News Around the World
FRANCE Another anniversary Just weeks away from the 10th edition of the Vendée Globe, five of which were won by CDK boats, the French shipyard is celebrating its own 40th anniversary. Forty-four rather special sailing boats were built by the CDK shipyard in the last 40 years, boats that have helped tell the story of modern offshore racing, mainly in the premier oceanic classes… Imoca, Orma 60, MOD70, Ultim and most recently the growing fleet of Ocean Fifties. The CDK story continues with the current construction of a new Ultim for Gitana Team, plus several new Imoca foiler projects for the 2028 Vendée Globe. However, CDK manufactures not only composite boats but also
spars. The company has its own giant 50m autoclave and now three manufacturing sites in Lorient, Port La Forêt and La Rochelle. CDK was chosen by the British team Ineos Britannia for the construction of its AC75 spars. They also built five of the new foilers entering the 2024 Vendée Globe. This December the Lorient site will also acquire a new 36m-long,
10m-wide and 7m-high oven, enabling it to become a second full production facility. Soon Lorient is also adding a third workshop that will house a digital fabric-cutting table and a 3D machining centre. This will be dedicated to the manufacture of foils. This anniversary year of 2024 marks maturity on a sporting level
but also a company entering a new phase. CDK now employs 120 people. Led by its major shareholder, Inspiring Sport Capital, co- founded by two sports marketing professionals, Laurent Damiani and Lucien Boyer, in parallel with its famous racing yachts the group is among the growing number of French marine companies investing in the decarbonisation of maritime transport through innovations first nurtured in offshore racing.
British pair are Offshore Double Handed World Champions! The British Maggie Adamson and Cal Finlayson won the World Offshore Mixed Double Championship raced in Lorient at the end of September and using the new Sun Fast 30 OD! After the victory of the Irish Tom Dolan in the Solitaire, French offshore racing has certainly lost out this year! The French Elodie Bonafous and Basile Bourgnon (son of the
22 SEAHORSE
late Laurent) after dominating the preliminary races, with the other French pairing of Charlotte Yven and Loïs Berrehar, were beaten home by just 65 seconds in the final 151nm decider contested by the 10 top-scoring teams from the early rounds. Conditions in the big race were very robust, with long periods of
erratic 30kt winds and 2m swells. The wind direction shifted 180° with a string of local effects passing the offshore islands and the Breton coast. The wind then fell away in the final hours with four boats racing nervously within sight of each other. ‘I can’t believe what just happened,’ Adamson said after the
finish. ‘We held on, we never gave up. At the end we saw a little breeze coming off the shore and managed to pick it up. We held the code zero a little longer… we had our two spinnakers ready to go but we felt that we were a bit faster with this setup. It’s these little things that have made the difference,’ he said. ‘It was a hell of a fight,’ her partner added. ‘We were all next to
each other at the last mark 24 miles from the finish. The two French teams took the lead, slipping through ahead of us.’ But then the two British youngsters grabbed the lead again at the finish and held on to cross the line a few metres ahead of their rivals. ‘To be honest, beating such great sailors is surreal, especially in Lorient, the home of French offshore racing,’ concluded Cal. Despite the disappointment Basile Bourgnon enjoyed this new
regatta: ‘There was a bit of fatigue because the event followed so soon after the Figaro itself, which was not easy. But I was very happy to share this experience with Elodie. ‘It’s a very interesting race format, with good sailors turning up from
all over the world [16 nations competed]. We will try to come back next year for our revenge!’ The Royal Ocean Racing Club will host the next championship in Cowes in September 2025, while World Sailing is going to have another attempt at introducing the mixed two-handed discipline at the Olympic Games in Brisbane in 2032.
Meanwhile With autumn coming, round-the-world record attempts are once again on the menu. There have been several Ultim events recently that can be considered warm-ups, just weeks away from the depar- ture of Lazartigue and Sodebo on the Jules Verne course. However,
ANNE BEAUGE
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