One Vendée Globe leads to another..
In 2012-2013, Armel Le Cléac'h magnifies the victory of the Vendée by a few hours. It is then time for analysis and debriefing... What did not work? " We had almost won the race within three hours with a boat that was certainly a success, but designed by another boat (Michel Desjoyeaux, editor's note), and the idea of starting from a blank page to create a sailboat with as much technological knowledge as possible at the time, and a perfect reflection of our skipper's aspirations, immediately seduced us" explains Chantal Petrachi, Communications Director at Banque Populaire. Especially since Armel really wants to go back. " The lack of victory made everyone want to go back, this time with our boat. I digested the Vendée Globe, projected myself 4 years later, considered the measure of the challenge, and everyone wanted to go back 100%," explains Armel. "The desire to win and the joy of being able to make a boat with my hand were two decisive criteria. We started the studies, the first contacts. Building was the best solution, since we had already done a Vendée Globe with a boat bought, it was motivating!"
Build an innovative boat
While the whole Banque Populaire Team is busy preparing the maxi trimaran solo Banque Populaire VII However, he is beginning to think about the creation of the new IMOCA. He surveys international architects, with the aim of offering himself quality and innovation and the choice is made very quickly on Guillaume Verdier and Vincent Prévost. " The situation was complex because the gauge had not yet been established explains Vincent. " We cleared the ground with Team Banque Populaire and Team Safran to anticipate. As soon as the gauge was released in December 2013, the first shape plans could be presented in February 2014, with a clear vision of the rule. This slightly more restrictive gauge was made to give boats reliability by establishing safety criteria for keels, hydraulics and masts. We keep a great freedom of design on the hulls and appendages, and we make reliable the two Achilles heels, mast and keel" he comments.
Armel Le Cléac'h explains how, the day after his arrival from the Vendée Globe, they were able to outline the project. " After a hot debrief of the Vendée Globe in order not to forget anything, we were able to offer the architects very precise specifications with the positive and negative points of my experience and everything we needed to improve.
We had a history with Verdier VPLP, and we put it in competition with others, like Farr, and quickly we left with VPLP Verdier for their competence and proximity, because we need them every day. Their boats are efficient and in constant evolution. Banque Populaire wanted to make a French shipyard and French craftsmen work, and we opted for CDK. And here again, the advantage of proximity is taken advantage of.
We got closer to Safran to share certain things, like the tools and the hull mould. The architects presented us the hull evolutions and the points of novelty on which they were working. The mould started a year ago, eight months after the project began."
An IMOCA dedicated to the Vendée Globe
The Banque Populaire VIII will offer a larger bow, a powerful hull with a large righting torque due to the shape and volume progression. In terms of innovation, it will follow the trend of foils. " The great innovation is the arrival of these promising plans. The architects proposed these plans based on their experience of the America's Cup and the evolution of sailing in general, where foils appear everywhere. The idea was to use these new technologies to relieve the hull at certain speeds, relieve and accelerate.
We worked a lot with the design office and the designers, and the whole Banque Populaire team. It is a bet, a major novelty, very theoretical at the beginning. We decided with the Team to experiment it. We rented the Mini 6.50 N°198 from Sébastien Picot, on which we integrated three drifts, one classic and two with load-bearing plans, to carry out a test campaign from July 2014, under the supervision of Bertrand Pacé, in order to answer our questions. It was exciting. The development was complicated, and after many evolutions, we had good surprises. One of the two options proposed by the"archis" was chosen. We submitted plans last December for construction."
"When the keel is tilted to the wind, the keel veil generates the boat's lift, and to counter the list, foils are used to compensate for the loss of power. Power is restored by generating vertical thrust. The boat thus operates in a more aerial mode than previous generations. This will have to correspond to precise wind forces and angles, which are often encountered in a Vendée Globe, and the result is a substantial gain in speed of several knots. The boat will not be more powerful but it will sail in a lighter way, with less wet surface because supported by these famous appendages", continues Vincent Lauriot-Prévost.
The ergonomics of the boat have been the subject of much research, both in the cockpit and in the living space. " I want a protected cockpit, and a boat as dry as possible because these boats are very wet, and subject to sea spray and seas. When sailing around the world, it is important to be able to manoeuvre in a way protected by a sliding cap, with an ergonomic helm station and a good position offering good vision. Being able to steer for a long time can make the difference despite the performance of the automatic pilots, as we saw on the final of the Vendée Globe 2 013" explains the skipper.
" I've been cutting back a lot on the comfort inside. It is necessary to gain in lightness in the living space. It is also necessary to promote the matossing of the material in a simple way. We're taking the things we validated on the old boat. We're optimising electronics and IT, all the interior stations, the energy systems... We're trying out new things, such as a new cleat concept, knowing that in a year's time we'll be able to reconsider our decisions today... Our timing is consistent so that we can sail very early, race and test" armel Le Cléac'h concludes.
