Portrait of a Foil Expert
A lifelong sailor, his victory in the Mini Transat 2013 allowed Benoit Marie to enter the world of professional sailors. He then specialized in foil boats and became an expert in flight by sailing on various supports: Class A, Class C, Ultimate, ETF26, and especially the Foil Moth.
Whether solo (1st at the 2019 Moth National) or with a crew (winner of The Bridge on the MACIF Ultim with François Gabart), Benoit collects successful experiences on very different media. He is also one of the rare Frenchmen to race on the Iceboat circuit (ice sailing tank on ice), machines capable of flirting with the 130 km/h speed
Graduated from Arts et Métiers, Benoit is constantly developing the engineering of his boats in order to make them more and more efficient. His partnership with Airbus has (among other things) enabled him to develop an innovative "Z" boom to improve the performance of the sails of his Moth.
A dynamic communicator, he shares his learning through conferences to evoke the many parallels between the challenges of a top-level athlete and those of the corporate world.
Vini, a flying laboratory
The Vini project (named after a colourful little Tahitian bird) began to take shape following a meeting between Boris Horel, expert in Naval Hydrodynamics at the École Centrale de Nantes, Gautier Destombes engineer at Airbus, and Benoît
"The idea is to make an eco-built laboratory boat to test the different configurations of appendages of ocean racing boats (Mini 6.50, IMOCA etc.). The prototype is being built using 90% recycled parts and materials, a responsible approach deeply rooted in the project's DNA," explains Benoit. "Vini's objective is to have a real-life tool to increase and develop the performance of the foils"
Reducing scale to reduce costs is Vini's leitmotif, and it measures 3.35m. This size has been chosen so that a Foil Moth rig can fit on it, always in order to reduce costs. The geometry and position of the foils will be easily adjustable. A very large number of parameters - rake, cant, tow in and longitudinal displacement of the centres of thrust of all the appendages - can be modified, allowing all imaginable configurations to be tested.
Since flight stability is proportional to the size of the boat, if a good combination of load-bearing planes is effective on a small boat, it will perform very well on a larger boat. Mike Birch, winner of the 1st Route du Rhum, who is also a talented developer, has the motto "small is beautiful". An adage perfectly suited to Vini!
With the Vini in his garage, Benoit is currently working hard to finish it. If no material breakage disrupts the work, the Vini could make its first runs at the end of the confinement.
