The IMOCA Apivia, Charlie Dalin's winning machine from Le Havre

Plan Verdier launched in 2019, Apivia was built in the Mer Concept stable, managed by François Gabart. This well-born machine has already won the last Jacques Vabre, propelling its skipper Charlie Dalin to second place on the podium in the 2020 Vendée Globe.

Maxime Leriche Published on January 28, 2021

A well-born Verdier plan

Designed in collaboration with the Macif team, Charlie Dalin was heavily involved in the design of this IMOCA. A large number of innovations are the fruit of exchanges between the skipper and the architect Guillaume Verdier.

" I was involved in all the decisions related to Apivia's design. It's a boat that's meant to be versatile. We didn't want to put all our marbles on one particular speed. She's easy to sail single-handed. It's one of the first latest-generation boats with a protected, completely enclosed cockpit", explains Charlie.

Le cockpit d'Apivia est entiÃ¨rement fermÃ© — Apivia's cockpit is fully enclosed..

The deck is curved to lower the centre of gravity on the one hand, but also to limit the height of the support bulkheads and thus save weight. The foils are very long and flat, which makes it possible to take off at low speed and therefore a little earlier. On the other hand, their wingspan will subject them to a greater risk of collision with a UFO.

Les foils longs et plats d'Apvia — The long, flat Apvia foils

The lack of outward visibility is compensated for by two lateral cameras on deck: a first, fixed, camera that points to the front of the boat, a second that can do 360s and allows the observation angles to be varied.

Apivia, like about fifteen competitors, is equipped with the Oscar artificial intelligence system, which will remotely locate UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) that may cross its path: buoys, boats, drifting objects..

1st regatta, 1st victory

Apivia is a well-thought-out and well-prepared machine. Charlie was also able to count on the commitment of three exceptional sailors to fine-tune his preparation. François Gabart, Pascal Bidegorry and Yann Eliès were entrusted with the development of the prototype. It is with the latter that Charlie, a newcomer to the IMOCA class, will be at the start of the Jacques Vabre. At the end of a transatlantic race in tricky weather conditions, Apivia is the winner in Salvador de Bahia. The IMOCA arrives in perfect condition, and the two friends have shown that Apivia was fast in all conditions.

Charlie et Yann , victorieux Ã Salvador — Charlie and Yann, victorious in Salvador

" Winning the Jacques Vabre is something very strong. This race is special for me. I grew up with it ", the skipper from Le Havre went on to point out.

Last July, it was single-handed that Charlie set off on the start of the Arctic Vendée, which he finished in 2nd place. These results bode well for the Vendée Globe.

Spatula bow and sleep improvement for summer work site

This summer, Apivia went back to the yard for several modifications. The bow was cut and then spatulated to improve downwind speed.

L'Ã©trave spatulÃ©e d'Apivia — Apivia's Spatula Bow

Many improvements have been made to the comfort of the living cell. Charlie has worked on his sleep phases so that he doesn't "burn out" too quickly.

Charlie a amÃ©nagÃ© plusieurs zones de sommeil — Charlie's set up several sleeping areas

Unlike many of its competitors, Apivia did not suffer any structural damage. " Apivia, we wanted him well born. That's easier said than done. But we got the boat working right from the start. So we haven't been disrupted in our naval programme. The boat has never been tied up at the pontoon for structural problems. More sailing means more reliability. "

Charlie dans sa cellule de vie — Charlie in his life cell

With an IMOCA designed by the best architect of the moment, a dream-team preparation and several podium finishes in the pre-season races, Charlie and his Apivia finished second on the podium in the 2020 Vendée Globle.