News Around the World
There are older Imocas (or rather Open 60s) than Ellen MacArthur’s original Kingfisher, now campaigned by Didac Costa, but there can’t be many that have been sailed as hard and for so many miles. Launched in 2000, prior to the changes being undertaken for the 2020 Vendée Globe the boat remained largely as she was when MacArthur sailed the Owen/Humphreys/Oliver design to second place behind Michel Desjoyeaux in the 2000 edition of the race. Those who built the boat at now defunct Marten Yachts should take a bow
it is installed a little more forward it takes up less space than before and we have been able to find a little more area to live. We have also removed the bow and side ballast tanks, which are hardly needed in Vendée conditions. Again less weight between the tanks and their filling and emptying systems, and less to break down. I only keep the aft tanks for heavy conditions. SH-:Does the boat being lightened and with a lower centre of gravity allow for a smaller bulb? DC: I honestly don’t know for sure until we do the Imoca stability test. But I hope we then get some bulb weight off! SH: And sails… DC: This time I will have six new sails at the Les Sables d’Olonne start!! Obviously the new set will be more modern and without all the stretch – which was really bad – like the old ones I had in the previous Vendée and also somewhat lighter. So I’m very happy! In addition, we have added reaching struts which will also improve the trimming and performance. SH: It seems that your budget has also improved! DC: It is still rather modest! But we have had a little more money and by having more time we have been able to organise jobs so that they are cheaper. In each area I had a specialist who helped our team plus some volunteers. Many suppliers have collaborated. Thanks to all of them we have been able to optimise the budget. SH:Do better preparation and more money allow you to think about a better goal in the race? DC: The Vendée is a very complex regatta, with a dropout rate close to 40 per cent. Only a very small group start the race really thinking about victory, but the rest of us have our regattas within the regatta itself. The age and updating of the boats are very important in the result, but also the failures. I want to finish the race at all costs, and logically with the best
possible classification… although that is something more sec- ondary. In the previous edition I finished 14th and took 108 days, not including being two days late to start. We cannot compare the times with a magnifying glass since the ice exclusion zones will surely be further north, increasing the theoretical miles of the route.
28 SEAHORSE The boat is now better, but so are the boats of almost all the
competitors. Finishing the race in 100 days would be a great achievement, it is also a nice round figure and close to the 98 that it took us to complete the double-handed Barcelona World Race in 2015. But the numbers do not worry me – I want to sail well, minimise the risk and enjoy myself. Achieving it will be victory enough. Carlos Pich
AUSTRALIA A bunch of cowboys Roger ‘Clouds’ Badham has been studying the weather for close to 50 years, first with simple models when he was still at university, then more recently with highly complex software for round-the-world and America’s Cup teams – significantly for Team New Zealand, but also working ashore for Formula 1 teams. Briefing the sailors on what to expect out on the racecourse has evolved over the years, but the urgency of extremely accurate data never changes – with what we have to remind ourselves is still just a forecast of what can evolve out on the racetrack. He spoke to Blue Robinson on his role with ETNZ in Bermuda. Seahorse: When did you first go to Bermuda for reconnaissance for the 2017 Cup? Roger Badham: About a year out from the Cup, back in 2016, just for two months. In many Cups I was at the location for three years, in Valencia I was there for four! This means Bermuda was a brief recon trip compared to those in the past. With the Bermuda event our whole Team NZ effort started a bit late; we were pretty short of funds and were planning to head over there to do some training ahead of the event but that didn’t work out, so I went a year before the actual Cup just to get a feel for the place. SH: Surprises? RB: No, not really. It just gave me a feel for it all, watching the computer models, watching the weather and viewing the other teams out on the racetrack, so I wasn’t going to come in cold when all the TNZ guys finally moved there. SH: Bermuda is a dot in the ocean, after all…
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