Laurent Bourgnon (April 16, 1966 – June 24, 2015) was a Swiss sailor and motorsports enthusiast. He was adept at offshore sailing, winning both the prestigious transatlantic races, the

Route du Rhum The Route du Rhum is a wikt:transatlantic, transatlantic Single-handed sailing, single-handed yacht racing, yacht race, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, Metropolitan France and Pointe-à- ...

in 1994 and 1998 and the Transat Jacques-Vabre in 1997. He did a lot of his racing alongside his brother and fellow adventurer Yvan Bourgnon. He was born on 16 April 1966 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and disappeared after a diving accident on 24 June 2015 in Toau Atoll, French Polynesia.

Biography

Laurent Bourgnon was a multidisciplinary as a sailor, airplane and helicopter pilot, mechanic and developer, engineer and creator. At the age of four, Laurent Bourgnon took his first steps on his parents' sailboat for a two-year trip to the Caribbean, then they left for three years from 13 to 16 years old, going around the world with their family. After crossing the Atlantic in 1986 at the age of 20 on a beach machine (Hobie Cat 18 of 5.40 m), Laurent Bourgnon embarked on the competition. He was the winner of the biggest transoceanic events on his Primagaz trimaran including two Routes du Rhum, the Twostar, the Transat Jacques-Vabre, the Québec-Saint-Malo and many other events. He also put his know-how in aeronautics to develop a new MCR 01 two-seater travel aircraft, very fast with a very long autonomy. On June 24, 2015, he went missing during a dive in French Polynesia in the lagoon of Toau Atoll. The people on the support boat did not see him return to the surface and alerted the emergency services. The search (by helicopter and boats) was called off on the evening of June 28, after 4 days. According to the MRCC Polynesia "The most likely hypothesis is that he was carried to the bottom by a current coming out in a pass." A Documentary entitled "The uncommon destiny of the Bourgnon brothers, icons of sailing" was produced in 2018.

Sailing achievements

1986

*Transatlantic Hobie Cat 18 beach catamaran with Fred Giraldi

1987

2nd in the

Mini Transat Mini Transat is a solo transatlantic yacht race which typically starts in France and ends in the Caribbean. The race uses small long yachts conforming to the Mini Transat 6.50 class rules which gives considering scope for development. More rec ...

6.50, winner of the 2nd stage on a production boat against the faster prototypes

1988

Winner of the Solitaire du Figaro on his first attempt, the youngest of the competitors with one of the oldest boats

1994

* record for solo sailing across the North Atlantic on Primagaz in 7 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 42 seconds * winner of the

* record distance sailing in 24 hours alone on Primagaz with 540 nautical miles

1997

* winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre

1998

* winner of the

Motorsport achievements

* 1999: First participation in the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

* 2000: 13th in the

* 2001: 10th in the Dakar Rally * 2002: 13th in the Dakar Rally * 2003: 24th in the

in buggy * 2004: 23rd in the

in buggy * 2005:

in buggy (abandoned) * 2008: 9th Rally Tunisia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourgnon, Laurent 1966 births 2015 deaths Sailors (sport) from Geneva Swiss male sailors (sport) IMOCA 60 class sailors Swiss racing drivers Off-road racing drivers Dakar Rally drivers 20th-century Swiss sportsmen