The Multi50 class is a class of fast, high-performance 15-metre multihulls for competitive racing. Find the latest news and investigations from Tip & Shaft on the subject.
After a very busy 2024 season, the Ocean Fifty class is tightening up its calendar this year with two Grand Prix (Saint-Malo and Concarneau), the Fastnet and the Transat Café L’Or. The line-up has also changed, with a new association of skippers, a new boat and several new entrants.
At 13:00 on Sunday 29th September, 9 Ocean Fifties and 16 Class40s set sail in the first edition of the Med Max a double-handed race between Port Camargue and Saïdia Resorts in Morocco. Tip & Shaft takes a look back at the genesis of this project initiated by Kito de Pavant.
The seven female sailors involved in the UpWind By MerConcept project have just been selected following four days of testing and sailing in Concarneau. Focus on this Ocean Fifty project supported by 11th Hour Racing and skippered by Francesca Clapcich.
After the Mini 6.50, the Figaro (a project still underway this season) and the Class40, Edenred announced this week its commitment into the Ocean Fifty circuit from the 2025 season onwards, with a new boat to be built by Neo Sailing Technologies (formerly Lalou Multi). The skippers will be Emmanuel Le Roch and Basile Bourgnon, Tip & Shaft spoke to the latter.
The Ocean Fifty Class has unveiled the 2024 calendar for the Ocean Fifty Series, the successor to the Pro Sailing Tour, along with the creation of a commercial subsidiary and the announcement of an eleventh ongoing project. Ten boats will be entered in the five new races this season.
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.
On 29th October, 95 duos – compared with 78 in 2021 – will be lining up at the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie-Le Havre. As before every major race, Tip & Shaft has brought together a panel of experts to talk about the line-up. This week, we focus on the Ocean Fifty and Class40 races with Francis Le Goff, the Race Director, Matthieu Souben, the winner of the race two years ago aboard an Ocean Fifty, Eric Péron and Gilles Lamiré, former Ocean Fifty racers, Christophe Gaumont, the Race Director of the CIC Normandy Channel Race, Cédric de Kervenoael, President of Class40, and Laurène Coroller, journalist with Voiles et Voiliers.
After racing the third leg of the Pro Sailing Tour on Viabilis with Pierre Quiroga, Pascal Bidégorry is training this week with Tom Laperche on SVR Lazartigue whilst also awaiting the launch of Macif, Charlie Dalin’s new Imoca, at the end of June. He will sail with Dalin this season, notably on the Transat Jacques Vabre. Tip & Shaft spoke to him this week.
After taking second place aboard Malizia of the fourth leg of The Ocean Race on Wednesday evening into Newport Rhode Island, Christopher Pratt managed to then make the first stage of the Pro Sailing Tour on Wind of Trust this Friday in La Seyne-sur-Mer of the. The boat was formerly Gilles Lamiré’s and Pratt is the new skipper. Tip & Shaft reached him early Friday morning during his connection at Paris CDG airport in between his flights from the United States and to Marseille. The sailor from Marseille took the time to talk about his busy times.
After the Ultims, the Mini 6.50, the Figaro and the Class40, Tip & Shaft is continuing its pre-season review of the key classes of 2023 now looking at the Ocean Fifty. And we find a class which, as is often the case in a post-Rum year is active with newcomers and a few leavers.
As before every major event, Tip & Shaft has invited a panel of experts to analyse the line-up for the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe which starts on 6th November. In this first part dedicated to the Imoca and Ocean Fifty competitors, we talked to Antoine Mermod, the president of the Imoca class, Jeanne Grégoire, head of the Pôle Finistère Ocean Racing training centre, Daniel Souben, trainer in La Trinité-sur-mer for Orlabay, the sailors, Yann Eliès, Christopher Pratt and Vincent Riou, as well as Jacques Guyader, journalist with Ouest-France.
At the age of 50 Yvan Bourgnon now divides his time between the Seacleaners organisation which he founded five years ago, a part time profession as a lecturer and sailing: he races in the Ocean Fifty class with Gilles Lamiré, on the Nacra 20 with his son Mathis and on the ETF26 Series leading the Zizi to Fly crew. As he prepares to compete in the Raid Quiberon, Tip & Shaft caught up with him.
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