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.
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.
Forced to give up the Transat Jacques Vabre and Retour à La Base at the end of 2023 due to a medical problem, Charlie Dalin will be making his return to competition in The Transat CIC, which starts on 28 April from Lorient. Ahead of a week’s training with the Finistère centre in Port-la-Forêt, Tip & Shaft spoke to the skipper of Macif Santé Prévoyance.
The international jury set up to rule on Clarisse Crémer ‘s suspected routing by her companion Tanguy Le Turquais in the last Vendée Globe delivered its verdict on Monday: it is “entirely convinced that there was no misconduct from either Clarisse Crémer or Tanguy Le Turquais.” Relieved by this decision, the two sailors agreed to talk to Tip & Shaft about the story .
Since Monday, ocean racing has been rocked by a new affair following the revelations in Le Télégramme about suspected routing during Clarisse Crémer’s last Vendée Globe by her companion Tanguy Le Turquais. Tip & Shaft tells you more.
At a time when the carbon footprint of composite boats is being called into question, the Greenscow 40, designed by the architect Gildas Plessis, offers an alternative. This Class40 concept, built from birch plywood and also used for a Imoca’s preliminary draft, aims to considerably reduce the environmental impact of the boats, while delivering similar performance? Tip & Shaft tells you more.
After the Ultims and the Ocean Fifty, the Transat Jacques Vabre delivered its podium finish in the Imoca class last weekend and in the Class40 class on Thursday afternoon, with the rvictories of the duos Thomas Ruyant / Morgan Lagravière (For People) and Ambrogio Beccaria / Nicolas Andrieu (Alla Grande Pirelli). Tip & Shaft brought together a number of architects and engineers for a technical analysis of the race.
Finishing 4th last Sunday in the Imoca Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre with Jérémie Beyou on Charal, Franck Cammas took off on Wednesday for Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), where the second Preliminary Regatta of the 37th America’s Cup kicks off on 29 November. Between two planes, the man from Aix-en-Provence spoke at length to Tip & Shaft. This Friday we publish the first part of the interview, devoted to the transatlantic race; the second, on the Orient Express Racing Team challenge, will appear next Friday.
Since Tuesday and the departure from Le Havre of the Imoca boats, the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre has resumed its ‘normal’ course, with matches in all four classes. Tip & Shaft takes a look at each of them (to be followed on our website), accompanied by Pierre-Marie Bourguinat, the editor covering the race for the organisation, the routers Jean-Yves Bernot and Marcel Van Triest for the Ultims, Martin Le Pape for the Imocas, Daniel Souben for the Ocean Fiftys and Bruno Jourdren for the Class40s.
For its 30th anniversary, the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre has had an eventful week, from a stopover in Lorient for the Class40s and Ocean Fifties, to a stoppage in Le Havre for the Imoca boats, with only the Ultim boats following the planned programme. Tip & Shaft takes a look at the sequence of events, with the key players involved.
After looking at the Class40 and Ocean Fifty fleet, this week, Tip & Shaft is examining the 5 Ultim and 40 Imoca boats that will be lining up on Sunday at the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre. We are focusing on the favourites in these two categories along with the Race Director, Francis Le Goff, the President of the Imoca class, Antoine Mermod, the Director of the Finistère Course au Large training centre in Port-la-Forêt, Jeanne Grégoire, the skipper of Holcim-PRB, Nicolas Lunven, the Race Directors of the 2024 Vendée Globe, Hubert Lemonnier and the 24-hour Ultim, Gildas Morvan, and the journalist, Jacques Guyader (Ouest-France).
Since being launched in May 2020, the Imoca Corum L’Épargne has suffered a whole series of different damages. A dismasting last week during the Azimut Challenge has now proven the final nail in the coffin, a mechanical failure which pressed Corm L’Épargne to announce the end of the project on Tuesday. Tip & Shaft looks back at the reasons that led to this decision.
On Thursday the Holcim group announced that they have chosen Nicolas Lunven to replace Kevin Escoffier at the helm of the Imoca Holcim-PRB for the 2024 Vendée Globe. The Dutch sailor Rosalin Kuiper will then succeed him for The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Tip & Shaft explains how this decision was made.
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