Marc Pajot (born 21 September 1953, in

La Baule La Baule-Escoublac (; br, Ar Baol-Skoubleg, ), commonly referred to as La Baule, is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, Pays de la Loire, western France. A century-old seaside resort in southern Brittany with villas, casino, luxury h ...

) is a French

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

. He has been a crew member on

Éric Tabarly Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly was a French Navy officer and yachtsman, born 24 July 1931 in Nantes and died 13 June 1998 of drowning in the Irish Sea. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Osta ...

’s boats. Noted for winning the Silver medal at the 1972 Olympics at 19 with his older brother Yves, 5 times world champion, winner of the cross-Atlantic

Route du Rhum The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Mé ...

, twice semi-finalist representing France at the

America’s Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

as a Project Manager and Skipper, he has been representing French sailing achievement around the world. Member of French Maritime Academy, the French Yacht Club, and the Monaco Yacht Club he is now settled in Cannes, Côte d’Azur, running a Yacht Selection activity and a consulting activity in marina landscaping.

Sailing career

From the age of 14 to 23, with his brother Yves

Marc Pajot accumulates national and international titles : * Olympic Silver Medal winner, in 1972 in

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Du ...

. * 5 times World Champion * 7 times French Champion

10 years competing on the oceans

Marc Pajot sets out to conquer the oceans under the wing of Eric Tabarly and crosses the Cap Horn at the age of 20 during the first team race around the world, the Whitbread (See

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Ra ...

) in 1973. He sets the professional standards for high seas regattas by promoting his sponsors, amongst which ''Paul Ricard'' and ''Elf Aquitaine'' with whom he will lead on to accomplish extraordinary performances.
He takes the 2nd place in 1979 at the double handed transatlantic race Lorient-Burmuda-Lorient with the hydrofoil ''Paul Ricard''.

Elf Aquitaine – Titan of the seas

His Elf Aquitaine catamarans – will enable him to accomplish a series of performances between 1980 and 1983: * Winner La Baule Dakar race 1980 * Atlantic record holder in 1981 * Winner singlehanded race Route du Rhum 1982 Marc Pajot has so far crossed 15 times the Atlantic Ocean as a skipper, crew member, or single handed.

The America’s Cup

As a project manager, Skipper and helmsman, Marc Pajot has been able to federate the best in the profession, sponsors, naval architects, engineers, tacticians and crew, to run after the America’s Cup for four challenges: * ''French Kiss'' team 1987, Perth, Australia * ''Ville de Paris'' team 1992, San Diego, USA * ''France 2'' team 1995, San Diego, USA * First America’s Cup Swiss team 2000, Auckland, NZ Twice he succeeded in skippering the French challenge to the semi-finals of the

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

. * with ''French Kiss'' in 1987 * with ''Ville de Paris'' in 1992 During those 25 years of competitions, Marc Pajot has managed and overseen the conception and creation of over 15 boats from 45 to 100 ft.

Other areas within the sailing world

Since 2000 Marc Pajot has also become a yacht broker providing yacht selection services and does consultancy in Marina landscaping around the world.

Yachting accomplishments

* East to West transatlantic record holder on the ''Elf-Aquitaine'' catamaran in 1981 (9d 10h 6s 34c). * Vice Olympic champion of

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, with Yves Pajot, his older brother * Vice world champion 505 en 1968 * High seas regatta: **

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

in 1980 on ''Elf-Aquitaine'' (EA) with François Boucher and Paul Ayasse **

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Lizard Point, Cornwall Lizard Point () in Cornwall is at the southern tip of the Lizard Peninsula. It is situated half-a-mile (800 m) south of Lizard village in the civil parish of Landewednack and about 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Helston. Lizard Poi ...

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

in 1981 on ''EA'' ** Multihull trophy in 1981 and 1982 on ''EA'' **

in 1982 on ''EA'' ** Multi Cup in 1983 on ''EA'' * Second place in the Two-Handed Transatlantic Race

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

-Lorient in 1979 with

on ''Paul Ricard''. * Third place in the

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (STAR) is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth in England to Newport, Rhode Island in th ...

in 1984 * 3 participations as skipper in the America's Cup, on French Challenge in 1987, 1992 and 1995

Distinctions

* only sportsman to be a two time laureat of the ''Guy Wildenstein Prize'' from the Académie des sports, in 1975 (with his brother Yves) and in 1981. * Officer of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

* Knight of the

Ordre du Mérite Maritime The ''Ordre du Mérite Maritime'' ( French for "Order of Maritime Merit") is a French order established on 9 February 1930 for services rendered by seafarers to recognise the risks involved and the services rendered by seamen, and reflect the imp ...

* Vermeil medal of the Ville de Paris

Publications

* Elf Aquitaine, un catamaran pour vaincre (édition Pen Duick) * Voile Racontée par Marc Pajot (édition Hatier Rageot – 1985) * Défi à la Coupe de l’América (édition Rivage – 1987) * Des J.O. à la Coupe de l’América (édition Robert Laffont – 1991)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pajot, Marc 1953 births Living people French male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors of France Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in sailing Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Knights of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime Volvo Ocean Race sailors 1987 America's Cup sailors 1992 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors Flying Dutchman class world champions World champions in sailing for France Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France