Made in Italy for Andrea Mura
Newrest - Art & Fenêtres is a VPLP-Verdier plan originally built for the Italian Andrea Mura. Manufactured at Persico Marine and launched in the summer of 2015, it was repatriated to Lorient, before Andrea's sponsors threw in the towel. Not having the financial support to continue his adventure, Andrea is obliged to put his foiler up for sale, without even having sailed on it.
Skippered by an enlightened amateur in the 2016 Vendée Globe
It was then bought by a newcomer to the circuit, the Dutchman Pieter Heerema, who renamed it No Way Back. Pieter, an enlightened amateur but a novice in Imoca, had no other ambition than to finish his Vendée Globe. Despite an assumed lack of experience and numerous technical problems, Pieter Heerema closed the round the world race in a respectable 17th place.
In the hands of Fabrice Amedeo since 2017
Since her purchase by Fabrice in 2017, the boat has evolved and been optimised, with the exception of the foils, which have remained identical to those used by the Dutch skipper in the last Vendée Globe. "This is the V2 of the first generation of foils. So they are super foils, but they are four years old now. They are significantly smaller than those of the new generation, and are not adjustable: either I put them in or take them out, but I can't adjust them," explained Fabrice. Sponsored by Newrest (an industrial catering company) and Art& Fenêtres (a frame manufacturer), Fabrice finished 12th on the last Route du Rhum despite a 3-day technical stopover due to a broken bowsprit.
A floating laboratory
Fabrice and his team are fully involved in the environmental cause. In 2019, Newrest - Art & Fenêtres is equipped with an oceanographic sensor to measure salinity and temperature at the surface of the oceans, essential markers to better understand the evolution of the climate and the water cycle on Earth. The data collected in the regions crossed, essential for modelling climate change and applying adapted solutions, are then validated by the project's scientific partners: UNESCO, IFREMER, GEOMAR, JCOMMOPS and the Max Planck Institute.
In 2020, Fabrice decided to go one step further by tackling microplastics at sea, by taking on board an analysis station on his Imoca. This takes the form of a box containing three filters designed to collect microplastics on a daily basis throughout the race, provided the weather conditions allow.
Data sheet:
- Sail number : FRA 56
- Former names of the boat: No Way Back
- Architect : VPLP/Verdier
- Shipyard : Persico Marine
- Launch date: August 01, 2015
- Width: 5.85 m
- Displacement (weight): 8 t
- Foils : Yes
- Sail area upwind : 320 m2
- Sail area downwind : 570 m2
