A great ride with Ellen MacArthur
Built in 2000 in New Zealand, this 60-foot boat was designed for Ellen McArthur, who was then starting a dazzling and talented career in ocean racing. This Owen Clarke design has taken all the proven solutions from this generation of IMOCA boats.
The idea was not to choose revolutionary options, but to opt for choices proven by other teams. And it works! After bringing her boat back from Cape Horn to Europe on her own, Ellen won the Europe 1 Star (formerly the Transat) at the age of 24, under the nose of the best racers of the moment.
She once again demonstrated her talent by finishing second in the Vendée Globe, behind an admiring Michel Desjoyaux in front of the young English sailor.
After winning the EDS Challenge (round the Atlantic with stages and crewed), Kingfisher took third place on the podium in the 2001 Jacques Vabre, co-skippered by Nick Moloney and Mark Turner, Ellen's préparateur and team manager respectively.
For her last regatta aboard Kingfisher, Ellen McArthur won the 2002 Route du Rhum and with panache concluded a formidable story with her 60-foot boat.
A second Vendée Globe aborted
Taken over by his préparateur Nick Moloney, he finished in 7th place in the 2003 Jacques Vabres, in the company of Samantha Davies. Nick lined up at the start of the 2004 Vendée Globe, under the colours of Skandia, not without having made a few modifications to his 60-foot boat, in particular to the ergonomics of the cockpit.
Nick is sailing well, but major damage will end his race. Off the coast of Brazil, the pendulum keel broke cleanly 30cm from the hinge at the bottom of the hull. Skandia did not capsize, and Nick managed to save his boat by lowering his sails and ballasting his IMOCA.
Eager to see his project through to the end, Nick returned a year later to the GPS point where he lost his keel and set course for Europe to finish his solo round the world voyage.
A long career under the Catalan flag
Didac Costa recovers this 60-foot boat in 2014 and lines up at the start of the Barcelona World Race 2015, which he finishes fourth with Aleix Gelabert. With a view to lining up for the start of the 2016 Vendée Globe, the roof is being modified to provide more protection for the cockpit, but the rest of the boat remains in its original configuration.
Shortly after crossing the starting line, Didac was forced to return to port, a ballast tank exploded and drowned all his electronics. He managed to get back on schedule and finished in a fine 14th place, but had encountered a multitude of technical problems.
A 3rd and final round-the-world trip
At the start of the 2020 Vendée Globe, this will be the third circumnavigation of the globe that Didac Costa is undertaking on board. This means that the sailor is in symbiosis with his boat. However, as the boat was built before 2007, this IMOCA will not be able to take part in future editions of the Vendée Globe. 2020 will be his last.
Easy to manoeuvre, she is above all a very healthy boat, which her skipper now knows at his fingertips. With the financial support of the FNOB, Didac Costa has been able to optimise his machine and hopes to achieve a better ranking than the previous edition.
One Planet One Ocean - Didac Coasta
- Sail number : ESP 33
- Former names of the boat: Kingfisher - Skandia-Safran-Educacion sin Fronteras - Forum Maritim Catala - One Planet One Ocean & Pharmaton
- Architect: Owen Clarke Design
- Shipyard : Martens Yachts
- Launch date: February 02, 2000
- Width: 5.30m
- Displacement (weight): 8.9t
- Number of drifts: 2
- Presence of foils: No
- Sail area upwind : 240m2
- Sail area downwind: 470m2
