News Around the World
Alex Thomson: ‘For sure, now the foils do more on all the new boats and so any failure will hurt those teams more.’ SH: The next VG will be your fourth. How many singlehanded races around the world have you done in total? Best and worst memory? AT: Started 5. Completed 2. Best memory: crossing the finish line in the 2016-17 Vendée Globe. Although it was bittersweet because we’d come so close to winning, it was an incredible feeling to finish the race and experience the reception from the thousands of people in Les Sables d’Olonne. Worst memory: having to be rescued by Mike Golding in 2006 in the Velux 5 Oceans Race. It was a pretty scary experience that I would not want to repeat. SH: How does your new Imoca compare to its predecessor? AT: The new Hugo Boss is a big step forward. Having been in this sport for almost 20 years – and competed in four Vendée Globes – I passionately believe that one of the biggest limitations is the physical condition of the skipper onboard. And so with the new boat we were quite bold with our decisions from an ergonomic perspec- tive. Moving the cockpit inside will, we believe, significantly improve protection in a sport that is becoming ever more physically demand- ing and allow me to work harder and more efficiently. Our hull shape is an evolution of Charal’s. The hulls of both boats
are very rounded and are designed to minimise drag rather than deliver stability. This is because we believe the foil should be doing the majority of the work now. This rounded hull shape is vastly dif-
as you are. In that situation you stay in the wind and the flat water. Breaking records is always exciting but it takes time to find the right place and the perfect conditions to do it. And so, in normal training, breaking records is never our focus. If it happens, then great, but we cannot go out there seeking to break records. SH: How could this increase in performance change your routeing – I’m thinking here of sailing further north in the south and looking for the trade winds far to the east as you go up the South Atlantic? AT: The routeing does change with the new performances we are witnessing and perhaps we’ll see some more northerly options. But generally, if you were to run every route option around the world they would all come out within a few hundred miles of each other. I don’t really think that alternative route would happen. The Ultims are still taking similar routes to the Imocas. SH:Some people say that solo sailors ‘no longer helm their boats’. Is this because of the foils, especially in flight mode, which require a lot of instantaneous adjustments? Or is it because autopilots now have a more efficient brain than the human brain? Or both… AT: I have done very little helming when sailing solo for a long time. This is simply because when you’re driving the boat it takes up an enormous amount of energy and concentration for long periods of time. Of course, when you’re helming you’re also not able to do all the other things you need to do on the boat and so it can actually have a performance cost. Autopilots are improving significantly and it’s a huge area for development. It’s certainly an area that we have been working on, together with our own technology partner Nokia Bell Labs. As the systems develop the difference between ‘human and machine’ becomes less. However, I still firmly believe I can steer better than the best
VPLP’s space-age bow treatment on Hugo Boss has led to one design wag comparing it to an upside-down Ron Holland IOR stern from the 1970s. Given builder Jason Carrington’s track record of beautifully finished and super-light raceboats like Rán and Ben Ainslie’s AC75s, it’s hard to believe that any of Alex Thomson’s Vendée rivals will go to the line with a lighter boat. Interesting to compare this angular bow with the even fuller yet much more softly defined stem of Charal (pg20), also from VPLP
ferent from all the other designers’ shapes, which are more box-like and designed to offer more stability – but that brings drag. Our foil design is also very different. The concept came from
within our team and was based on experience from the previous boat. We knew we wanted our foils to work as hard as possible for us but we were also aware that ventilation along the foil was a big limiting factor. Our foils are specifically designed to minimise this. SH: Can these new Imocas exceed 600nm in 24 hours? AT: I actually believe the previous Hugo Boss was capable of that. And the new boat absolutely is too. In fact, I believe the new boat is capable of claiming the absolute world monohull distance record. When it comes to reaching those top speeds sea state is one
of the biggest impacts on performance. What you actually need is flat water and moderate breeze. Nowadays with these boats you don’t need 25-30kt of wind; you could achieve record speeds in flat water with 20kt of breeze. The ideal scenario in the ocean is when you have the high pressure ahead of you and a low pressure coming in behind you, and they’re all moving at the same speed
24 SEAHORSE
autopilot on the market (for a period of time…). As with a lot of things in this sport, you can have the best technology but the athlete also needs to use their experience and instinct, and understand how to get the most out of that technology. Of course the foils make the boat go a lot faster and, in some ways, you could argue that it’s easier for the skipper because when a gust of wind comes and the boat heels over and starts to accelerate, the foil gives you more power – power that arrives when you need it. However, the faster you go the more risks you are taking, and the harder and more uncomfortable it is for the skipper. It’s a double-edged sword. SH:A big topic, especially for The Ocean Race, is rudder elevators… AT: I look forward to the day when Imocas are fully flying but I believe this is a bigger step forward from where we are today than people think. I have a number of concerns – the cost implications, the reli- ability implications and also, with the higher speeds, safety con- cerns. Before that step is taken we would need to relook at a number of factors such as the load cases with this extra speed. I think it is certainly something that we should be thinking about and working towards but we’re not ready just yet. SH: Do you fly aeroplanes! AT:No. I wanted to be a helicopter pilot like my father but my eyesight wasn’t good enough! SH: Apart from the repair after the Transat Jacques Vabre, what modifications have been made to your boat this winter? AT:We did not just repair the boat. We looked in detail at what had happened during the collision because we felt the boat should be strong enough to survive that sort of impact. However, with the way the keel system is set up, if such a collision happens you end up in the unhappy situation where the keel falls out of the boat but is still attached – so you’re taking on water but you can’t go any- where. Therefore you are in a very vulnerable position. So, working with Gurit (structural engineers) and VPLP (naval archi-
tects), we have made significant improvements. The objective is that if the same thing happens the keel won’t fall out of the boat. Then while the repair and structural reinforcement was taking place other changes were being made; in particular we have optimised the ballasts and spent time focusing on weight optimisation. We’ve made some changes to our camera systems and worked very hard on the ergonomics in the cockpit. We will also have a new set of foils for the Vendée Globe. Our
MARK LLOYD
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