Cyril OMS

Cyril Oms didn’t get off to a great start in sailing.

“When I was 8 years old, my parents signed me up for an Optimist training course. I hated it!” exclaims the Parisian, who opted instead for swimming, which saw him compete at a high level for many years until, quite by chance, he ended up on a Mini 6.50 alongside François Jambou, in 2018. “I immediately relished the experience. As a result, completely on a whim, I decided to buy a Pogo 2. When it came down to getting her back to Lorient from La Rochelle, I barely knew how to tack or hoist the mainsail. I knew nothing about the sea and I’d never realised it would be so hard”, recalls the former lawyer, who today works for a major bank to combat money laundering and tax evasion.

Feeling a little humiliated and totally overwhelmed by events at the time, he considered backtracking and giving up on his campaign. However, by dint of determination and self-sacrifice, the skipper of Fantomas got back in the driving seat and joined the Lorient Grand Large racing cluster. “I gradually improved my navigational skills and felt increasingly comfortable on the boat. Today, the seasickness is behind me even before I get to Groix Island!” jokes Cyril, who has clearly broken down a huge amount of barriers in the past two and a half years and is delighted at the prospect of experiencing his first singlehanded transatlantic. “I hope to be able to sail a clean race and sail some coherent trajectories. The icing on the cake would naturally be to complete the course.”