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.
For many fans, the name Quantum is synonymous with the team bearing that name that has been at the top of the 52 Super Series for many seasons. The US headquartered sailmaker hopes to get back into ocean racing.
The start of the first ever Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne is on Saturday at 3.30 p.m local time. As before each major event, Tip & Shaft has solicited the opinions of the great the good of the ocean racing world in France as well as a few hand picked Anglo Saxons to ask the big question. We have Antoine Mermod, president of Imoca, Tanguy Leglatin the trainer in Lorient, Christian Le Pape, head of the Pole Finistère Course au Large, sailors Yann Eliès, Charlie Enright, Dee Caffari, Matt Sheahan and French based American Ryan Breymaier who works with Boris Herrmann. Also questioned was Gaël Robic, journalist at France Télévision.
More than a year after the end of his collaboration with the Gitana Team, Sébastien Josse is back on the water. As soon as deconfinement started he started sailing and working with Nicolas Troussel helping him to prepare the next Vendée Globe aboard Corum L’Epargne, the latest new generation Imoca to be launched. That seems like a good opportunity for Tip & Shaft to catch up with the skipper who is originally from Nice and whose career to date spans Figaro, Imoca, Ultime and the Volvo Ocean Race.
To try to understand what is happening with the Covid crisis, Tip & Shaft set up a series of interviews around the topic of sail racing. Today, we listen to the designer, Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, co-founder with Marc Van Peteghem of the VPLP team, which designed three of the eight new boats built for the 2020 Vendée Globe (Charal, Hugo Boss and DMG Mori), as well as the two future Ultim trimarans, currently being built for Macif and the Banque Populaire team.
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the whole planet, it has meant a great deal of uncertainty for sport in general and sailboat races are no exception. To try to get to grips with this new situation, Tip & Shaft is carrying out a series of five interviews about the future of sail racing. Our fifth guest is Johan Salén who, with Richard Brisius, is co-owner of The Ocean Race.
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the whole planet, it has meant a great deal of uncertainty for sport in general and sailboat races are no exception. To try to get to grips with the new situation, Tip & Shaft is carrying out a series of five interviews about the future of sail racing. Our third guest, Nathalie Quéré is an expert in sponsorships, she works as a consultant and managing director of W Ocean Racing, a management company involved in sailing which she co-founded with the Australian skipper, Chris Nicholson.
With the Covid-19 pandemic affecting the whole planet, it has meant a great deal of uncertainty for sport in general and sailboat races are no exception. What will the impact be on our sport? What changes will there be to the economic model? How do races need to change? How will sponsors behave? To try to get to grips with this new situation, Tip & Shaft is carrying out a series of five interviews about the future of sail racing. Our first interviewee, Mark Turner, cofounder with Ellen MacArthur, of Offshore Challenges, which became OC Sport, was head of the Volvo Ocean Race between 2016 and 2017, and now works as a consultant.
World renowned boat builder Jason Carrington has had something of a dream order book since setting up Carrington Boats in November 2017 with the Carkeek designed Fast40 Rán. The new Imoca Hugo Boss for Alex Thomson Racing, INEOS’ UK’s Britannia as well as their nearing completion AC75 boat 2 are complemented by a part completed Ocean Race Imoca 60 which is currently on hold but which may become available. Tip & Shaft spoke with Jason.
When there appears to be dozens of solo sailors giving us their positive ideas for surviving or indeed profiting from isolation it is interesting to turn to Conrad Humphreys. His peak as a solo racer was a very tough Vendée Globe in 2004-5 placing seventh in 107 days, after repairing and replacing his rudder off South Africa and finishing with no power. In 2016 Humphreys was sailing master on Mutiny, a 4000 mile reality TV 60 day voyage from Tonga to Timor with a crew of nine on a 23 foot (7m) open boat recreating Captain Bligh’s voyage…..
Over the past fortnight, the Covid-19 pandemic has led many race organisers to modify their plans. Among them, OC Sport Pen Duick which postponed (currently the situation) the Transat AG2R La Mondiale and is looking at various options for The Transat CIC, but remains confident about the Solitaire du Figaro. Tip & Shaft talked to the Managing Director, Hervé Favre.
The most recent boat in the IMOCA fleet, Corum L’Epargne was due to be launched on 21st March in Port-la-Forêt. Tip & Shaft talked to Michel Desjoyeaux, as with his company, Mer Agitée, he was the project manager for the construction of the Juan Kouyoumdjian designed boat.
The World Championships of the 470 class (March 16-21), the giant Trofeo Princesa Sofia Olympic regatta (March 27-April 4), the Sailing World Cup Genoa (11-19 April), the 44Cup Portoroz (22-26 April), the GC32 Racing Tour in Oman (25-29 March), the ACWS Cagliari (22-26 April), these events are all either cancelled or postponed. In France the list of events to be rescheduled include Easter’s Spi Ouest France, the Massila Cup, the SNIM, the Solo Maitre CoQ The coronavirus outbreak is affecting the whole of the competitive sailing world. Tip & Shaft takes a view.
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