Banque Populaire V , Groupama 3 and
Sodeb’O now face an anxious wait
Over the next week
When Bidégorry and Van Triest determine the time is right,
or so in France,
they will use that speed to try to sail the 2,910 miles from
Pascal Bidégorry and
New York to Lizard, England, faster than 4 days 3 hours 57
Marcel Van Triest will
minutes 54 seconds, the record set by Franck Cammas’s
keep a close eye on
Groupama 3 in 2007. Groupama 3 and Cammas will
the weather in the
attempt to beat their own record in their much improved boat
United States.
following it spectacular break up and capsize in 2008.
“You want to wait for a time of bad weather,” Xavier Revil, a
Bidégorry, the skipper
crew member, said.
of the ocean racing trimaran Maxi Banque Populaire V, and
Van Triest, its navigator, will monitor the long-range forecast,
Earlier this year, Banque Populaire V had to scrap an attempt
hoping for a low-pressure system that will enable them to
to set the record from Cadiz, Spain, to San Salvador in the
chart a course across the North Atlantic from New York to
Bahamas, more than 3,800 miles, because the weather was
the Lizard light house off the south coast of England in less
too gentle.
than 4 days, 3 hours and 57 minutes.
Once the low-pressure system is three days from its desired
If the Banque Populaire V gets some wind, it is capable
position, they and the rest of their crew of 12 will hop a flight
of breaking the record. There are a number of factors that
to New York, board their trimaran and attempt to set the
must all be right for a successful run: the weather window
record for the fastest sailing time from New York to England.
has to be right, the weather has to evolve as expected, the
The Maxi Banque Populaire V docked in New York on 27
crew has to right, and the boat has to be reliable. But the
June, after a nine-day sail from Lorient, France, to prepare for
main issue for Bidégorry — a crew member on the Orange
its record-breaking attempt. The boat, designed by the boat
2, which set the North Atlantic record in 2006 — is avoiding
design firm Van Peteghem-Lauriot Prévost, is the largest
obstacles like ice, wood, sharks and whales, especially at
ocean racing multihull trimaran in the world, its mast is 155
night.
feet high it beam is 75 feet across, the main hull is 131 feet
and the floats are 121 feet.
“With this generation of boats that often go over 40 knots,
the threat is hitting something,” Bidégorry said Saturday
Meanwhile Franck Cammas and his crew on Groupama 3 set
through an interpreter. “We’ve been sailing this boat for
out from Lisbon for New York on 24 June so will arrive shortly
over a year and we’re constantly stressed about hitting
and his navigator Yann Riou will join the hunt for the weather.
something.” He added: “The ocean is the opposite of luck.”
If he can get a little luck, Bidégorry said he expected that the
Already in New York is Thomas Coville and his Sodeb’O.
Banque Populaire V would reach England in less than four
Like the others he is in the hunt for records but this time he
days.
will try to beat the solo record he set last year in a time of 5
days 19hrs and 29 minutes.
Record or no record, Banque Populaire V and Groupama
3 have changed the landscape of sailing. Alinghi and BMW
Boats like the Maxi Banque Populaire V and Groupama 3
Oracle can agree on little, but both have worked with
and Sodeb’O which are also waiting for weather in New York
Bidégorry and Cammas in preparation for the Cup as they
are changing the face of sailing. Indeed their influence has
try to harness the speed and power of the huge trimarans.
changed what is perhaps the most famous race in sailing:
“Today, the French know-how in multihulls is envied by all
the America’s Cup. Gone are the traditional monohulls,
of those who have ambitions go to run the America’s Cup
replaced by super fast inshore racing multihulls similar to but
in multihulls,” Bidégorry said. “What really makes me happy
built to be more lightweight than Banque Populaire V and
is that these monohull purists that come from the America’s
Groupama 3. The 33rd America’s Cup, scheduled for early
Cup discover their pleasure in sailing on these multihulls.
2010, will look little like its predecessors.
“These guys can’t imagine going back to monohulls to race

the America’s Cup.”
After a long legal dispute that included accusations of spying,
BMW Oracle and its owner, Larry Ellison, will challenge the
reigning champion, Alinghi, for the Cup at a location that has
yet to be determined.
Both may be willing to spend whatever it takes to build a
boat similar to Banque Populaire V.
The Banque Populaire director of communications, Chantal
Petrachi, said the boat cost more than $15 million to build. It
is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 40 knots, or more
than 46 miles per hour.
46  MULTIHULL REVIEW : JULY 2009
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