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Do you want to convoy my Figaro 3?
When you like to sail high-performance boats, the discovery of a new generation racer is always attractive. But when it's an innovative one-design regatta boat like the Figaro3, it's downright exciting.
When Tom Dolan, the promising Irish skipper, asked me to sail his new Figaro 3, I didn't hesitate for a moment.
The boat has been in the water for only 4 days. Most of the preparation was done in the workshop. For Tom, the skipper, it's a bit like the race before the races. To perform well, he needs to gather as much experience as possible before the start of the season.
All the sails are not delivered, the decoration with the name of the sponsor Smurfit Kappa is not yet installed, but it doesn't matter, the trainings start so we have to be there.
This is the very first navigation of the boat
Morning meeting in the Port of Concarneau, there are some minor repairs before setting sail for Lorient, 35 nm away. I meet Tom Dolan accompanied by Julien and Pierre, two of the indispensable friends capable of preparing a race boat in "commando" mode. Julien has already worked on two other Figaro3s, so he's starting to know the score. Thanks to Tom, this is also their first time sailing the Figaro3.
We talk a little, and quickly we discover that we all tremble of impatience, like children in front of their presents.
It must be said that he is sexy this Figaro3
Technical and sporty, the design evokes offshore racing and high performance. Moored at the pontoon, it is low on the water and appears in front of me with its chubby bow extended by its bowsprit as black as its mast. But what is most striking are the foils visible on each side of the Figaro 3. These appendages give her a proto look, but she is really a production boat from Bénéteau.
Let's go for 30 miles of downwind sailing
We set the mainsail and we are ready to go out. We leave the pontoon and quickly stop the engine to sail in the channel, crosswind.
The first sensation is the lightness and precision of the bar. What a treat! While facing the typical chop of a channel, you can measure the boat's movements and its stiffness.
Precise steering and stiffness of the structure are promising characteristics for this racing boat.
The west-north-west wind is only 10/12 knots, but it should strengthen offshore. The sky is offering us some pleasant sunshine at the beginning of February. Leaving the bay of Concarneau, we will sail a few miles south towards the Glénan before going east to reach Lorient, a total of 30Mn.
We are active on the deck, in a few moments the enormous fenders (to protect the foils) and the hawsers are equipped. Finally, we can go!
The power of foils
We set the mainsail and the genoa for a slightly heavy beam tack. A gust of wind arrives, the boat accelerates nicely, but it heels too much and we have to shock to find a suitable trim. I turn around to observe the wake, and I notice that we are not gliding, we are sailing at 7.5 knots.
Although we are still in the channel, Tom Dolan decides to take out the 2 foils completely. At the helm, I can immediately feel the boat gaining power. Thanks to the foil, we can trim the sails without wallowing in the wind.
With the help of the many adjustments available, we are still tightening the sail leaks. The Figaro 3 accelerates, it takes more than a knot, by reflex I turn my head again towards the wake and I realize that we are gliding. We are sailing crosswind and the gust did not exceed 15 knots. This little Beneteau has a lot under the hood, the races are going to be exciting.
The first sensations of sliding
After a few minutes of sailing on the beam, we are clear enough of the coast to shoot down. Because, to top it all off, we are going to Lorient downwind. It's time to hoist the spinnaker: so let's all get down on our knees! And yes, when sending the canvas we discover that the winches are too low to work standing up without breaking our backs.
When the spinnaker comes out of its bag, it makes that characteristic sound of a new sail, like a gift package on Christmas Day.
The boat is responsive and I can feel the acceleration immediately. Each instruction given to the rudders translates into bow placement. We'll be able to have fun in the surf.
I'm lucky, I'm steering and the wind is rising, the gusts reach 20 knots. With just 1 meter of swell, we play on each wave at more than 12 knots. Like a Mini6.50, the boat does not only surf, it glides from wave to wave. The faces are all smiling and each one goes there of his comment of joy.
The Figaro 3 is really efficient and gives a lot of pleasure.
The helm passes between all the hands, we link some gybes. With more than 110 m2 of canvas, it is not so easy to put the spinnaker on the other tack. At the helm, Tom is already thinking about future gybes in the breeze.
We're testing foil settings, one end comes back to the cockpit and allows us to modify the incidence of the foil. Downwind, we try to find a neutral setting. Upwind, the incidence setting will increase the anti-drift force. On the beam, we can obtain more lift.
We discover the longitudinal balance, the rather unstable wind (from 8 knots to 20 knots) allows us to notice that the hull is sensitive to the displacement of the masses. To keep a tight wake, the crew moves forward in the cockpit when the boat is no longer flat and conversely, they move back in the aft lines to relieve the bow at high speed.
We are won over, but the pleasure is too short, we have already reached the Courreaux de Groix. On this stretch of water, opposite Lorient, we met mainly figarists who were also making their first tacks. Each crossing is an opportunity for a thousand observations, comments and suppositions about the foils, the sails or the heel of the competition.
It's exciting to discover a new boat, especially a racing yacht. All the senses are alert, the operating instructions have to be invented, and you have to use all your experience to identify the right settings that translate into speed gains.
The future of ocean racing
Obviously, the Figaro 3 is more fun than its predecessor. This one-design is powerful, the gennaker and the asymmetrical spinnaker allow for high average speeds in the breeze. The series will probably attract new profiles of sailors, eager for strong sensations as well as tactical races.
With the arrival of the Figaro 3, there have never been so many rookie skippers from the Mini class. This boat is in tune with the times and is attracting a new wave of racers. And moreover, the great names of ocean racing will also be there, like Loïck Peyron, Michel Desjoyeaux, or Armel le Cléac'h..
The Figaro 3 is stirring up passions and beginning to shape a new landscape in ocean racing.
