SPORT MEET THE SKIPPER
4 min
MEET THE SKIPPER
Sun in his face, wind in his hair, skipper Romain Pilliard looks quite at home onboard the Use it Again!, his upcycled seafaring vessel. He’s an entrepreneur and family man who loves to travel and spend time at sea. And he got an early start on the waves, sailing with his family off the coast of Brittany and later participating in the regatta at ESSEC, the French business school he attended. Soon after, he moved on to sailing the Tour de France à la Voile and then other championships and competitions. Currently, he’s the CEO, founder and organiser of Tour de Belle-Ile, France’s largest sailing competition.
From his experience navigating the world’s waterways, sailing through plastic and pollution, he became acutely aware of the environmental crisis facing our oceans – not to mention global overconsumption. Hence his mission to change the future of the planet. Throughout his seafaring journeys, he calls attention to the impact we’ve had on the environment, and brings awareness for how we can shift our behaviour.
No matter the course, he and his crew face challenges every day: winds, currents, and the complexities of sailing a multihull boat. TAG Heuer is a proud partner of Romain’s noble quest and we’re following his journey closely, watching the skies, the weather and his brave progress. Accompanying Romain onboard, or more specifically, on wrist, is a TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 300 Night Diver.
A BOAT BY ANY OTHER NAME
Originally built in Australia for English sailor Ellen MacArthur and her unforgettable 2005 World Tour record-setting journey (overturned 3 years later by Francis Joyon), Romain’s trimaran has an impressive sea-faring legacy. However, after its epic victory, the boat fell into disrepair. Romain guided it through a full transformation in order to be able to…. well, use it again! In 2017, with the help of the Use It Again Endowment Fund, a public entity committed to promoting and developing the circular economy, Romain refitted the compact, multihull boat in line with his sailing needs and concern for the environment.
The team employed as many upcycled and recycled materials as possible, equipping the trimaran with solar panels and technical fabrics. The result? A boat that operates powered by the elements: a mix of energy provided by the wind, water and sun – which are plentiful out at sea. The craft has already established a strong performance history, having finished 4th in the 2018 Route de Rhum. Romain will guide this storied vessel on a 25,000 nautical-mile-trip westward from Ushuaïa, at the very southern tip of South America, all the way to Lorient in France. By aiming to circumnavigate the globe with this vessel, Romain hopes to make both a point and an impact.
© Antoine Dujoncquoy.com - Romain Pillard - Use It Again!
SAILING WITH A PURPOSE
Above all, Romain is seeking to help repair our environment by creating awareness and sensitivity as he sails around the world. Not only is he making a statement through his upcycled and naturally-powered boat, though that is a powerful statement in the world of competitive sailing, he is also an ambassador for RespectOcean, an organisation fighting to protect the world’s waterways. As such, he will also help oceanographers create the first-ever sonar map of pollution levels in the oceans and seas.
© Antoine Dujoncquoy.com - Romain Pillard - Use It Again!
By gathering data and collecting samples all along his voyages, Romain and his crew provide rich, real-time information to scientists and preservationists to help track, for example, the wellbeing of whale communities in lesser-explored corners of the world. He takes note of environmental issues he sees: the overfishing off the coast of Mauritius; the oil and petroleum residue floating on the ocean’s surface… he’s encountered many traces of humanity’s negative impacts on our planet. He also plans to meet with environmental experts along the way, orchestrating important conversations about our natural world. It is sometimes hard to face the truth, but Romain and his team push themselves to observe, to notice, and to share what they have learned.
Here at TAG Heuer, we’re proud to support Romain’s journey and we live vicariously through his purposeful and skilled navigation.
For more information about the journey, visit the official Use It Again! website.
