Update
further highlighted last summer through the victory of Team Germany in The Ocean Race Europe and the exquisite third place from young Melwin Fink in the Mini Transat. Melwin and Lennart Burke are lead- ing the way for a new generation of talented shorthanded sailors. Rising through the popularity ranks currently is the Class40, a
perfect feeder in recent years between the Mini 6.50/Figaro circuits and the elite world of Imoca. While there is a paucity of German Class40 projects, the Imoca future looks bright with two new boats in build for German skippers – Boris Herrmann’s and my own. In partnership with high-end advanced powerboat builders Alva
Yachts, we are developing a brand new Imoca 60 for Vendée Globe 2024/25. Not wanting to be ‘married’ to any one design office, or designer, my own project adopts an America’s Cup approach by moulding various specialists into one team. Our design team in particular integrated a variety of characters and cultures. We com- bined the number-based approach of Farr Yacht Design with the artistic approach of Etienne Bertrand and of course the engineering expertise of Alva Yachts. This combination has created the energy required to achieve something successful – and rather special – and it is a pleasure working with this team. We have found a perfect balance with Guillaume Dupont also
bringing lots of modern Imoca thinking into the project, Britton Ward from Farr analysing the numbers and Augustin Lefebvre creating his innovative deck layout. The flow of fresh and creative ideas is exceptional… and great fun to be a part of. We are also excited by the levels of German engineering we can display through Alva Yachts, a fast-emerging manufacturer who build high-end, sustain- able electric motor-driven luxury cruising catamarans. Their expe- rience and immense R&D resources give our Imoca project fasci- nating and unusual opportunities. For example, we expect to find more efficient solutions for creating a 100 per cent fossil-free energy supply for our onboard systems, while also developing the most advanced autopilot and routeing systems in the Imoca Class. We took an early decision to validate our CFD results with real
world testing to avoid the risk of our CFD numbers deceiving us. To do this Alva purchased a 5m foiling monohull (renamed BirdyFish) which we modified and equipped with a dummy canting keel to test various set-ups for the Imoca. With the first round of testing com- plete, this year we will start a second round, testing various foil candidates on our 1/4-scale testbed. The BirdyFish tests, together with extensive use of the Gomboc Simulator, will give us key per- formance indicators for our new 60, while also providing me with a foundation to practise my foiling skills and sailing techniques. Even if the approach of today’s German Imoca projects is more
international than the IOR projects during the golden age of German offshore sailing, in the 1980s, I am certain we will boost both the popularity of sailing in Germany and our domestic marine industry. Two new and exciting Imoca programmes, plus the successful
career progressions of young Melwin and Lennart, will, I am sure, bring the sport back to the attention of more German companies – reminding them that when executed well ocean racing is a pro- fessional sport that offers incredible job opportunities alongside extensive media reach.
q SNAPSHOTS Brought to you in association with
Inevitable. When it came to renaming the 1/4-scale test boat for his Vendée Globe campaign it surprised precisely nobody when irrepressible German skipper Jörg Reichers settled on BirdyFish
18 SEAHORSE
l As well… as America’s Cup wins the great Prof Jerry Milgram was less well known for his role as the co-inventor (possibly the inventor) of string sails l Working with… the original Horizon Sails… remember them? l Where Milgram… created Tape Drive… l The forerunner… of every moulded sail in the world today l Latest trick from Vannes… the Flying Whale giant (like, really giant) airship l Now in development… at Multiplast following on the coat-tails of their equally giant solid wing l Anyone still remember… the Formula 1 website
haspastorcrashedyet.com? l Why do we ask?… well ‘Crasher Thomson’ retired from the RORC Transatlantic Race with (more) hull damage… l Fragile Hugo Boss Imoca... nope, a super-reliable Gunboat 68 l Super reliable… in the hands of most people l Love ya, man… but perhaps it’s time to pick up the golf clubs l Crikey… 13 new Imoca 60s are now in build but there is still a growing shortage of boats for the next Vendée Globe l Bummer… the 2004 generation is also no longer eligible l That… used-Imoca market thinned out pretty damn fast l With not a single boat… from the 2016 generation still available l More crikey… some 60 reservation fees have been put down for the new UNCL/RORC 30ft ‘junior’ offshore one-design from VPLP l Tie her down… that 70m SolidSail rig (issue 501) is still on schedule to go up in St Nazaire this summer l Don’t forget…the landing lights l USA wins big… OK, rather small actually l But… a win’s a win, right? l We hope a… 2022 Monaco Invitational Team Race victory has now turned the tide of US Olympic fortunes l In Oppis… (acorns and chestnuts) l Caved… Pete Burling and Blair Tuke re-signed with Team New Zealand l Next time… don’t try poker with such a famously cuddly CEO… l Also hiring… Luc Dubois has re-joined the Alinghi design team for AC37 l Expect other… top names to soon follow including Artemis designer and foiling Moth pioneer Adam May l Luna Rossa… also have a lot on in their HR department for a team that is still pretending to be lukewarm about the next America’s Cup l Rock on, Leo… you keep yelling at us with your save-the-whale stuff… (and we usually love all save-the-whale stuff) l Then DiCaprio… starts preaching from the bridge of a 85m motoryacht in St Barts burning God knows how much diesel to keep his ego going l So rock away, Leo… but preferably to somewhere else l Put it another way… STFU l Nice boat, though… Ernesto Bertarelli’s beautiful Vava II l The one with… the ultra-cool-tastic $1million glass staircase l Then again… when you’re about to burn a couple a’hundred mill on the Cup l Oh bling… not Vava II, too stylish, but talk of the Cup going to Marbella?!? l OMG… as the Valley Girls squawk l Can you imagine… how much better the America’s Cup will look once it is covered with 10,000 Swarovski crystals? l Remember that diamond… they stuck in the ‘bow’ of Kimi’s F1 McLaren at the Monaco Grand Prix l The one… they’re still looking for after he hit the Armco l ‘We lost money… a little more than we expected...’ l So… for the second year running, no Tour Voile in 2022 l And… while the Figaro is on this year, the organisers are looking at how to draw enthusiastic Corinthians back to a now increasingly elite event… l Sportif… as well as moolah. l Your services… are no longer required, they said bluntly... l So we wonder who… from the New York YC made the second phone call to American Magic… l Yes, we might… have said that, but to quote the famously un-first lady, ‘it appears we mis-spoke’ l What’s with… this mis-spoke thing anyway? l We went into the naughties… plain lying l And we came out… having mis-spoke l It had to be you… Hillary, you were after all the master of the genre l Or rather… Whitewater (lawyers please – ed) l Remember… ‘we are not going two-handed just for the Olympics…’ l Yeah, right… but we are fully behind a new pairing that spilled out of that debacle, Shirley Robertson racing with Dee Caffari l Doing it for real… thrilled to see you team up, ladies l How sad… this month we lost extrovert multihull pioneer James Wharram and cornerstone of the Hamble River in the UK, Malcolm Donald l Forget Amazon… when you’ve got
RaceboatsOnly.com l Anyway… you can keep an eye on Jeff’s new barge at
EurosailNews.com
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