News Around the World
Set for a small revival? It would be nice to think so – the Multi50 class is as near as today’s ocean-racing fleet gets to the magnificent Orma 60s of 15 years ago, which literally raced themselves to destruction as the pursuit of greater inshore and offshore performance outpaced build technology. Now that the Multi50 class allows one-design foils it would be interesting to know how close they are in performance to their bigger predecessors, bearing in mind the latest Imoca foilers are going as fast as the penultimate generation of Orma tris (other than in flat water). A burst of interest in the Multi50s a few years ago stalled when several boats capsized during the 2015 TJV, but now there are two new examples on the way – a new Romaric Neyhousser design being built by Lalou Roucayrol to replace the existing Arkema (above) and a new VPLP design nearing completion at Persico. Both boats should be sailing by Easter
FRANCE The prodigal child? After nine months of construction the Nantes shipyard Black Pepper Yachts unveiled the Imoca L’Occitane in late November, which will be steered by Armel Tripon in next year’s Vendée Globe. L’Occitane is the latest new-generation foiler and probably the last new design built for the 2020 Vendée Globe (the last-minute Imoca being built for Yann Eliès will come out of existing moulds). This is the first Vendée Globe for Armel, the first Imoca design
for Sam Manuard, and the first Imoca built by Black Pepper Yachts (the construction of the platform was sub-contracted to Pauger in Hungary). L’Occitane is an international group that manufactures and retails beauty and well-being products based on natural organic ingredients. A global leader in the premium beauty market, the group has more than 3,000 retail outlets, including 1,555 owned stores, and now operates in 90 countries. Meanwhile, Michel Douville de Franssu, founder of Black Pepper,
is very familiar with building carbon-fibre yachts using cutting-edge technologies with the elegant Code range of yachts that Black Pepper produces in collaboration with… Armel Tripon. Armel, 44 and a native of Nantes, won the 2018 solo Route du
Rhum in the Multi50 category. He began his career as a ‘prepar - ateur’, and then became a skipper, winning the famous Mini-Transat in 2003. After this first victory Armel competed in the Figaro and Class40 circuits, then moving up to the Imoca class where he took a nice fourth place in the 2014 Route du Rhum. In addition to being a naval architect, Armel’s designer Sam
Manuard is also a very successful offshore racer. Known for his innovative ideas and vision, he has designed many winning boats, particularly Mini 6.50s and Class40s with the famous Mach 40 brand. His latest Class40, the Mach 40.4 scow Banque du Léman,
22 SEAHORSE
finished fourth in the last TJV in spite of having been launched not long before the start. ‘In February 2018 our design team, surrounded by the best
specialists in hydrodynamics, aerodynamics and structural engi- neering, came up with the concept for L’Occitane, whose design is decidedly different from her future competitors,’ explained De Franssu. ‘We based all our thinking around the principle of sailing efficiency in the Vendée Globe.’ From a design perspective Sam Manuard added: ‘We want an
easy-to-sail boat that looks after her skipper. The last Transat Jacques Vabre proved it again: these new Imocas are very fast but very demanding to operate, and many skippers now say they will not be able to maintain such high speeds singlehanded.’ L’Occitane stands out in several aspects compared to existing
Imocas: the scow hull with the pronounced rise in the stem, the moderate beam, the aggressive foils, the flush deck and the dis- tribution of weight with the cockpit and living area set very far aft. Sam Manuard: ‘The moderate width (about 5.20m) allows us to
reduce the deck/hull areas to minimise the weight of the boat. It is also a powerful factor in optimising for the Imoca stability test. ‘Although the beam is moderate the hull sections are powerful,
to maintain righting moment especially when the boat is moving at low speed during gybes and other manoeuvres. The skipper must feel at ease and be able to carry out manoeuvres without any hesitation. This can be crucial in the far south along the no-go zone. ‘Our very long, narrow foils generate dynamic stability and power
with little drag. We get closer to how a trimaran works. Our foils can also be kept clear of the water in light weather when they are of no use but create a lot of drag, as well as in rough weather when the skipper may want to sail in conservative mode for his own safety. ‘The convex, flush deck is minimalist, a straightforward shape
ALAMY
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