Tuesday 29 April 2014

Multi50 Arkema receives replacement mast in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands

Team Lalou have just updated that they have installed the replacement mast on their Multi50 Arkema.  The last mast was lost in their capsize in the Transat Jacques Vabre.  The team hope to have the boat ready to compete in the 2014 Multi50 season and ultimately the Route du Rhum.

Radikal T26 foil assist trailerable trimaran nearly ready to launch at Port Medoc

Phil Roulin from Perspective Design and the build team just missed out on having the boat ready for the International Boat Show at La Grande Motte but are making final preparations to launch the new Radikal 26 at Port Medoc.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trimaran-Radikal-T26/1410096839227207





Monday 28 April 2014

ITL Solo Trans Tasman Yacht Race, Reini Gelder on Ave Gitana/Shark Angels breaks longstanding record

Reini Gelder has broken the Solo Trans Tasman Yacht Race record set by Ian Johnston on the trimaran Bullfrog in 1986 by 1 hour and 37 minutes.  Reini's Lock Crowther designed 40' trimaran a sistership to Bullfrog was in a class of it's own in the fleet easily outpacing the other multihull entrant Steven Arms on the Robin Chamberlain designed catamaran "Nitro" and winning the race by about 270nm.  The two multi competitors split early in the race with Steven Arms choosing to head North and Reini Gelder choosing to head South which ultimately turned out to be a better decision.

Race updates are being posted on the ITL New Plymouth to Mooloolaba solo trans tasman FB site:

https://www.facebook.com/2014-ITL-New-Plymouth-to-Mooloolaba-Solo-Tasman-Yacht-Race

Ave Gitana/Shark Angels at the start, photo courtesy Hamish Archer

Corsair 37 trimaran entered in the 2014 Transpac Race

From the following article on Corsair Marine:

http://corsairmarine.com/news/4-guys-and-a-c37-take-on-the-transpac-race/

Four guys and a C37, ‘Transit of Venus’ will set off across the pacific ocean this summer in the infamous ‘Transpac’ Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Hawaii. 

The first ‘Transpacific Race’ took place in 1906 and took 12 days to complete. It has since become one of the premier international sailing events and attracts entrants from all over the world. The race is organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club and is famour for fast downwind sailing under spinnaker in the trade winds.

read more here


 
 

Sunday 27 April 2014

Newport to Ensenada, MOD70 just edges out the ORMA 60 Mighty Merloe (former Groupama2)

From the following article on BYMnews.com

http://bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=131820

Trimarans made for exciting start but record stands
 
Saturday, 26 April 2014
 
With welcome washing-machine like seas and unexpected winds, the best in a decade race veterans said, nearly 200 sailboats crossed the start of the 67th annual Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race, hosted by NOSA, off the Balboa Pier yesterday in Newport Beach, Calif.
 
Making a stunning debut in this race were two super trimarans: the 60-foot ORMA, Mighty Merloe, and the 70-foot MOD Orion that excellerated like races cars from behind the start, skimmed lightly across the confused waves and lead the crowd down the 125-mile course in hopes of beating the elapsed time record.
 
The late Steve Fossett’s 60-foot catamaran Stars and Stripes has held that record for 16 years. The time to beat: 6:46:40. Unfortunately, the wind did not last.  At 7pm, when two trimarans appeared on the horizon, darkened by the incoming storm front and making it hard for those waiting to guess if they were going to make it before sundown.
 
Forty minutes later, after a series of tacks and jibes that had the boats crisscrossing at least three times, Orion was first to finish at 7:40:38.  In second Mighty Merloe, arriving at 7:42:23.
 
read more here
 
the results page below:
 
 

Friday 25 April 2014

Spindrift Racing update, Making the sails for Spindrift 2 maxi trimaran featured in the latest edition of 40 metres solo

From the following article by Virginie Bouchet on the Spindrift Racing website:

http://www.spindrift-racing.com/2014/04/spindrift-racing-series-40-metres-solo-episode-12-making-the-sails/                       
 
As promised, ’40 metres solo’ returns to the story of the sails. After last Thursday’s episode on their design, today we are walking the floor of the North Sails France sail loft in Vannes with Jacques Guichard, who tells us about the making of Spindrift 2’s giant wardrobe.

Jacques Guichard, the little brother of Spindrift’s skipper, Yann, also has a passion for the sea and racing. He chose sails as his stomping ground. He works on design, production and the on-board testing but he also fine-tunes sails for races and records. He knows his trade inside out and so was an obvious choice to be in charge of the sail programme for Spindrift racing.
 
“This year for Spindrift 2, we wanted to design sails light enough to be carried by Yann on his own during the Route du Rhum but strong enough to hold up to the intensity of a crewed speed record like the North Atlantic,” Guichard says. “We had the opportunity to play around with the internal structure of the sail with a view to this season’s plans. We started with calculations for the solo, then we increased the power for load testing with a crew. On the New York-Lizard Point record, it’s about sailing at 100-130 degrees to the wind and so we are not at the maximum load for a sail compared to upwind angles (50-70° to the wind). Thus, a good ‘crew-solo’ compromise was easier to find.”
 
read more here
  

Multi50 update, FenetreA Cardinal and Actual relaunched after winter refit, Maitre Jacques receiving new floats

The FenetreA Cardinal team have relaunched their Multi50 as a cost saving move they shared refit space with Team Actual in Hennebont who have also relauched earlier this week. 

You can follow the FenetreA Cardinal team on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/FenetreaCardinal



 

 
In other Multi50 news the trimaran Maitre Jacques is to receive new floats.  The damage that occurred to the starboard float in the 2013 Transat Jacques Vabre convinced the team that it was best to replace both rather than attempt a repair.  As a bonus the new floats should boost Maitre Jacques performance and make the top end of the Multi50 field even more competitive.  They hope to have the boat ready to launch by the 29th of May.




Extreme Sailing Series heads to Qingdao for Act 3 in the racing series

From the following press release on the Extreme Sailing Series Website:

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/news/view/12-extreme-40s-head-to-chinas-olympic-sailing-city-for-extreme-sailing-seri#.U1mKFjiKDrc

- Significant crew changes on GAC Pindar and Emirates Team New Zealand, as David Gilmour and Peter Burling take the reigns.
- China’s sailing capital gears up to welcome the 60 elite level sailors – watch the promo video here.
- Visa, a global payments technology company, returns as Official Payment Service Partner to the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup.
- What are the physical demands on an elite-level Extreme 40 bowman? Find out with SAP Extreme Sailing Team’s bowman Peter Wibroe, here.

In one week the fleet of 12 Extreme 40s, including home nation entry ‘Team Extreme Qingdao’ will line up on one of the most notorious stadium racecourses on the global tour, at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, 1-4 May. Fans in China can follow all the action on the newly launched Chinese website and watch the racing live on leading sports portals PPTV.com and Letv.com, as well as on regional broadcaster Qingdao TV. International fans will be able to watch the Stadium Racing action on the official event website, www.extremesailingseries.com.

China’s host city for the 2008 Olympic sailing regatta’s holds plenty of proud memories for the fleet, with Brits Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Sarah Ayton and Ben Ainslie, and American Anna Tunnicliffe, all taking gold in their respective classes. For Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, the Act in Qingdao will be the first time he has raced on the Olympic waters since winning the Finn gold in 2008. The J.P. Morgan BAR skipper commented: “We are all really looking forward to China. For Paul, Pippa and I who spent a lot of time there before and during Beijing 2008 it’s a special place for us. But we know that it is another difficult venue and there’s a lot of tide there so that could be challenging and tough but we certainly want to work on our performance as a team.”

read more here


Rocket Factory trimarans, kits available for Scoundrel 22 trimaran design soon

From the following entry on Tony Grainger's trimaran news blog:

http://www.rocketfactorytrimarans.com/2014/04/24/kits-for-rocket-factory-22-scoundrel-available-soon/

A brochure that covers the Scoundrel 22 and Rascal 25 designs is here:

http://www.rocketfactorytrimarans.com/2014/03/22/brochure-download-for-scoundrel-and-rascal-available/

Wednesday 23 April 2014

A second life for the one time holder of the Jules Verne Record the maxi catamaran Orange II

From the following article (in French) in the Multiplast newsletter:

http://www.multiplast.eu/fr/actualit%C3%A9s/newsletters/actualit%C3%A9s-composite-yachts/710-une-deuxi%C3%A8me-vie-pour-le-catamaran-orange-ii.html

And the rough bing translate below:

A second life for the catamaran Orange II
FranƧois Bich and the Multiplast (valves) are pleased to announce a second life for the catamaran Orange II
 
This boat, led by Bruno Peyron, a detainee the Jules Verne trophy (record around the world to sail with a crew) in 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes from 2005 to 2010 but also the fastest on the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and 24 hours (766.8 miles either 31.95 knots average speed).
 
"Bruno Peyron:" I am proud of this history of conquest, proud of this boat that gave me my 3th Jules Verne trophy, proud of my companions with whom we have spent so many hours and magical nights around the world but I am glad that FranƧois Bich and the Multiplast yard have the audacity to begin a transformation as radical and ambitious. It will likely mark a turning point in the evolution of the maxi large cruising catamarans and...I like the audacity!"
 
A wonderful machine that has won....
 
Designed by the Gilles Ollier Design Team and built by the chantier Multiplast, Orange II, long of 36 m, is a wonderful machine that won it all! Should be passionate bud experienced to tackle a project of this scale: it will be FranƧois Bich.
 
FranƧois Bich begins on the family boat designed by M.andre mung. He then gained experience on dinghies (Ponant and 505). In 1965, he sailed on the 12 m JI Sovereign used during the summer as a family boat. He dedicated then 4 years of his youth in the preparation of the America's Cup and will be incorporated into the battalion of Joinville in respect of training for this event. In 1970 and 1974 he will participate in Newport, on France to the America's Cup.
 
Passionate multihull, the Hobie Cat in formula 40, FranƧois Bich is one of the rare enthusiasts of beautiful boats capable of giving a second life to Orange II. He knows that he will benefit from an exceptional boat to circumnavigate the world.
It is therefore not without emotion, that Jack Michal, Franck Martin and Yann Penfornis, three architects who participated in the initial design of the catamaran to the side of Gilles Oliier, revealed plans and calculation notes to develop changes to the boat. The goal is to turn it into a (very) fast cruising yacht without losing the boat racing DNA. Thus a streamlined nacelle of 70 m² will be grafted behind mast boom. Six booths will be arranged in shells with 3 pairs of guests and a crew of 5.

From a technical point of view, despite the strong will and many approaches of the new owner to navigate under the french flag, this transformation will be possible only by opting for a UK regulator more suitable and less restrictive.
 
FranƧois Bich is a member of the BIC company since February 1969. From 1971, it takes the global responsibility of the "Lighter" category, he was in charge of the creation and development and ensures always responsibility 43 years later.

 

Interview of Jean-Marie Buignet of specialist composites company C3 technologies by Dominic Bourgeois of Voiles et Voiliers

From the following interview of Jean-Marie Buignet by Dominic Bourgeois on the excellent Voiles et Voiliers:

http://www.voilesetvoiliers.com/chantiers/coeur-de-chantiers-c3-technologies-jean-marie-buignet-notre-rayonnement-vient-de-la-course/

the rough bing translate is below:

Discreetly and for fifteen years, the worksite C3 Technologies of La Rochelle, ex-dependance of CRAIN, realizes technical composite parts for the sailing race, in France and in Europe.
Derivatives, rudders, foils and other elements supporting huge constraints are part of the catalog of this site like no other, which also offers bracing, partitions, as well as wings and the skeletons of aircraft... Explanations of Jean-Marie Buignet, host of this company in full expansion.

voilesetvoiliers.com: Jean-Marie, the worksite C3 Technologies built no boat, but very specific...
Jean-Marie Buignet:
Yes, we are essentially technical parts. Our core business, these are the elements for Racing Sailboats, multihulls or monohulls. And we are specialized in the construction of appendages and parts that support a great deal of effort: sails of keel, rudder, derivatives... That said, on the monohull Macif, we realized all partitions of the boat. And we must do the same thing for the next IMOCA under construction (Bank Populaire 8, saffron...), as well as for the new trimaran Macif by FranƧois Gabart, as a subcontractor of CDK Technologies.
 
v & v.com: have long been that you collaborate with other sites?
J.M.B.:
With CDK Technologies, since Bank Populaire III, in the 2000s - it was the first ORMA trimaran with curved foils. In fact, originally, society had been set up to serve as a technical laboratory for CRAIN (Research Centre for Architecture and the water industry) - I was working alongside Philippe Pallu de La BarriĆØre. Our first project in common, in 1989, it was the little America's Cup to conceptualize CGU, equipped with a tilting wing. It was necessary to build the catamaran, and then follow it in Australia!
 
v & v.com: It was the first concrete example of a basic research...
J.M.B.:
In fact, with parallel the first gear of speed under the colours of the Charente Maritime. CRAIN had already collaborated with architects Joubert-Nivelt on oceanic catas Charente Maritime, but there, on entering into research and experimentation life-size! It was at this time that I began to realize composite parts within the centre, as I was seconded by Eric Bruneel who wore the CGU project.
 
v & v.com: It was then that began a collaboration on other large projects!
J.M.B.:
With the America's Cup, including, Yes, for the challenge of Marc Pajot with Ville de Paris in San Diego, in 1992. We worked on specific systems for the keel, with tests in the wind tunnel. Then again the challenge of 1995 with France 2-3 in order to achieve a campaign more built with hull basin tests, wind tunnel models: I support the construction and monitoring of these elements-tests on the test sites...
 
v & v.com: has originally, were you trained as an engineer?
J.M.B.:
Not at all! I walked a little by chance in the trade of the composite... I came to La Rochelle in 1983 with the Rochelaises regatta society, I met Jean-FranƧois Fountaine and Pierre Follenfant. I then integrated the technical team of Charente Maritime jobsite Pinta, where I stayed seven years as stratifieur. There has therefore been Charente Maritime 2, the 60 feet of Jean-Yves Terlain (Doctors without borders-PSU) as well as sailboats race of the time who came to rebuild a health or optimizations in La Rochelle (Kersauson, Poupon, Peyron, Tabarly, Pajot...). I have just learned in Marc Pinta - I came from Rouen, where these technologies were not developed. That's how I met Philippe Pallu de La BarriĆØre, and Eric Bruneel, who worked on the first Corneel catas in a corner of the yard.
 
v & v.com: And, once integrated as a collaborator of CRAIN, projects are chained...
J.M.B.:
With including the french challenge Sixth sense of Luc Gellusseau. It has allowed me to meet all the french riders who gravitated around the Cup! I was able to develop the composite activity within CRAIN and, from 1996, I proposed to perpetuate our structure. We were then able to work on the protos electric, technological elements for the boating industry... And as, on the America's Cup, we especially directed structural parts and appendices, we were approached by Multiplast at the time of three catamarans The Race - and we realized the derivatives of these giants.
 
v & v.com: It is at this point that the company C3 technology sees the day...
J.M.B.:
Yes. And I had to expand the team, because we have worked for the ORMA trimarans (Banque Populaire, Sergio Tacchini, Sopra and Gitana...) and for the IMOCA monohulls (veils of keel in carbon, rudders, derivatives...) as Chimneys Poujoulat, Temenos, Sill, Bonduelle... In the last VendƩe Globe, 11 boats had parts produced by C3 Technologies! At the time, there was so much work that he was very coherent remain integrated into a design office: in 2008, with a few employees and Philippe Pallu and myself, we repurchased activity to settle here, in PƩrigny.
 
v & v.com: So are you self-employed?
J.M.B.:
Yes, with our building, our machines, our tools, our autoclave, our digital die cutting. CRAIN has turned its activities to passenger when C3 Technologies is specialized in technical exhibit high strength. In six years, we have made much progress: we are ten to edge of society which has consolidated and well equipped. And we seek to diversify us, even if already our racing sector is well developed outside our borders...
 
v & v.com: What types of products you diversify you?
J.M.B.:
Americans we currently seek to achieve with rudders and derivatives for a 100-foot monohull. We have worked on a large unit put water in Dubai recently. Our radiation comes undoubtedly from the world of racing with skippers as Michel Desjoyeaux, Armel Le ClƩac ' h, Jean Le Cam... And the architects and engineers who know us are also our promotion, which brings new customers.
 
v & v.com: But the race market is very small!
J.M.B.:
It's true, but side, there is the possibility to transpose our skills to other media such as large yachts or protos gear... While developing very specific manufacturing techniques. And as it gets closer to the aircraft approach, we begin to be listed by high-tech companies. We want to keep the 'pointed' side of the sail with the world of racing while working on aircraft of tourism... We have thus made a structural skeleton and removable carbon wings of a prototype all-electric.
 
v & v.com: A very different clientele!
J.M.B.:
It changes from the boat, Yes! The 'e-fan' aircraft developed by EADS was presented at the last Salon du Bourget in June 2013 and it flew its first flights recently successfully! It runs on batteries with the goal of being an aircraft with sufficient autonomy for its program. It is very interesting for us, because it fits into our field of expertise and that the sailing race works in cycles. Now we are on the preparation of the VendƩe Globe 2016, because there are several boats under construction: saffron, Banque Populaire, without forgetting the Macif by FranƧois Gabart trimaran...
 
v & v.com: In fact, you realize that 'custom'parts...
J.M.B.:
Yes, with the protos, is automatically production unit - but with aeronautics, this could turn into small series. We do that technical composite parts and appendages are the perfect illustration: on the maxi-trimaran Spindrift, we have manufactured all the rudders, the derivatives and the foils. And we realize a new foil for the trimaran Bank Populaire VII
 
v & v.com: What has changed in terms of building on these appendages?
J.M.B.:
A little forms, but especially materials and implementation techniques. Given their level of solicitation, all these pieces are now done in autoclave. It also manufactures hollow parts made at once: it has become a little more complicated that a simple plate! For the foils of the maxi-trimaran, there are 116 mm of carbon in some places... This requires a bit of mastery with radii of curvature of 3.50 metres.
 
v & v.com: You have a design office to calculate efforts or are architects and engineers who give you the plan of draping?
J.M.B.:
It's too technical on this type of parts. Designers provide all the elements to build, but we happen to participate in structural design as for the trimmers that there on the ORMA trimarans.
 
 v & v.com: What trend on these appendages in terms of relief of stiffness?
J.M.B.:
It depends on parts and profiles. For the rudders should retain flexibility because the shovel works in torsion and so a certain bending support. For the foils, load cases are very different and it seeks to achieve a very steep part with little distortion. But now, you have to imagine composite parts with different resistance to torsion modules: there are very rigid parts and other more flexible. We have constraints of mass, load resistance, durability, precision, since most of our parts work dragging in another - a well, a hole... With the speeds reached by boats today, must be the game between Appendix and holds the smallest possible: we are in an adjustment of the order of a tenth of a millimeter... Twenty-five years ago, a multihull sailing exceptionally at more than 20 knots; Today, it is a cruising speed!
 
v & v.com: And in terms of profile?
J.M.B.:
There has been much evolution. Flows at 20 knots are not the same as 35-40 knots! The traditional Naca profile, it is passed to much more sophisticated forms. And we still have more resistant materials. And now there is the nano-particles that incorporate new carbons... We can also treat some stainless steels or some aluminium with these nano-particles on the surface, to block the phenomenon of oxidation.
 
v & v.com: And as regards to technologies?
J.M.B.:
Outside the autoclave, which brings a plus during stratification, there is also digital machining techniques, which we are equipped, allowing also to maintain the confidentiality of all records.
 
v & v.com: Can what sizes of parts you achieve in an autoclave?
J.M.B.:
We can make parts of 12 metres long and two metres in diameter: derivatives, foils, rudders, partitions... The speaker allows to climb to 8.5 bars of pressure and 170 ° C temperature, but, in general, it works at 110 ° C and between 2 and 5 bars, according to geometry, constituent material and the thickness of the workpiece.
 
v & v.com: And on the side of implementation implementation?
J.M.B.:
As a general rule, starts from the top surface. On a foil, we start with the outer skin, structural beam, a monolithic party that acts as a bumper on the leading edge, to which add different densities digitally machined and glued foams, skin and Interior after cooking. The technique of the shells is more current because it was discovered that one of the big dangers of this kind of implementation, they are "blind collages", i.e. of the junctions between the two shells that we cannot control. Currently, it has over blind collage.
 
v & v.com: This requires constant monitoring during cooking, non?
J.M.B.:
Yes, there are a multitude of alarm sensors - if the tarp comes off, if the vacuum is not done properly, if the temperature rise is not respected... There are bars of thermocouple to trace the history of the implementation. On the structural bar of this foil, he had four controls by ultrasound at every stage of the construction since this very thick piece is carried out in several phases: the resins used generate such energy calories that it causes significant exothermic phenomena as they are proportional to the mass of the workpiece. Therefore, proceed in stages with cooking differences: it's twenty years of experience... At the end, the piece finished and removed from the mould is still controlled to ensure that skins are perfectly together. In total, there are five controls quality!
 
v & v.com: what new parts have you realized in recent weeks?
J.M.B.:
The new rudders of PRB, as the skippers found they drew still more structurally on these appendages. The designs of these coins dated from 2006, that is of an era where the riders were not still operating to their machine at 100%. The evolution of the performance of the IMOCA monohulls is such that it may review the conceptual, both at the level of the drawing of the profile in terms of drape of fabrics. A new generation of appendages is underway, with new profiles and new structures... And we can respect the estimate of weight to a few kilos, as we demonstrated with the appendages of the MOD70, including derivatives...
 
v & v.com: Your core business remains the realization of technical parts in carbon. What are your competitors?
J.M.B.:
We are not many in France! There are Heol Composites in Vannes and Florian Madec Composites in Brest. Then there are Swiss, Italians... This is a very special know-how on a very small niche: design-construction-composite - from which the name of the company, C3 Technologies!

Spindrift Racing update, shakedown cruise on maxi trimaran Spindrift 2 yields good results and training for D35 catamaran season underway

From the following press release on the Spindrift Racing website:
 
 
-Conclusive technical tests on board the maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2
-Start of training on board the D35 Ladycat powered by Spindrift racing
 
Spindrift 2 has had its first sail after the winter optimisation, spending a night at sea criss-crossing the Bay of Biscay. The control was there straight away and the boat ran like clockwork. The 2014 season has begun and it has started well for Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard’s team. This week, the Spindrift team will be racing on Lake Geneva as they begin the D35 training.
 
With 15-25 knots of wind and a full moon in a cloudless sky, the weather rolled out the red carpet for the maxi-trimaran during its first offshore trial run from La TrinitĆ©-sur-Mer. “The season has started and it’s great,” Guichard said. “What a pleasure to be sailing again and rediscovering this boat. Things felt really good out there and the technical assessment has been very positive too. After the changes we made, Spindrift 2 is behaving as expected. With the crew, we feel that the boat is still safe and sound, but lighter and more responsive. We also really improved the speed of the manoeuvres. Overall, although we still have work to do calibrating all the sailing instruments, to match the numbers to these feelings, the team can be proud of what they’ve done.”
 
read more here

Corsair Cruze 970 trimaran interior upgrade options available

From the following entry on the Corsair Marine website:

http://corsairmarine.com/news/corsair-cruze-970-gets-an-interior-lift/

Check out the new interior the Corsair team have developed for the Cruze 970 hull # 8 which is due to head out this week to Bob Gleason of the Multihull Source in Massachusetts, USA.

The finishing in the Cruze 970 was already a huge step above the previous Corsair Trimarans but we have just taken it to another level!

This boat is supplied with Carbon trims throughout, a beautiful limewash effect flooring and a new high quality interior fabric.

Check out these new features which are available through your local dealer.




Tuesday 22 April 2014

Francis Joyon arrives in Rio de Janeiro after 13 days sailing from Bordeaux

Francis has arrived in Rio de Janeiro on the maxi trimaran IDEC. Reference time that was set: 13 days, 03 hours, 05 minutes and 19 seconds for the theoretical 4812 miles.

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/news.articles.aspx?id=264

He’s done it! At 1738hrs UTC (1938hrs CET) on Monday 21st April 2014, the IDEC maxi-trimaran crossed the finishing line in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Francis Joyon has set a new reference time for the Friendship Route between Bordeaux (France) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). His race time: 13 days, 03 hours, 05 minutes and 19 seconds for the theoretical 4812 miles.


Francis Joyon left Bordeaux on Tuesday 8th April beginning in the Gironde Estuary at 1433hrs UTC. This was merely four days after officially going on stand by with the support in particular  of the French football team, the Girondins de Bordeaux and Fabien Barthez among others. This new Friendship Route between Bordeaux and Rio de Janeiro was designed to bring together France and Brazil and come to the aid of charities in Brazil, as well as the ICM, the Brain and Spinal Cord Institute in France.

An average speed of 15.2 knots on the Great Circle Route and 18.1 knots out on the water
IDEC’s race time: 13 days, 03 hours, 05 minutes and 19 seconds to sail the 4812 miles of the theoretical route or 15.27 knots. In reality, IDEC sailed 910 miles more out on the water: 5722 nautical miles at an average speed of 18.16 knots. The explanation: Francis Joyon had to go around all the low-pressure areas from Cape Finisterre to the middle of the Atlantic. He had no hesitation in sailing 900 miles away from the direct route. Once again, Francis Joyon has managed to get the most out of his maxi trimaran to play with the various weather systems. He very often got up to around thirty knots...

The final 24 hours of sailing along the coast of Brazil were very demanding for the skipper of IDEC, who had to sail upwind for the final 120 miles to Rio de Janeiro. Exhausted after missing out on his sleep, Francis Joyon had to keep hard at it, carrying out changes of tack and many manoeuvres to reach the finishing line. These thirteen days of sailing were rather unusual as he had to sail a long way north to get to the west and this demanded a lot of effort. A few moments after crossing the line, Francis Joyon gave us his first impressions of this new record.

read more here

Sunday 20 April 2014

Francis Joyon on IDEC maxi trimaran final approach to Rio de Janeiro

From the following article on the Trimaran IDEC website:

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/news.articles.aspx?id=262

Will IDEC be slowing down today or not? The answer to this question will determine whether Francis Joyon finishes in Rio de Janeiro tomorrow or on Tuesday.

Francis Joyon is making the suspense last in this final stretch of the Friendship Route. He told us that the weather would probably lead him to slow right down on Easter Sunday, but at 0830hrs UTC, the IDEC maxi trimaran was still doing more than 22 knots on the direct route. The weather charts appear to be rather more optimistic than yesterday. With 400 miles to go to the finish in Rio de Janeiro, each variation in speed and each calm zone could modify considerably the arrival time.

Up until now, Francis Joyon had been talking about finishing on “sometime during daylight hours on Tuesday 22nd.” It now seems possible that it could be much sooner, although the final 100 miles could still prove tricky. There may well be wind holes, which stop the big red multihull for several hours, but they are difficult to predict.

read more here

The tracker for the record attempt is here:

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/media.tracker.aspx

Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Yacht Race, Bank of Queensland Team Australia ORMA60 takes line honours, Morticia Seacart 30 in second and catamaran Fantasia in third place with 1st on OMR

Article on Bank of Queensland/Team Australia ORMA60's line honours:

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=121294&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=1

Article on Morticia's Seacart 30's second place:

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=121300&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=1

Saturday 19 April 2014

Francis Joyon, Trimaran IDEC slides through the doldrums with about 1200nm to go

Francis Joyon leaves the doldrums and approaches his goal

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/news.articles.aspx?id=260

The IDEC maxi trimaran has just made it out of the Doldrums. This Friday lunchtime, she is sailing around sixty miles from the Horn of Brazil between Natal and Recife. Francis Joyon is therefore tackling the final stretch of the Friendship Route: 1200 miles along the coast of Brazil, where there still are many traps. He is looking forward to finishing in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.


That’s now behind them. The IDEC maxi trimaran has managed to get away from the claws of the Intertropical Convergence Zone with its alternating periods of squalls, calms and winds, which are extremely variable in strength and direction. Francis Joyon: “I admit that I was rather worried about this trip through the Doldrums, as the forecasts were not exactly positive. The American models were horrible forecasting huge areas with absolutely no wind over a 350-mile wide zone. The European model was a little less pessimistic. In the end, it was something in between the two across a zone measuring around 300 miles. It took me around a day and a half to cross it but I only really got stopped for a few hours, which isn’t that bad.”

read more here

Friday 18 April 2014

Artemis Racing update team strengthens Design team with new additions

From the following press release by Artemis Racing on their Facebook page:
 
https://www.facebook.com/ArtemisRacing

 ALAMEDA, 17th April 2014 - Artemis Racing announced today that it has signed Vincent Lauriot-PrĆ©vost, Simon Watin, Juan Garay and Matthew Davis, who will join the design team as Artemis Racing prepares for a possible 35th America’s Cup bid.

Both Vincent Lauriot-PrĆ©vost and Simon Watin join from VPLP Design, a world leader in multihull ra...cing and super yacht design founded in 1983. During the 34th America’s Cup they were part of the America's Cup Race Management design and research team, established to create an initial design package for the high-tech wing-sailed AC72 catamarans.

Vincent Lauriot-PrĆ©vost is a naval architect and co-founder of VPLP Design based in France. During his career Lauriot-PrĆ©vost has contributed to some of the most advanced racing prototype projects, including the design of the six last winners of La Route du Rhum, the record holders of the transatlantic (New York – Lizard) and round the world (Jules Verne Trophy) races, as well as BMW ORACLE Racing’s trimaran USA 17, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup.

“Having always been at the cutting edge of fast multihull design from the early age of VPLP Design, we were first involved in the America’s Cup challenge in 2007, when the Cup turned definitively to multihulls,” said the naval architect. “This time, it is a great opportunity to collaborate with Artemis Racing on such a great foiling racing cat project, at this ultimate level of technology in the America’s Cup.”

A specialist in performance prediction, Watin graduated as a fluid mechanics engineer before specializing in naval architecture. In 2011 he joined the VPLP Yacht Design office in France where he developed in-house performance prediction and Computational Fluid Dynamics capabilities, and was involved in maxi racing trimaran projects (Prince de Bretagne 80, Sodebo 4 and Macif 100), as well as Open 60 projects (Safran 2 and Banque Populaire) for the 2016 VendƩe Globe Race.

"I’m really excited to be part of the Artemis Racing team,” said Watin. “They have done an amazing job putting together a group of people that are not only very talented and experienced but also team players, and it is really motivating for me personally to have the chance to work in such an environment. Accurately predicting the performance of these boats will be quite a challenge, and we will have to sharpen our tools to be able make the right choices before launching the boats, especially since the sailing time may well be restricted."

Artemis Racing also welcomes back British electronics engineer Matthew Davis and Argentine aero designer Juan Garay.

Davis studied electrical and instrumentation engineering in Southampton, and has sailed as navigator, engineer and crew member in multiple maxi yacht races including the Rolex Transatlantic Yacht Race and Maxi Worlds. In 2009 he received the Navigator’s Award for 1st in class for LA to Hawaii Transpac Race.

Matthew was Team TelefĆ³nica’s instrument engineer for both the 2008 and 2011 Volvo Ocean Races. The 35th America’s Cup will be his third campaign following the 32nd with Victory Challenge and the 34th with Artemis Racing.

Garay has over 20 years of experience in sail design with North Sails South America, and has been involved in a variety of classes and circuits since 1990.

Juan started designing sails for Team GBR in 2006 and worked with Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson and Ben Ainslie on multiple Olympic campaigns including Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He was the sail designer for Team Origin and +39 Challenge, and the 35th America’s Cup will be his second campaign with Artemis Racing, leading the aero program development.

“I am excited to work again with such a fantastic team,” said Garay. “I have great memories of working with Iain and Bart on two successful Olympic campaigns. We worked extremely hard but managed to enjoy it at the same time. Having that collaborative and open environment in an America’s Cup team is extremely motivating.”

“We are pleased to welcome Simon and Vincent into the team, and have Juan and Matthew back with us,” said Artemis Racing design team coordinator Adam May. “Simon came to us highly recommended by a number of sources, while Vincent’s experience with big multihulls is undeniable. Juan and Matt are returning Artemis team members who bring with them a wealth of experience and great attitude in their respective areas. We continue to slowly grow our team, working hard to find the right fit of people within the group, and are fortunate to have had no shortage of great people reaching out to us, interested in getting involved,” concluded May.

Thursday 17 April 2014

Spindrift Racing, latest video in the 40 metres solo series examines the sails on Spindrift 2

                                                         
From the following article posted on April 17th, 2014 by Virginie Bouchet

http://www.spindrift-racing.com/2014/04/spindrift-racing-serie-40-metres-solo-episode-11-designing-the-sails/

As children, we all drew sails. Two triangles, a mast and a hull ​​and we had the most beautiful pirate ship in the world to hunt treasures on deserted islands around the room. Today, as a ‘Sail Designer’ at North Sails, Gautier Sergent is definitely still like a big kid.
 
From New Zealand, where he had already been working with ‘North’ for nearly 10 years, Sergent came to Brittany in order to work in the sail loft of Franck Cammas’s team for the victorious campaign in the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race. Now based at North Sails France in Vannes, Gautier works especially closely with Jacques Guichard, the master sailmaker at Spindrift racing, who manages the sail plan for the team.
 
“Computer modelling tools have evolved in recent years,” Sergent explains. “We already understand the forces on the structures, but now we can take into account the consistency of flow, i.e. better reproduce the effects of the flow of the wind on the sails and for example simulate turbulence more accurately. Spindrift 2’s sails are so large that it is impossible to reproduce their behaviour in a wind tunnel. Digital tools allow us to get ever closer to reality.”
 
read more here
 
and the video from the article:
  

Sodebo Ultime trimaran approaching completion at Multiplast

The crew at Multiplast are hard at work and aiming for a launch in May of the new Sodebo Ultime which utilises some parts of the former Geronimo maxi trimaran. 


Route de l ´ AmitiĆ©, Francis Joyon due to cross the Equator tonight

From the following press release on the Trimaran IDEC website:

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/news.articles.aspx?id=258

High speed sailing directly towards the finish... The IDEC maxi trimaran is averaging 25 knots, as she makes her way south and is therefore lapping up the miles Francis Joyon will be at the Equator tonight, but he remains suspicious of the Doldrums.


It’s great and I’m really pleased to be sailing on this tack directly towards the finish. It’s something I haven’t been able to do that much with all the low pressure areas I had to get around. The boat is sailing smoothly through the water. I’m in the fairly variable north-easterly trade winds, which are varying between 20 and 28 knots.” Francis Joyon sounded upbeat this Wednesday lunchtime: the IDEC maxi trimaran is sailing at around 25 knots and the solo sailor is clocking up the miles. He is back up to days sailing more than 540 miles. “I’ve got just 300 miles left before the Equator. I shall be crossing into the Southern Hemisphere in around fifteen hours, so during the night for you in Europe,” declared Francis.

The other good news is that “I have managed to repair the link rods between the rudders on the floats. I’ll sort it out completely when I finish, but the repair job is working perfectly well for now. I no longer have to keep switching them over each time I change tack. I haven’t had any other worries apart from what I call my daily routine jobs: a sheet that gives up the ghost, a line that needs replacing, just a few little things like that.”

read more here

 

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Francis Joyon and Trimaran IDEC now accelerating after passing the halfway point in the Bordeaux to Rio de Janeiro on Route de l ´ AmitiĆ© reference time attempt

From the following article on the Trimaran IDEC website:

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/en/news.articles.aspx?id=257

Halfway between Bordeaux and Rio, IDEC is accelerating 15 april 2014
Right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, IDEC is also halfway through the Friendship Route and Francis Joyon is now accelerating on the direct route.


Francis Joyon is clearly not affected that much by the technical problem concerning the links between his rudders (see our article from yesterday). For the past few hours, he has been back up to speeds above 20 knots and this morning (Tuesday) is preparing to complete more than 2400 miles of sailing. In other words his geographical situation is easy to understand. He is halfway between Bordeaux and Rio and right in the middle of the Atlantic at 15° North and 36 degrees West.

The most important thing is that the IDEC maxi trimaran is now back up to a good VMG (Velocity Made Good). Each mile gained towards Rio de Janeiro is on the ideal track. We can see that Francis Joyon is heading down south almost directly above the islands of Fernando de Noronha, with a touch to the east of due south (bearing of 164° at 0900hrs). That corresponds exactly to the route required to get around the Horn of Brazil before turning right towards Rio de Janeiro. 48 hours ago, Francis Joyon was sailing 150 miles further west… that gives us a good idea of the route that he has had to take to get around the famous low-pressure area, which has been blocking his route for several days. This south-south-easterly route is ideal for him to get on the right track towards the finish.

read more here

35th America's Cup, Gino Morelli on the new America's Cup catamarans

From the following article on blueplanettimes by Kymball Livingston Posted April 13, 2014
http://www.blueplanettimes.com/the-new-americas-cup-cat/

The New America’s Cup Cat

The next generation will look much like this 2013 generation challenger from New Zealand, but they’re a new breed

Gino Morrelli believes the next generation of America’s Cup catamarans will revolutionize upwind tactics. He foresees the boats foiling through tacks without slowing down, and if there is no price for tacking, that’s a new calculus, isn’t it? A new game.

Smaller, faster, safer. It’s quite a package that Morrelli is talking about, and he knows a bit. His firm of Morrelli & Melvin wrote the design rule for what we will call, for now, the AC62. That is, ten feet shorter than the AC72s of 2013 and shrunk appropriately in other dimensions as well. Add-in some one-design components, factor-in the fact that a lot of the design possibilities have already been explored—we know what the next generation will look like—and you have a boat that is cheaper to design and cheaper to build, even with amped-up technology. His partner Pete Melvin has been hard on the case.

At which point Morrelli adds the ultimate qualifier, “We can lower the cost to entry, but we can’t make it cheaper to win the America’s Cup.” 

Write this on the board twenty-five times: An America’s Cup team will always spend whatever it can get.

I shared billing with Gino over the weekend for a program at Strictly Sail Pacific, which opened my window onto what’s coming next, with a little caution tape on the windowsill: “We finished our job about four weeks ago,” Morrelli told the audience. “In our last iteration, the boat was 62 feet, but now we’ve handed it over to Oracle and Russell and the boys to fuss it out with the Challenger of Record and Iain Murray. That is, the Aussies from Hamilton Island Yacht Club. Between them, a lot can happen. We’re now out of the loop, but something’s cooking . . . At some point they have to pull the trigger and publish the design rule and let people start working on the new boats, even if they don’t decide the venue until deep in the process.”

read more here

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Radikal T26 trimaran, build coming along well

The Radikal T26 trimaran build is coming along well you can follow their project on their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trimaran-Radikal-T26/1410096839227207

You can read more details on the Radikal T26 trimaran over at Perspective Design:

http://www.perspective-design.com/Trimaran-Radikal-26ft-full-carbon.html#.U0xogDiKDrc


Extreme 40 sailor Anna Tunnicliffe on her workouts and preparation for sailing

From the following article on Sail-World submitted by Anna Tunnicliffe:

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/index.cfm?SEID=0&Nid=121114&SRCID=0&ntid=0&tickeruid=0&tickerCID=0

These days, twice Rolex Sailor of the Year and Olympic Gold medalist, Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) alternates between sailing aboard Alinghi in the Extreme Sailing Series, and chasing a serious ranking in the world of CrossFit.

Born in England, Tunnicliffe moved to USA at the age of 12, and pursued a promising track career before giving that away in favour of sailing, where she won a Gold Medal in the Womens Singlehander in 2008 and won the Womens Match Racing event at the 2011 ISAF World Championships in Perth. She represented USA in that event at the 2012 Olympics but did not make the medal podium.

CrossFit is becoming increasingly popular amongst sailors as a way of physically preparing for the sport, as it is less monotonous than other physical training processes and better replicates the physical sailing activities on board a racing boat.

read more here