News Around the World
It can’t be said that New Zealand multihull enthusiast Simon Hull lacks pedigree… in the 1960s his father created this (below right) eerily close forerunner to what would eventually become Alain Thébault’s Hydroptère (oops, above), which itself first took on physical form when a young Thébault created this full-scale model (below) for his mentor Eric Tabarly to trial with a view to developing the idea. Tabarly then built the broadly similar offshore foiler Paul Ricard but was ‘defeated’ by the weight of aluminium construction
as people. The process of designing, building and launching a new Imoca is incredibly complex, requiring everyone involved to work collaboratively towards one common goal… any internal disputes or rivalries can be disastrous. We are confident that together we can build the best boat in the fleet.’ According to what we heard, the new Hugo Boss will be more
extreme in the foiling approach than the previous one, even more than Charal, the first of the new generation of Imoca 60s again designed by VPLP to be launched in August. Don’t forget that the existing Hugo Boss, also designed by VPLP
in conjunction with Thomson’s technical team, was the fastest Imoca 60 of the last Vendée fleet in reaching/running conditions, thanks to different foils than the others combined with a more slender and lower drag hull shape. She finished second despite a broken foil a third of the way through the race!
At last! Black Pepper Yachts, known for producing the nice-looking and fast sailing Codes brand of yachts, have announced the construction of a new Imoca foiler designed by Samuel Manuard for Armel Tripon, a very experienced ocean racer currently sailing the Multi 50 Réauté Chocolat. The launch of the boat is planned for summer 2019. Tripon’s challenge involves three ‘firsts’: for Black Pepper, for Sam Manuard, well-known for his successful Mini 6.50 and Mach 40 designs, and for Armel Tripon entering the Vendée (as well as design- ing very fast boats Sam Manuard is also an expert skipper). Until now Samuel Manuard has been overlooked by the Imoca
sailors so he really has something to prove. Patrice Carpentier
NEW ZEALAND Obsessed? For close to a decade Simon Hull’s big red Orma 60 trimaran has held a virtual line-honours monopoly in passage races in New Zealand and out into the southwest Pacific. Bereft of competition from similar boats, she has mostly raced the clock – and set multiple records along the way. Then, two years ago, Hull purchased a GC32 to get a taste for foiling and for an easier-to-manage, less crew- hungry harbour blaster – with a bit more competition from the ex-Emirates Team New Zealand SL33s on the Waitemata.
18 SEAHORSE What Hull loves about the GC32 is its seat-of-the-pants style. ‘It
is the rawest form of sailing. There is no relying on instruments or computers. You rely solely on what you see and feel under your bum.’ But he was well aware that heading to Italy’s Lake Garda for the
first GC32 World Championship meant stepping up to an entirely different league. On arrival, one look at the superstars on the entry list gave him pause for thought. ‘The calibre of the fleet here is extraordinary,’ Hull said. ‘If I had known before I committed I probably would have chickened out. ‘The vast majority of helmsmen are either America’s Cup skippers
or owner-drivers who have done a couple of years on the circuit. I’m not only the least experienced [skipper] here, but also the oldest! I’m loving it, but we are looking at a steep learning curve.’ While it was true that Hull was light on racing experience at this
level and new to the intensity of 13 foilers hurtling round a short course at speeds up to 30kt, his interest in foil-assisted sailing goes back a long way. As a six-year-old he was watching his father, Peter, experiment with the concept and more than 20 years ago added horizontal foils to his own Ross 45, M1. Although the Hull family were well into sailing and owned a
Spencer 47 called Avian, young Simon never had the typical Kiwi sailing progression through dinghy racing. He did own a P-Class, followed by a Laser and a Paper Tiger catamaran, but mostly he spent time knocking about and learning the basics of making a boat go fast. Speed was always the attraction. As a young man Hull came into keelboat racing with a progression of boats, starting with a Farr 727, followed by a Ross 930, an Elliott w
GILLES MARTIN-RAGET
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