Built (fast) to last
Adaptability Alex Thomson’s team opted for the most aggressive interpretation of the 2016 foiler 60, with a narrower hull and huge foils aimed more at lift than sideforce, compared with her competitors. It paid off – they
44 SEAHORSE
showed the way forward in Imoca design and Hugo Boss was very fast indeed, faster even than the eventual race winner. However, her sails were obviously also
extremely fast – and durable – best demon- strated by the way in which after a partial foil failure HB could be retrimmed and still compete strongly with race-winner Banque Populaire. This was crucial to Hugo Boss staying in the hunt until the last 48 hours of the race when Banque Populaire skipper Armel le Cléac’h finally pulled clear… Seahorse:When did you first start working with Hugo Boss – was that a progressive coming together or a like-for-like switch? Mike Sanderson: I was actually sitting in Alex’s Hugo Boss office in Gosport and we were talking sails, Alex mentioned that he wasn’t getting that something extra from his sailmaker any longer and did I have any ideas. At that time we spoke about Richard Bouzaid and the team at Doyle Sails NZ; I wasn’t involved with them at all and in fact hadn’t even sailed with their sails, but I was watching what the guys where doing and liked it. I also knew Richard from our time together at North so I was well aware of his capabilities. I am going to say that was 2008? SH:Does the HB team have an in-house sail designer or sail co-ordinator?
MS: Richard Bouzaid has always designed all the Hugo Boss sails and for this latest boat in particular was also part of the design team for the whole project. Richard was sailing small DSS boats in secret very early on in the project as they explored this route for the new boat. Duffy [David Duff] here at the loft then does a lot of the organ- isation and detailing of the sails with the team – you won’t find a better sailmaker in the world than Duffy so his experience is invaluable, but to be honest it is very much led by Alex himself and Richard Bouzaid. SH: Are you leading development or is it the other way around… MS: Trust me, between Alex and Richard the project is never short of ideas and the exploration of ideas that are outside the box. But that’s what is so exciting about being part of Hugo Boss: there is never a dull moment – every single sail we build for them is a development of the last one. So to answer your question the development is very much a team effort. SH: Your own team must now have spent many hundreds of hours sailing with Alex. MS: From our side again it was Richard who really needed to spend the time with the team and on the water. But then Alex did an excellent job getting in world-class
JON NASH/DPPI
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