I think in part due to the complicated and heavy wing mast system. There are a number of other new fully foiling Minis due to be launched soon, including a Verdier- designed scow built by Pogo, which I’m sure will be quicker than the non-foiling boats once they are up to speed. Verdier is obviously working with Team New Zealand, so over the next few years it will be interesting to see how much of what is developed for the Cup can be made to work on a singlehanded offshore boat. SH:What are you mainly focused on with sail development? JL: The difference with scows compared to the more traditional boats is the quite extreme acceleration and deceleration when they plane and then smash into waves – the movement is quite violent. Developing sails that are powerful enough to get the boat moving but stable enough not to collapse when the boat bangs its way along like that is not that easy. I’m working with All Purpose France for the more traditional sails and Doyle NZ for cable-less MHO/J0 and FRO/A5-type sails. So far so good but we’re still very much in development mode – and making good use of the coaching at Lorient Grand Large to develop in the right direction. SH:What is the Anglo Saxon take on the training set-up you now have in Lorient? JL: It’s incredible. Alex Thomson is prob - ably the only offshore sailor in the UK training on a full-time basis. In France there are probably about 100 spread across the various classes, including five or so Brits based out here. All the infrastructure is in place – from
dry-sailing with unlimited lifts in/out for 2,000 euros per year, to training groups going out almost every day with experi- enced coaches, to expert suppliers who build virtually every component you need within a few miles of the marina. Alex Thomson has the budget to pay for
coaches himself elsewhere and also wants to keep his R&D a secret. But I think for anyone operating on normal Mini/Figaro 3/Class40 budgets it would now be almost impossible to win without the support of a training group like those in Lorient or Port-La-Forêt. SH:What are your observations as a Mini sailor in transitioning to the new type of boat… and what would you say to a potential new skipper trying to decide if the production scow is the right way to go for someone new to the class? JL: My advice to any aspiring naval architect would be to design and build yourself a Proto. My advice to any aspiring offshore
sailor would be to buy yourself a Series Mini as it is cheaper and the level of com- petition is higher. If you can afford it then get a Maxi scow as they are the fastest Series boats available at the moment, and if that is out of budget then get a solid and affordable secondhand boat like a Pogo 2, try to beat the other Pogo 2s and work your way up from there.
42 SEAHORSE
Top: three Minis line up with Lacey to windward. The other boats are using zipper-reefs on the jibs, two lateral zips linking up to avoid sailcloth being bundled on the foredeck and producing a more continuous shape than a conventional reef (Lacey’s sail from the All Purpose loft has yet to have its zippers replaced following a recut). The scows use a slightly larger fin than ‘canoe’ designs, the flat hull offering less resistance to leeway. Ubiquitous at all sizes… Lacey (above) tests a new Doyle NZ cable-free code zero (their fullest code zero to date) which is also proving effective as a VMG sail above 28kt TWS
If there are any foiling enthusiasts with
money to burn then maybe buy a foiling Proto from Pogo and have fun developing new foils and foil-piloting systems and maybe AC-style soft wing sails for it! SH:What is your own programme for the next 12 months… any other racing on top of the Mini schedule? JL: I’ll be training in Lorient through to the end of February, racing in the south of France and Italy in March/April and then on the Atlantic coast of France from May through to September. Many people outside France only know
about the Mini-Transat but within France double-handed races like the Mini-Fastnet in June are considered major events in their own right. The first leg of the Mini- Transat starts late September and I should arrive in Martinique by mid-November after the stop-off in the Canaries.
The Mini programme is pretty full-on
so for this year I can’t commit properly to any other campaigns. I’ll be having some fun racing the odd Quant 23 and Diam 24 event, and hopefully also catching up with friends on the Courrier/Pintia/Sunrise teams for the occasional IRC race as they prepare for the Fastnet. And then I’d love to find a good ride for the next Sydney Hobart and take the family down under for New Year to cap off the season. SH: But the real goal… JL: For now I’m totally focused on trying to win the Mini-Transat. Longer term, who knows? A Figaro 3 or Class40 would be a logical step up after the Mini but I would need a partner or sponsor. A two- handed IRC programme would be fun. I also want to do the Dakar Rally on a motorbike! Let’s see what happens… Joe Lacey was talking to the editor
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