A great start to his career with Armel Le Cléac'h
Built at the Multiplast yard in Vannes, this 60-foot boat is the product of the Finot-Conq design office, which at the time had won four out of five Vendée Globe races. This rather wide hull with a marked chine, was at the time equipped with two straight daggerboards.
Under the colours of Brit'air, Armel will finish 7th in the 2007 Jacques Vabre, in the company of Nicolas Troussel. But will dismast on the return transatlantic race. He will finish on the second step of the podium in the Transat and the Route du Rhum.
He will also finish second in the 2008 Vendée Globe, behind Michel Desjoyeaux. The day before his arrival, Armel will be hit by a very strong low in the Bay of Biscay, leading to serious damage (roof cap torn off, mainsail headboard off the rail).
Two Vendée Globe and one Barcelona World Race
Taken over by Bertrand de Broc, he will finish in ninth place in the 2012 Vendée Globe. Bertrand nearly gave up on the day of the start following a collision with a spectator boat, forcing him to return to the pontoon to make repairs.
He will finish 7th in the 2013 Jacques Vabre with Arnaud Boissières, but the latter will have to abandon the 2014 Route du Rhum after suffering an elbow injury. The monohull will then set off on the Barcelona World Race 2014 with Jörg Riechers and Seb Audigagne, who will finish sixth.
Bertrand de Broc recovered his boat for the 2016 Vendée Globe, but had to retire in Brazil, as a collision with a UFO damaged his keel fairing.
Ugraded by the Swiss Alan Roura
Alan Roura takes over the boat in 2017. After taking part in the 2016 Vendée Globe on Superbigou with a tight budget, Alan wants to give wings to his IMOCA straight daggerboard boat. With Frédéric Denis, he took ninth place in the Transat Jacques Vabre, at the end of which he announced that the boat would be fitted with foils.
" The objective of this Transat Jacques Vabre 2017 was to find the levers and study possible improvements to be made ", he explains. " In sixteen days of racing with Fred, our knowledge and use of the boat has evolved considerably, giving us a much deeper insight into what we can change on board. The priority has thus been put on the time needed to adapt to the foils "explains Alan.
Manufactured at JPS Composit, these appendages will be designed by the Finot-Conq firm and the hydrodynamic engineer Michel Kermarec. In order to lighten the front structure of the boat, the sail locker has been completely rebuilt. Also with a view to saving weight and optimising ergonomics on board, the cockpit protection cap, initially made of composite, has been replaced by a lighter textile structure. The ballast tanks have been modified to comply with the latest measurement and the entire rigging has been changed.
A record on the Atlantic as a preamble
After this major refit, Alan ranks 7th in the Route du Rhum 2018. Then, taking advantage of the return delivery trip, he set the record for the Atlantic crossing in the summer of 2019 (7d 16h 55'), beating the time set by Marc Guillemot on his IMOCA Safran.
At 26 years of age, Alan is for the second time the youngest in the Vendée Globe. He has a powerful and very seaworthy boat, which should enable him to compete with many of his rivals.
The Factory - Alan Roura
- Sail number : SUI07
- Former names of the boat: Brit Air, Your Name Around the World, MACSF
- Architect : Groupe Finot-Conq
- Job-site : Multiplast
- Launch date: August 01, 2007
- Width: 5.90m
- Displacement (weight): nc
- Presence of foils: Yes
- Sail area upwind : 290 m2
- Sail area downwind : 580 m2
