Alexis Carré just won the IOM Worlds by a stunning 40 points, with only one race (out of 18) outside the top 10! Here’s an interview that we just did with him..
R69: Thanks for joining us, Alexis. Tell us a bit about you.
AC: i am married, one sailing daughter 15 yo, one geek son 11yo, one dog, one cat, one rabbit….. and one wife too!
R69: How long have you been sailing IOMs?
AC: I started IOM in 2002 with locals regattas, in same time, I sailed on flying fifteen with my brother (win 2 french national). I have too a Start 6 (I let you search on internet) and since 10 mouths, I try to put my ass on ILCA, and I hurt everywhere!
R69: How long have you been racing IOM’s?
AC: I started in 2002.
R69: Do you race any other R/C classes?
AC: Nope, I prefer to try to do one thing well.
R69: How about “real” boats (haha!) what do you sail?
AC: Flying Fifteen, Surprise, 590, Start 6 (with ma bro and family), ILCA
R69: In your 2026 IOM Worlds win, with 84 boats and 18 races, how in the hell did you only have one finish outside the top 10 (a 14th)? What are your tricks to sailing well in a large fleet?
AC: I don’t know…. I’m very happy in my life, with my incredible wife, and I was very clear headed. And no drugs or others things!
R69: You won in a V12. What makes that boat special?
AC: maybe Me? 😂 Ian (Vickers, architect and builder) was a great guy, incredible sailor and he died a couple weeks before WC. Very sad news…. Maybe he was a little bit with me during the regatta….
R69: Do you have other makes of IOM, and did you consider entering one of them instead?
AC: No, I have only one IOM
R69: Who is your go to sailmaker, and why?
AC: Me! It’s my real pleasure to try to go fast with my own sails. It’s not my job but I’m very proud to say “I’m the World Champ with MY sails”. 🤗
R69: All top sailors in all classes are experts at changing gears. What do you do to change gears if the wind is up? If the wind is down? Chop? Flat Water?
AC: I’ve a simple base setting, and I try to adjust sails (camber, leech,…) following if wind increase or decreased, waves,…
R69: How much more IOM hull design evolution do you see, and are there design trends that you think will make the boats faster?
AC: 
Big evolution was in 2010-2011. Today, all the boats can go fast.
R69: Is there much shit-talking amongst y’all when racing?
AC: It’s very rare, and fortunately!
R69: Now that you’ve had plenty of time to reflect on your win, and upon reflection, what did you take away from that?
AC: It has been an incredible week for me. I never thought I would make it, let alone in this way. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved, and I hope I’ve made the people who know me proud as well.
R69: What surprised you the most?
AC: I surprised myself by staying extremely calm and focused throughout. I take the races one at a time and don’t ask myself “what if…?”. I just enjoyed the moment.
R69: Finally, What’s next?
AC: Now I’m going to focus on my loved ones and myself while I wait for the next regattas.
R69: Bro, thank you so much for your time!
AC: I’m very proud that you asked me all of these questions! And I need to take time to try to learn English…. I’m better with radio control in my hands…!
Photos thanks to the interwebs.
