The race that launched 1,000 careers – (well, a lot anyway)
Fifteen years after its launch the Marc Lombard-designed Figaro 2 used for the iconic solo race of the same name will give way to a foil-equipped one-design from VPLP. Veteran racer Fred Augendre went for an (important) sail…
It is no exaggeration that the new Figaro monotype that will come into service in 2019 looks like an Imoca. With its big nose and evolving bilge profile running right to the bow, the Figaro 3 irresistibly evokes the lines of Banque Populaire VIII, winner of the last Vendée Globe in the hands of Armel le Cléach, Hugo Boss, Saint Michel Virbac and even Safran 1, the first 60-footer born of the architectural collaboration between VPLP and Guillaume Verdier 10 years ago. ‘This relationship with the Imoca is clear,
and can be explained perfectly if we recall that until 2016 we only worked to build more and more powerful boats, primarily by
32 SEAHORSE
creating more and more powerful hulls,’ explains Vincent Lauriot-Prévost (Vincent heads the raceboat team at the firm he founded with Marc Van Peteghem in 1983). ‘The goal,’ he continues, ‘was to draw a
boat as powerful as the Figaro 2 without the burden of 270kg of water ballast.’ This explains the fullness and beam being carried into the front sections, which when the boat is pressed drives the ‘forward’ centre of buoyancy further outwards than normal, reducing diagonal heeling and delivering big gains in stability and power. But the Imoca comparison stops here, the
Figaro 3 being relatively heavier than a 60: these are the limits for a boat series built in PVC foam sandwich/polyester (a 41mm core is used in the hull and 31mm in the deck), and incorporating bigger margins of reliabil- ity compared with a custom carbon race unit that has been optimised in every detail. A ‘horned’ mainsail emblem emphasises
the most prominent feature of the new boat, foils of a completely new configuration that have been baptised ‘chistera foils’, in defer- ence to the long, curved wicker scoop used by pelota players. Exiting the hull almost at deck level,
these foils comprise a vertical element (the shaft) that resists leeway, and transition down towards inward-angled tips which at speed create lift – both ‘lightening’ the boat and further increasing righting moment.
Alone on the water, without an oppo-
nent, you always have the feeling of sailing high and fast on this boat, and you have to keep a rational head. Nevertheless, the compass does not lie and during our test at the end of October near Barcelona the upwind angles seemed flattering, 70° tack- to-tack in 10kt of wind and flat sea. Obviously the foil, with its asymmetric
profile, can ‘climb trees’ to windward, as the French racers say. ‘Most important, but less obvious,’ insists Lauriot-Prévost, ‘the foil does deal very efficiently with side forces allowing us to employ a very narrow keel section which then generates less drag. And with asymmetric foil sections we need less angle of attack from the sailing orienta- tion of the boat – which means the hull proceeds at less of a crabbing angle with another significant reduction in drag.’ Accurate instrument calibration proved
difficult during early tests so the develop- ment team are only now refining the polars for the Figaro 3. However, an upwind target of 7kt in 10-12kt of wind seems quite pleasing for a boat of 9.75m in length. At sea under large asymmetric spinnaker
the VPLP design goes fast. With 11kt of wind and a true wind angle of 125°, the Figaro 3 maintains a steady average of at least 9.5kt and quickly jumps up to surf at 11kt or more even in small waves. It is in this zone that the foil begins to
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
