Francois Gabarts' new Macif Ultime trimaran out for first test sail

Rolex Fastnet Race, multihulls home in light and variable conditions

The largest multihulls have now all finished the Fastnet Race.  Spindrift 2 took line honours but by only 20 minutes in the last few miles the MOD70 Phaedo managed to sneak into second just edging out the Prince de Bretagne Maxi 80 that claimed third place.

An article on Spindrift 2's Fastnet Race:

http://www.sail-world.com/2015-Rolex-Fastnet-Race---Thrilling-tactical-race/137607

and one that focuses on the general multihull and monohull fleet.

http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/light-winds-forgotten-big-grins-and-tight-finishes-for-fastnet-race



Phaedo3 taking part in the Rolex Fastnet Race 2015 from Ocean Images on Vimeo.

Francois Gabart's new Ultime racing trimaran "Macif" launched at Lorient

Francois Gabart's new Ultime trimaran "Macif" has been launched an impressive gallery of photos has been posted on Facebook by "Ultim Boat".

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.675681012533478.1073741843.483745085060406&type=3

A video of the launch has also been posted:

2015 Rolex Fastnet Race gets underway in very light conditions

The race has started in very light conditions this year a strong fleet of race multihulls are competing including the MOD70's Oman Sail, Phaedo and Concise 10 in the Ultimes Spindrift2 and Prince de Bretagne Maxi 80.

http://www.sail-world.com/Record-fleet-for-46th-Rolex-Fastnet-Race/137522

The tracker is here:

http://yb.tl/fastnet2015

2015 edition of the Artemis Challenge sees Musandam Oman Sail take line honours

This year the now super experienced Musandam Oman Sail crew on their much campaigned MOD70 took the win with close competition from Team Concise on the recently purchased and rebranded Paprec recyclage MOD70.  In third place was Lionel Lemonchois on his custom trimaran Prince de Bretagne Maxi 80.  Charging up close behind was the MOD70 of Team Phaedo.

More details on the following article:

http://www.artemischallenge.com/news/view/Musandam_-_Oman_Sail_win_charity_sprint_at_Cowes_Week

and some videos of the event:

Video summing up the Transpacific world record attempt by the Lending Club team

Gitana Team video of new lifting foil trials on the MOD70 trimaran Edmond de Rothschild

The Gitana team have been making progress on their implementation of a foiling solution for offshore use on the modified MOD70 trimaran Edmond de Rothschild.  In the Route du Rhum Seb Josse tested out T rudders with success and now with the addition of the lifting foil are conducting trials to test the modification under ocean conditions.  The trimaran is still running a C foil on the starboard side as a control.

From the following article on Yachting World:

http://www.yachtingworld.com/news/video-the-first-foiling-mod70-gitana-teams-edmond-de-rothschild-flies-during-her-first-trials-66373

Stand by for lift-off.
If you were impressed by the speeds of the AC45s last week off Portsmouth, check this out – the MOD70 Edmond de Rothschild is almost twice the size, has an extra hull, and is sailing, sorry flying, in the open ocean…

read more here



There is an additional press release from the Gitana Team that goes into more detail on the foil program and results so far:

http://www.gitana-team.com/en/event.news.aspx?eventid=97&newsid=1123

Lending Club team smash Los Angeles to Honolulu record

Lending Club team approaches Honolulu well ahead of record time

Offshore multihull racing legend Laurent Bourgnon lost in diving accident

One of the giants of multihull racing Laurent Bourgnon has been lost in a diving accident in French Polynesia.  He was reported missing on the 25th June and despite a comprehensive search no trace has been found.  His brother Yvan Bourgnon who recently completed a circumnavigation by a specially designed beach cat mounted his own search sadly without success.  Laurent was best known for his victories in the 1994 and 1998 in the solo Route du Rhum onboard the ORMA trimaran Primagaz.

A few additional details in the article below:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/06/25/swiss-yachtsman-bourgnon-missing-french-Polynesia

And a tribute from his brother Yvan Bourgnon.  Vale Laurent Bourgnon.


Hommage à Laurent Bourgnon from Thomas Chabrol on Vimeo.

Update from the Lending Club team on day 2 of their Transpac record attempt

Lending Club team withdraw from Transpac race in order to challenge outright record held by Olivier de Kersauson on Geronimo

The Lending Club 2 team have officially withdrawn from the Transpac race in order to catch a more suitable weather window for their LA to Honolulu attempt.  The outright record which is currently held by Olivier de Kersauson on Geronimo at 4d 19h 31m 37s is separate to the Transpac Race record which is held by the 86′ maxi cat Explorer of with a time of 5 Days, 9 hours, 18 minutes and 26 seconds

http://www.sail-world.com/2015-Transpac---Lending-Club-2-going-early-to-beat-outright-record/136491

Maxi trimaran Lending Club2 flying hulls in San Francisco harbor

Video of Phaedo3 finishing Trans Atlantic Race

Phaedo³, TR2015, finish from Ocean Images on Vimeo.

Phaedo3 completes Trans Atlantic race and takes line honours in the open division

Phaedo have finished the Trans Atlantic race and took first place in the open division.  Paradox are still at sea with about 254 nm to go.  They are about 30nm astern of Rambler 88.

From the Phaedo facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=919096394795562&id=190043577700851

Phaedo3 records the fastest elapsed time (unofficial) in the 2015 Transatlantic Race
In spite of being becalmed for nearly two days early in the race, the MOD 70 trimaran Phaedo3 owned by owner/driver Lloyd Thornburg has crossed the finish line off the southwest coast of England to record the fastest elapsed time (unofficial) in the 2,800 mile Transatlantic Race.

Thornburg, co-skipper Brian Thompson, and the rest of the crew’s elapsed time of 7 days, 2 hours, 4 minutes, 9 seconds was well ahead of the other fast boats that started in Newport, Rhode Island last Sunday including Jim Clark’s 100-foot sled Comanche, George David’s Rambler 88, and Peter Aschenbrenner’s 63-foot trimaran Paradox. And since Phaedo3 was able to average speeds in the high 20’s once the wind filled in, they’re the 7th boat to finish overall and they came in well ahead the majority of the fleet that started a week before they did.

Phaedo3 continues to raise the bar of what’s possible in offshore racing and the numbers tell the story:

652 nautical miles = Max 24 hour miles covered
2,442 nautical miles =Miles covered in 4 days (once the wind filled in after being becalmed) averaging over 600 miles per day for 4 days
41.2 knots= Top speed

But this is only the beginning. Thornburg, Thompson, and several other Phaedo3 crew and going to keep racing (to Los Angeles for start of the Transpac) once boat docks in Cowes early tomorrow morning.

Thornburg and company have thrown the high performance multi-hull gauntlet down and hope to see more fast multihulls in future offshore races and they are putting their money where their mouths are. They’ll be racing aboard Thornburg’s original Gunboat 66 Phaedo as he goes for a rare Owner/Driver offshore double in the Transpac next week.