Pochet, 38, is not the most well-known of French sailors, but nevertheless, he has sailed with some of the best including Philippe Jeantot, Olivier de Kersauson and Patrick Morvan. He raced in the 1998 Route de Rhum, and now hopes to enter a challenge for the next Vendee Globe in 2004, having failed to enter the last Vendee due to a lack of funds.

Petit Navire is his recent purchase. A well-known, if not particularly successful Open 60 that once belonged to Eric Dumont. She has a canting keel and a canting, rotating wingmast, though for the purpose of the EDS, she must be fitted with a conventional rig.

La Rage de Vivre is the name of his entry, and boosts the fleet number for the EDS to a tota of seven. The British entries include Mike Golding’s Open 60, to be named soon, Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher and Josh Hall’s Gartmore. In addition, the Italian Giovanni Soldini will be entering his Open 60 Fila, Swedish Whitbread veteran Helena Darvelid will race Pindar, better known as Fujicolor I, and finally Roland Jourdain will be scaring everyone with his record-breaking Sill Matines la Potagere.