while stabilising the pitching moment to create an entirely new offshore animal. The standardisation of a carbon wing spar is also thought to be a positive change in terms of managing failure rates – as was firmly demanded by the race sponsor. Meanwhile, the reduction of the Imoca inventory to nine sails from 10 has prompted new ideas on design and cross- overs. Unlike the VOR with its more predictable wind conditions over multiple shorter stages, conditions in the Vendée Globe are as easy or as hard to model as they have ever been through the 30-year history of this magnificent oceanic contest. Even with the latest improved weather models and routeing tools, much of it still comes down to the skipper’s own experi- ence and what Mother Nature decided to throw at him on the day.
What’s not known, or is at best being slowly understood, is how the new-genera- tion boats will eat up this marathon course and which sail combinations will work best. Consider that the foils are providing up to 20 per cent more righting moment, dramatically altering the performance pro- file of the boat as well as its ultimate speed. But this is when the foils are fully deployed at higher speeds; what happens when the sailing conditions dictate partial
deployment – maybe it’s better to slow down for a better average speed? As Ser- gent concedes, time has been in short supply to try to understand the dramatic effects on sail design of the new foils. ‘Fortunately we have the North Design Suite of tools, so this has made it a little easier to model the sails that will suit this boat and its rig,’ says Sergent. ‘Besides, many of our Vendée customers did not have the funding for long periods of sailing and development, so we’ve only really had a short time to prepare before the start.’ Sergent says use of these tools in collab- oration with Great Circle routeing soft- ware has been invaluable in modelling inventory choices, using two radical wind scenarios and one conservative scenario – all based on the conditions encountered in the last race. He also says the same tools have been used to address a unique feature of Imoca spars: deck-spreaders. While these outriggers help in reducing (slashing) spar compression and so spar weight, their geometries hinder close sheet- ing of the overlapping headsails. This is where North’s software tools come into play to help create sails that will not only fit this set-up, but find sheeting solutions to make the sailplan work at all angles. But even with all of the latest computer
assistance, performance in the Vendée Globe is never a matter of much certainty, due to the wide variabilities in boat prepa- ration, budgets and design (this is an open class after all) and above all the enormous spread of the skippers in terms of experi- ence… as well of course as innate skill. ‘After the last Vendée I had a good idea of what I would do for the next boat,’ said Armel le Cléac’h, skipper of Banque Popu- laire. ‘But looking back I really had no idea how much things were about to change! ‘The game is now radically different but I am confident in our choices because of all the design and testing work we have man- aged to fit into a very short space of time. My sails now match my boat and my way of sailing, and I’m happy with the perfor- mance and the anticipated durability. I have a well-rounded inventory for this race.’ Runner-up to François Gabart in the last edition, Armel le Cléac’h and Banque Populaire VIII will start the 2016/17 Vendée Globe as race favourites. But with Imoca 60s now achieving semi-flight while pushing 20 tonnes or more of load through relatively fragile new carbon foils, Armel’s next 90 days of ocean racing will be anything but straightforward. More than any other sailing race in the world, the Vendée Globe is hard won.
SEAHORSE 53
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YVAN ZEDDA
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