The Imoca are 60-foot Open monohull yachts mainly intended to race in the Vendée Globe. Find here the latest news and investigations from Tip & Shaft on the subject.
With the start of the Vendée Globe 2024 set for November 10, the next cycle is already underway for many skippers and teams, with boat building already underway and the second-hand market coming to life. Tip & Shaft takes stock.
At 34, Sam Goodchild is about to take part in his first Vendée Globe aboard Vulnerable, the Verdier design launched in 2019 on which Thomas Ruyant raced in the last edition. Having just arrived on the Vendée Globe pontoon in Les Sables d’Olonne on Thursday, the Briton spoke to Tip & Shaft.
At just 31 years of age, Alan Roura is about to take part in his third Vendée Globe (12th in 2016, 17th in 2020). With an Imoca boat, Hublot, Alex Thomson’s former Hugo Boss, which he has taken a long time to get to grips with and optimise, and with his sporting ambitions on the up. The Swiss sailor spoke to Tip & Shaft.
The press conference of the Vendée Globe 2024 took place on Thursday at the Seine Musicale in Boulogne-Billancourt. It was an opportunity to present the 40 skippers who will be setting off from Les Sables d’Olonne on 10 November and for Tip & Shaft to glean some information.
With just a few days to spare, Paul Meilhat could have taken part in the Azimut Lorient Agglomération Challenge, which runs from 10 to 15 September. His Imoca Biotherm will in fact be relaunched on the 13th in Lorient, while he awaits a week later his new pair of foils, launched following the breakage of his port foil on The Transat CIC. Speaking to Tip & Shaft, the 42-year-old sailor, who is about to take part in his second Vendée Globe, looks back over the past few eventful months.
Already second a month ago on The Transat CIC, Boris Herrmann confirmed his position on the New York Vendée, taking second place once again last Sunday, 17 hours after the winner, Charlie Dalin. With five months to go before the start of his second Vendée Globe, the German skipper took time out to answer Tip & Shaft’s questions.
The race to qualify and be selected for the Vendée Globe 2024 came to an end on last Thursday evening with the arrival of the 27th and final competitor in the New York Vendée, Denis Van Weynbergh. Of the 42 candidates, 2 will not be on the starting line on November 10, unless an exemption is granted. The final list will be announced on July 2. Tip & Shaft tells you more.
With the New York-Vendée-Les Sables d’Olonne race approaching its epilogue – Charlie Dalin is expected to finish on Saturday night – Tip & Shaft interviewed a number of experts to analyse this week’s racing, which has been marked by a very spread-out fleet and radically opposed options. We take a look at the situation with skippers Tanguy Le Turquais and Paul Meilhat, and the event’s weather consultant, Christian Dumard.
Three weeks after the arrival of The Transat CIC, 28 skippers will set sail on 29 May in the New York Vendée-Les Sables d’Olonne, the last qualifier for the Vendée Globe. As it does before each major event, Tip & Shaft surveyed a panel of experts, including Charles Caudrelier, Armel Tripon, Alain Gautier and Tom Laperche, to take stock of the forces at work.
Second in the Transat Jacques Vabre and winner of Retour à La Base at the end of last year, Yoann Richomme has once again hit the jackpot by winning The Transat CIC on 7 May. With just a few days to go before the start of the solo return transatlantic race, the New York Vendée, on 29 May, the 40-year-old skipper of Paprec Arkéa spoke to Tip & Shaft.
Busy news this week for TR Racing, which on Wednesday announced the change of name for Thomas Ruyant’s and Sam Goodchild’s Imoca boats, both renamed Vulnerable, before inaugurating its new premises at Lorient La Base on Thursday. All good reasons to talk to Alexandre Fayeulle, Chairman of Advens, founding partner of TR Racing and owner of the two boats.
After three months of refit work, the Imoca boats are now ready to tackle a busy season, starting on 28 April with the start of The Transat CIC, followed by theNew York-Vendée and the Vendée Globe. Tip & Shaft takes a look at the technical issues that have kept the teams busy this winter.
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