The latest Ultim from VPLP/Team BP goes afloat in Lorient for skipper Armel Le Cléac’h. The new Banque Populaire XI was built in La Trinité by CDK, as was her predecessor which broke up during the 2018 Route du Rhum following a catastrophic beam failure. Whether the failure was due to collision or repeated wave impact the beams on BPXI are engineered to withstand twice the previous load spikes and with more impact protection. These foiling Ultims really put the AC75s into the shade. The Cup boats are amazing machines, pushing physics, rig and foil systems to the limit, but they will never go out of sight of land, nor ever have to get to and from a racecourse under their own steam. And waves in the Southern Ocean are bigger than those on even a stormy Hauraki Gulf
The Figaro 3 passes the test From a technical point of view the first transatlantic race sailed two-handed on the Figaro Bénéteau 3 was a great success as the 18 teams all finished the course. From a sporting point of view the match was intense and very close, to the delight of the competitors. The sailors were also unanimous that the latest Figaro one-design is very testing, much more so than the old Figaro Bénéteau 2. ‘The boat is super-hard technically, physically and on your nerves.
You must always be on top of it. I think age also plays a part,’ said a ‘mature’ Yannig Livory, ex-president of the Figaro 2 class, who was participating in the Transat for the 10th time. ‘The Figaro 3 is not a 50-year-old’s boat, rather a 30-year-old’s boat!’ ‘With this boat we’re constantly on a knife edge,’ says Gildas
Mahé. ‘It’s more engaged, wetter, more dynamic and requires more trimming. Also when running the pilot found it quite difficult to steer.’ Tanguy Le Turquais does not regret adding some elements of
‘comfort’ onboard his boat. ‘I’m very happy to have my protective hood and my nice seat, because comfort is performance,’ he says. As for Eric Péron, he tempered his words: ‘Some of the old finesse
of the Figaristes is perhaps now less important. With the Figaro 3 we get closer to the Imoca, for example. We need to reduce sail sooner and be more careful not to risk being overtaken by events.’ On the track it was ultimately the north option that won. Aggres-
sive, tenacious and strategically inspired, Nils Palmieri and Julien Villion (TeamWork) gave a masterclass with their first participation in the Transat en Double (Concarneau to St Barts), ahead of a very talented fleet of rivals. Both aged 33, the sailors took a beautiful victory in a very competitive race sailed in a record time of 18 days. After Pietro d’Ali in 2006 Swiss sailor Nils Palmieri becomes only the second non-French skipper to win this important event. ‘Winning a Transat brings a lot of value to me,’ said Nils. ‘I’m
super-happy for Julien and for myself. Julien really deserves this because he’s a great guy, he’s super-strong. We always came back. In addition, we had three or four horrible last days with lots of sea- weed and squalls. But racing with Julien I always felt that this one would be ours!’ Julien himself said after crossing the line: ‘The Figaro 3 demands
a much higher level of commitment of you than the previous Figaro. I have never given so much over 48-72 hours. Sometimes I thought we weren’t going to get there! It’s a long race and we didn’t have any weather information in this final part of the Atlantic until a few days before the end. But we kept our options open and we had a long aperitif the evening when the weather files arrived! Taking the northern route was the good choice. ‘I spent a lot of time thinking about Jean-Yves Bernot [with whom
Villion has worked quite a lot in the past] on the water. Now I can’t wait to call him...’
Good job for Goodchild British sailor Sam Goodchild: ‘After a great season in the Figaro 3 Leyton invited me to stay in the team. I obviously agreed! It is such a good opportunity for me – especially with a spectacular new boat. I am very respectful of what Arthur Le Vaillant has accomplished with Leyton and proud to help to continue the story. The Multi50 is a fantastic boat with a lot of technical challenges but also demands massive commitment on the sporting level. ‘I was lucky enough to sail on many different multihulls, including
the much bigger Spindrift and Sodebo, incredible experiences that will serve me well with the Leyton Multi50. ‘The new Ocean Fifty class for these boats is now moving fast
with some excellent sailors already committed. I am proud to be part of a very privileged circle.’
SEAHORSE 25
YVAN ZEDDA
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