Goodbye Jean...

We knew that Jean was ill, but as he was a fighter, we all thought that he was invincible and that he would once again overcome the adversity.
Jean Maurel was one of France's top sailors, crazy about the multihulls he sailed on for the majority of his career, and aboard which he established his reputation. In 1999, during the Transat Jacques Vabre, Paul Vatine and Jean Maurel's trimaran, Groupe André, capsized off the Azores. Jean was resting in the 60' trimaran's cabin… Paulo was never found, and Jean, marked by this disappearance, stopped ocean racing to become a project director (on the trimaran Bayer), then race director, notably of the Jacques Vabre and the Rhum. A race director for whom the most important thing has always been the sailors, and who has always refused to let them take risks, even if this meant delaying race starts, to the great displeasure of the participants...  
Here at Multihulls World, we liked to ask Jean Maurel for his opinion, which drew on a wide nautical culture and a unique knowledge gained throughout his career.   
We will miss you, Jean...
Our thoughts are with his family, those close to him, and all his friends.