News Around the World
Every generation of oceanic multihull has gone through a period where structural failures blight development. 1986 Route du Rhum winner Philippe Poupon had seen his previous 85ft cat Fleury Michon literally explode around him, and a few years earlier similar problems almost certainly cost the life of Alain Colas (the likely disintegration of his alloy trimaran Manureva probably exacerbated by longterm corrosion). The epic Orma 60s certainly had their fair share of problems though the coup de grâce that came in the 2002 Rhum was more force majeure than poor calculation. Hopefully the Ultimes will get through the current ‘setbacks’ and the sponsors keep faith. The cost of an Ultime foiler is similar to doing a Volvo and wouldn’t meet an America’s Cup team’s wages bill. You decide?
Antoine Mermod salutes Alex ‘Alex [Thomson] proved that he was the best during 99 per cent of the Route du Rhum,’ says Imoca president Antoine Mermod. ‘He was consistently much faster than his rivals. His performance, in terms of both skill and technology, was absolutely exceptional. He is way ahead of the others and is now the man to beat.’ Alex also avoided the worst weather, looking after himself and
his boat… but of course after falling asleep and hitting Guadeloupe he had to take a 24-hour penalty. So finishing 12 hours after Alex, Paul Meilhat therefore won the 2018 Route du Rhum which was quite an achievement for an Imoca without foils. ‘Alex was of course the fastest but Paul is a fantastic winner,’ adds Mermod. ‘While the performance of the boat is important it is still the sailor
who makes the difference in solo ocean racing. After finishing second in the Transat Jacques Vabre last year [with Gwénolé Gahinet] and winning the Monaco Globe Series in the spring [once again with Gwénolé], Paul continues his ascension. He is clearly now one of the very best we have.’ But today Paul is actually searching for a sponsor just to continue
to compete on an Imoca, let alone make it to the start of the 2020 Vendée Globe which is of course his ambition. Yann Eliès, classified second in the Route du Rhum, is in the same position as Paul. Both skippers’ sponsorship finished at the finish of this race. The Imoca class is very strong. A busy 2019 season concludes
with the Transat Jacques Vabre in November, for which the organ- isers are expecting 25-30 boats including all the latest-generation designs being built (or already built) for the next Vendée Globe.
The weighting ‘favours’ the Vendée Globe A new Imoca world champion is crowned every four years. To become world champion a skipper needs to have accumulated the most points in the Imoca Globe Series races over the preceding four years. Each race has a scoring coefficient based on difficulty. The coefficients range from 2 (doublehanded Monaco Series) up to 4 (solo Route du Rhum and The Transat)… except for the Vendée Globe which is a coefficient of 10! Patrice Carpentier
NEW ZEALAND Through the 1970s, into the ’80s and beyond, a proliferation of small, hard-chine plywood yachts provided New Zealand youngsters with affordable, easy-to-build pocket cruiser-racers that gave them summers of fun and adventure on the water. Richard Hartley produced a line of 16ft, 18ft and 21ft designs that
were doughty little campaigners whose homely looks belied very competent sailing abilities. Great stylist Des Townson came up with the pretty 21ft Pied Piper, with its delicate sheerline and elliptical windows. From the backyards and sheds of New Zealand suburbia
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these boats emerged to give hundreds of young sailors opportunities for Huckleberry Finn-type cruising adventures and spirited racing. Nowadays rocketing house prices mean young people are
financially stretched just to get a roof over their heads, making the notion of owning a yacht more remote. Designer Greg Elliott reckons he might have found a solution while working on a commission from a client who wanted a small, simple and rugged boat that could be dragged up on the beach in front of his waterfront home. Elliott responded with a 6.6m plywood glue and tape design with
a kick-up keel plate and rudder which is currently under construction near Warkworth, north of Auckland. It immediately suggested itself as something that could have a much wider appeal as a flatpack boat anybody with moderate skills could build and finish at home. ‘This E22 concept is to have an easy-build daysailer,’ Elliott
explains. ‘The bulkheads and longitudinals form the building jig to bend the gunwale and chine battens on before applying the plywood panels. Plywood deck panels are bonded at the edges and then glass taped to lock in the shape.’ The builder can opt to cut the plywood panels himself from dimen-
sioned drawings, or order a flat-pack of computer-cut panels. This has the twin virtues of perfect accuracy and less wastage as the computer nests the patterns to achieve the greatest efficiency. The bulkheads and bottom panels use 9mm ply while the topsides
and deck are 6mm. The hull is then sheathed in glass fibre with an extra layer along the bottom to resist abrasion. Two small winches take care of headsail sheeting and swinging the keel plate up. There is enough weight in the keel to ensure the boat is self-righting. ‘This is something a weekend warrior with basic skills could take
on to create a boat that would be affordable and fun to sail,’ says Elliott. Although it is really intended as a daysailer, it could take more intrepid young adventurers on a summer cruise. For Elliott it brings back memories of a great summer he spent
with a mate in one of his Elliott 5.9 designs day-hopping from bay to bay from Auckland north to the Bay of Islands and back (about 300nm). The Elliott 5.9s went on to become popular youth match- racing boats and sail trainers and have enjoyed a recent revival as keen circuit raceboats. The beauty of the 6.6m size is that there are all kinds of small
trailer boats lying unused in backyards – including old Hartleys and Pied Pipers – with masts and booms and other bits and pieces that could be scavenged to save money. Elliott estimates that with a bit of scrounging and ingenuity one of these boats could be put on the water for not much more than $10,000 – about the price of a Laser these days. ‘This is a fun, knockabout boat that will sail well and can be put
together at home at an affordable price,’ says Elliott. ‘That’s how it used to be and, in today’s world, unless you design something that is easy and affordable people just aren’t going to be able to do it.’
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