Opposite: the first Manuard-designed Mach40.4 was launched just before the 2019 TJV but was slowed by electronics problems. In the 2021 TJV she finished as runner-up to Antoine Carpentier’s own sistership Redman… seen (left) being transported back to the JPS yard for changes to her ballast layout. One of the ‘discrete’ advantages of the La Trinité ocean-racing nexus is the absence of any low bridges on surrounding main roads. So no real reason to take the rig out then!
Seahorse: Let’s go back to the circumstances of your TJV victory. Antoine Carpentier: Overall the weather was rather favourable for our boat. Also I had Pablo onboard who is an excellent competitor, plus we had two almost brand new spinnakers. We sailed quite well, despite our slow-motion start in the English Channel, then we had no real problems except for the need to ration our food because we had not planned to have to sail for so long; we also struggled a bit to generate enough energy from our solar panels in the overcast conditions. Our strategy worked well and we con-
trolled our opponents quite easily – until we were about three or four days from the finish! Even though we were still about 50nm ahead, the situation rapidly deterio- rated as we approached Martinique. That is why in the end we crossed the finish line only one hour and a few minutes ahead of our Swiss friends. I have to admit the last night was a little stressful! SH: Can we compare this victory with your 2017 win racing with Maxime Sorel on the Class40 V&B? AC: There are three aspects in common. First, after the race had started we led the fleet around the Etretat mark, as happened with Redman. Second, in 2017 we also lost ground early in the race, not because of poor winds but because after 30 or so hours of racing we discovered that one of our water- tight bulkheads was starting to crack. We repaired it and then put the pedal down to get back to the front of the fleet; but we were astounded by the pace being set by the front - runners. We were racing a transatlantic race as though we were racing around the cans. We broke the boat’s speed record (28kt) and the Class40 24-hour record: 377.7nm at an average speed of 15.7kt! The third similarity is we won the race!
But it was very tricky on V&B. Twenty miles from the finish we were about a mile in front of the second boat, which is
nothing after such a long transatlantic crossing. Past the Barra Lighthouse and a few tactical gybes later we crossed the line only 17 minutes ahead of our closest rival. On the Mach40.3 V&B we were clearly
the hunters. On Redman we led the race for two weeks so we were the hunted, but I had the impression that our challengers were not risking the more extreme options, which did make it easier for us to control the fleet from 48 hours after rounding Cape Verde through to the finish in Martinique. SH:When did you discover the Class40? AC: In 2006 on Géry Trentesaux’s Pogo 40 Courrier de Nuit. I brought her back from the Route du Rhum, and the follow- ing year Géry lent us the boat to race the Matondo Congo Race between Marseille and Pointe Noire, Africa. I liked this boat, it was both fast and stable. Then we sailed the TJV with Arnaud Aubry on the same Pogo and finished ninth. I had discovered two-handed racing for the first time! SH:Why did you persevere in Class40? AC: After a lengthy interruption to race the Tour de France à la Voile on Courrier Dunkerque, another of Géry’s boats, I came back to the Class40 because it allows you into the mythical races that I could once only dream about: Route du Rhum, TJV, Québec St-Malo… She is also a human-scale racing boat,
especially shorthanded. We can sail her quite hard without putting ourselves in danger. Also, there is a good atmosphere in the class and the budgets are much cheaper than in the Imocas or Multi 50s. SH: Actually, your first experience of solo ocean sailing dates to the last Route du Rhum… also on a Class40! AC: Yes. I don’t come from the solo ‘acad- emy’ such as the Figaro circuit and the Mini Transat. I am not a solo navigation enthusiast like many French navigators. Singlehanded racing does not attract me especially, but to find partners it is easier to build a name for yourself in the long
singlehanded and two-handed events. And for me, I’d rather be two onboard because it makes more sense in terms of safety. SH:What about the evolution of the Class40 over time? AC: There is a whole world of naval archi- tecture and development between your own first Pogo40 and a new Mach40.4 Scow like Redman… Up to 50 per cent more speed in some conditions! On the monolithic-built Pogo it was difficult to reach 15kt of speed while Redman can comfortably maintain an average speed of 20kt with 25kt of wind at the right angles. Compared to the Mach40.3 (the fastest
‘conventional’ Class40) once the wind is over 15kt the ‘0.4’ is faster in almost all directions except sometimes upwind. The Scow is more powerful (faster) and you fill the ballast tanks later. That is a win-win. In terms of construction I don’t think it
really changed between the 40.3 and the 40.4 (infused foam/glass/epoxy sandwich). The Mach40s have always been quite stiff but on the Scow we added more longi - tudinal reinforcements. For the rig we have moved to one set of spreaders instead of the two sets we carried before. This config- uration lowers the centre of gravity of the mast and reduces aerodynamic drag; how- ever, on further reflection I would now choose to go back to two sets of spreaders because they can be shorter so you can sheet the gennakers in closer. Also the Scow mast is set further back and carries more rake. This is to move back the centre of effort to balance the new underwater form and also to tidy up the stem and move the weight of that equipment aft. SH:Why did you choose the Mach 40.4 for your first boat that you co-owned with Redman Group? AC: When I bought the boat we had a choice between two different Scows (Mach or Max). From my experience I had noticed that as Class40 design evolved the boats with a lot of rocker were becoming less efficient than a boat of equivalent width but with less rocker and a straighter run aft – partly I would expect this is also a reflection of how the boats themselves are getting faster and planing more often. My reference was Halvard Mabire’s
pretty Nivelt-Mabire design that later became Everial. His hull was quite like the Mach.3 except that he had added on a lot more rocker. The hull shape is less straight and while planing you are for sure slower. The advantage of the boat with rocker is that you have a better motion through the sea and are usually better in light air. In
SEAHORSE 47
PHOTOS CHRISTOPHE BRESCHI
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