News Around the World
François Gabart’s Macif was one of three Ultimes to top out the ArMen fleet. Gabart has gone undefeated since launching his VPLP 100-footer late in 2015… a similar record preceded his hard-fought Imoca victory in the Vendée Globe four years ago. It takes at least 12 months to work up a new Imoca 60 but that pales into insignificance with the time needed to extract the full potential of these highly complex new tris. In 18 months the team has focused on reliability; hardly any attention has yet been paid to performance…
gives us nice flexibility in our routeing. SH: Have you modified your original foils? FG:No, the foils are very close to the original shape. We have made some modifications around tuning and adjustment but still not much change. Since launching we have worked mostly on reliability, very little on trying to increase performance. SH: Your competition in The Bridge? FG: I think performance is similar between Sodebo, Idec Sport and Macif. Sodebo is heavier and more powerful than Macif, so a complete crew onboard could be an advantage for us. We never competed against Idec Sport (originally Groupama 3). We were of course very impressed by what Francis [Joyon] and his crew did rounding the world in 40 days and especially going so fast in the Indian Ocean. I would say that Idec could be faster than Sodebo and us reaching in heavy conditions – she especially showed fan- tastic reliability. Her small mast makes her easier to handle in rough conditions but could be a handicap in light weather. In fact, my view is not of real interest because we’ve never raced against her! SH: How do you explain that the differences in speed are so tiny between your nearly new boat compared to the old Groupama 3 and Sodebo – some of which was built using pieces from a much older boat? FG:Yes, we have been amazed, once again, by what Idecdid around the world; but I think the boat has matured now – there is not much performance left to find. In our case the future belongs to Macif and I am pretty sure that in the coming years we will hit better speeds. There is so much potential when you develop a new trimaran
knowing the huge progress made in foils. As I said, up till now we have only been interested in reliability. Our first target is to break the solo record around the world. Only after that will we concentrate on how to make this boat faster. SH: It takes six days for the Queen Mary 2 to cross the Atlantic. Is there a chance in The Bridge that you can do better with your ‘little’ sailing boat? FG:Yes, we can, but the chance is very small. The historical routeing data gave us a six to nine-day period for the crossing. To do that in six days needs an exceptional weather pattern, allowing us to follow a direct course and most of it in running conditions. That could be a high pressure very high in the Atlantic, so we can keep good winds passing south without lengthening the course, or the opposite having a low-pressure system quite far south so we can benefit from east winds following the direct course to the north of it. It means that we have to jump from one low to the other and these transition periods are generally tricky… Honestly, I am convinced that Queen Mary 2 will be in New York before us! Patrice Carpentier
16 SEAHORSE
NEW ZEALAND Kiwi Conrad Colman has revealed for the first time that the jury rig that carried him across the Vendée Globe finish line was his third effort at setting up a working rig. Colman’s never-say-die grit in refusing to give up brought a massive crowd to Les Sables d’Olonne to give him a tumultuous welcome. During a recent trip to New Zealand Colman related some of the
trials, tribulations and triumphs of his 27,000-mile odyssey at a Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron fundraiser in support of the New Zealand Youth America’s Cup team. During his presentation he revealed for the first time that he had in fact erected the jury rig three times. First he had to repair the boom, which broke in the dismasting. Splinting the break with sail battens and an emergency pack of unidirectional carbon fibre and epoxy, he then battled for hours to inch the makeshift mast up to vertical. Once aloft he was dissatisfied with his cut-down sailplan. ‘OCD
sailmaker that I am, I took it down again, fixed the stiffness of the gaff batten and managed to go through the whole rigmarole of putting it up again.’ Only to discover that the gooseneck fitting fixing the boom to the cabintop had broken in the process, leaving everything sliding about precariously. Down it came again and, to make matters worse, now it rolled
off the cabintop leaving him with the exhausting challenge of manhandling it back into position before fixing a new step and grinding it all back upright yet again. Colman described his campaign as similar to the Trump admin-
istration – ‘one potentially world-ending crisis per day’. Among them, an electrical fire, 15 crash gybes, several capsizes – ‘the boat was very stable on its side’ – multiple bruising trips up the mast to fix things. That and a seriously life-threatening moment when a line gave way as he was working on the rig and he went overboard… It was night time and the boat careered on at 10kt, dragging him
by his safety tether through the water. ‘I was sailing in convoy with my own boat in the middle of the Southern Ocean in very cold water with nobody there to catch me.’ Providentially, a wave briefly flung him close alongside the hull
and he managed to grab a stanchion. Then, however, the lifeline that had saved him from certain death conspired to prevent him from hauling himself back onboard. He had to take the heart- stopping decision to undo the harness and let it fall away into the sea, freeing him to haul himself aboard. ‘That really was a one-shot deal… I couldn’t afford to muck it up.’ The mishap that very nearly brought his campaign to a premature
end came when the mast broke 740nm from the finish. It not only put paid to an unlikely top-10 finish in the race, it also coincided with the end of his freeze-dried food.
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ALEXIS COURCOUX
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