of the round the world race, Romain announced the purchase of Boris Herrmann's Malizia, a powerful and high-performance foiler, as well as the arrival of Fortinet, a company specialising in cyber security, at his side. With Best Western also as a loyal partner, Romain can now look forward to the Vendée Globe 2024 with confidence and great ambitions.
In 2021, despite the discovery phase of his new boat, the skipper took part in the IMOCA GLOBE SERIES events and finished in a very good seventh place in the Transat Jacques Vabre with his great accomplice, Sébastien Marsset. The following year, he finished 10th in the Route du Rhum.
In 2022, the sailor will meet the collaborators of his sponsor Fortinet from London to Lisbon via Gosport, and this adventure will continue in 2023 as the sailor will head for the Mediterranean where he will stop in the ports of Marseilles, Genoa and Barcelona with the same objective of discovering the world of IMOCA.
At the helm of his 2015 IMOCA, Romain competes with the top sailors on the circuit, notably during the 2022 Route du Rhum, where he secures a 10th-place finish. He repeats this remarkable performance a year later during the Retour à La Base.
During the 2024 Défi Azimut, just two months before the start of the Vendée Globe, Romain Attanasio suffers a major blow: he dismasts, putting his participation in the solo round-the-world race in jeopardy. Beyond the race against time to be ready, another challenge emerges—raising the necessary funds to finance a new mast and new sails.
In response to the urgency, the skipper launches an online fundraiser, a bold move that sparks an outpouring of public generosity. The result: nearly €175,000 in donations collected, allowing Attanasio to line up at the start with a brand-new mast, proudly displaying the names of 1,500 donors as a token of gratitude. A challenge overcome with determination, as he goes on to finish the Vendée Globe in a respectable 14th place aboard his 2015 IMOCA.
2024-2025: Vendée Globe - 14th
2024: Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération - ABD
2023 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 17ème
Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération - 9th
2022: Route du Rhum - 10th
Défi Azimut-Lorient Agglomération - 8th
Vendée Arctique - 17th
2021 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 7th
Défi Azimut - 9th
2020-21 : Vendée Globe - 14th
2020 : Défi Azimut - 15th
2019 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 15th
Défi Azimut - 19th
2018 : Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe - 13th
2017 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 13th with Aurélien Ducroz
2016 : Vendée Globe - 15th
2015 : Transat Jacques Vabre - 9th with Louis Burton