Discovery of the Trimaran USE IT AGAIN, figures that impress :
The appointment is given at 9:00 a.m. at the Port de la Trinité-sur-Mer on the Quai Tabarly. Hard to miss it, this trimaran doesn't go unnoticed: 23 metres long, 16 metres wide, 30 metres high, more than 2 km of ropes, sails of 400m2, the speed of the boat can go up to 39 knots... The guests are beginning to realise that they are about to board a legendary trimaran, the one with which Ellen MacArthur achieved her solo round the world record in 2005. This experience is possible thanks to the activist sailor Romain Pilliard who decided 4 years ago to give this yacht a second wind with the USE IT AGAIN Project.
Let's get out of here!
Romain Pilliard briefs us quickly. Let's get equipped, everyone is at their posts, it's time to cast off! The skipper puts all of us to work (retrieving the front and rear mooring lines, engine, fenders...) Some of us have already sailed others never before, so we say to ourselves that it's a nice first sailing experience! While we are in the process of stowing all the moorings and hooking up the fenders, Aurélie is slowly going up the channel under engine until we arrive in the Bay of Quiberon, serious things are about to begin. We're getting into the wind, we have to hoist the mainsail!
There are 11 of us on the boat, it took us more than 15 minutes to get the mainsail up thanks to the coffee grinder: the most gruelling part of the sailing, but also the most central point of the navigation! You then realise how much physical preparation is required and you wonder how a solo sailor is capable of hoisting it and above all how long it takes? With the mainsail out, you now have to get the gennaker out, trim the sails, set the right course and off you go!
A racing trimaran: Thrills guaranteed!
Romain Pilliard is going to propose us to take turns at the helm. What luck and what a great moment of sharing! The conditions are perfect, the storm Alex gave way to an exceptional morning: blue sky, flat sea, 15 knots of wind. We're making headway at an average speed of 22 knots and Simon will hold the record for the day with a peak at 28 knots. The sensations are impressive behind the helm. You can feel all the power of this USE IT AGAIN trimaran, as soon as we follow the right course, the sails then set, the multihull starts to turn a quarter of a turn, we are indeed on an Ultimate class racing trimaran!
It's crowded in the Bay, it's the weekend, the sailors are out! We are catching up and overtaking all the boats that are sailing. We have to be attentive, tack at the right time, as the distances may still seem far away, at the boat's cruising speed, we barely have time to say we're already close to the rocks!
Strong sensations assured, smiles hanging on all faces.
An intense ordeal
For a few hours we were able to put ourselves in the shoes of a professional navigator and we really realise that racing in Ultimate is not an easy task! Although comfortably seated in the cockpit, there is no protection from the spray and wind, it wakes you up and makes your hair stand on end! There is an incessant noise because of the speed of the trimaran. It's very noisy. Our experience only lasted 3 hours, but you can imagine 21 days in a row when Romain Pilliard takes part in the Route du Rhum in 2018. In fact, he told us that he uses a helmet when he goes down into the cabin as the noise is unbearable! Speaking of cabins, the comfort is really Spartan, a small 2 m2 cell where we find the bare minimum, i.e. a berth, a cockpit (AIS, VHF, computer, satellite phone) and a stove for the galley! You can imagine the physical and mental challenge you must have when you find yourself facing à? yourself and the elements in the middle of the Ocean, on a 23m trimaran, what an adventure!
Back to port: Navigation that makes sense!
It's 12:00, it's time to set the sails and head back to port. We had a unique moment and were able to sail on a trimaran which, in addition to being a multihull belonging to the Ultimate category, is part of a circular economy approach. Indeed, the trimaran USE IT AGAIN is the reflection of a project aimed at making people aware of our ways of consuming so that they are as responsible as possible. Romain Pilliard has thus restored this sailboat using as many second-hand materials as possible, the aim being to leave as few traces as possible on our planet. Thanks to the sailor Romain Pilliard for this great experience!
