A 2020 Vendée Globe that raises questions
In the memory of the Vendée Globe, no race has ever been so unpredictable... Longer race times, a compact fleet, various generations of IMOCA boats grouped together..
" The course of the race was definitely not one of the scenarios that anyone had originally envisioned..." begins Quentin Lucet, architect at VPLP.
It must be said that before the start of the race, all the architects did not disagree on the supremacy of the latest generation of foilers.. ... So, how do you explain this grouping and a navigation in contact between straight daggerboard boats from 2007 and foilers born in 2019... Of course, the weather is responsible for a lot of this never seen before pattern, but that is not the only explanation, as the architect explains.
"In all the pre-season regattas and transats that took place, the hierarchy was respected according to the archimedean boats, both small and large foilers, with the latest generation of foilers well ahead in the races. However, in this Vendée Globe, there are a lot of things that did not happen according to the lessons learnt from these years of following the boats before the start" explains Quentin Lucet.
Wind and sea conditions unfavourable to the latest generation of foilers
"We didn't have any answers, before the start, as to how the new foilers, but also the 2016 generation, would behave in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. We realised that the wave trains they encountered in the Indian Ocean were not necessarily representative of what they had experienced on a transatlantic race. Concretely, boats have really high speed potential, we have no doubt about that, but it's not easy to find the right rhythm to spare both the human and the boat in these two oceans' wave systems ."
While the sailors were well aware of the conditions encountered in the last Vendée Globe, all of them told the radio stations that they were not finding what they had imagined.
"We use wind or wave statistics to draw the boats, and each edition of the Vendée Globe has its own specificities. Before rounding Cape Horn, the conditions were not favourable for the new designs. In 2016, we really realised the usefulness of hydrofoils and the difference in performance with straight daggerboard boats. In 2020, we've never seen such a compact fleet.
Over the last 3 editions, the journey time was reduced by about 4 days. This year, even Maitre Coq at Cape Horn, was nearly a week behind Armel le Cléac'h when he is actually in a 2016 generation boat configuration. It is clear that this edition of the 2020 Vendée Globe has not been conducive to exploiting the potential of the boats. There were a lot more phases where the skippers were in survival mode."
The foils questioned?
So will the 2020 edition challenge the future of the foilers? If they demonstrate all their power on Atlantic crossings, are they really suitable for a long round-the-world trip? The frontrunners in the fleet have now passed the Doldrums and if the conditions are as they usually are in the Atlantic, then the foilers should benefit compared to boats without foils.
"It'll put things back on the table. There's no doubt about the fact that you have to make hydrofoil boats to make the boats perform better. But we have to draw conclusions from the fact that skippers don't necessarily benefit from these appendages all the time. That raises other questions, particularly about the phases when it's not interesting to have a boat on her foils. How can you allow a boat to perform well without having to pay a penalty due to the foils? The retraction, the robustness are reflections to be carried out..."
Rethinking the generation of IMOCA 2024
"When designing new boats, it's interesting to analyse the boost provided by these foils. Now we have to find the right way to work in degraded mode, when the sea or wind does not allow the foils to work properly.
We should stick to big foils. Maybe the compromise will be between 2016 and 2020 generation foils. We had already had discussions for the 2020 generation, about the fact that the foils were perhaps still too prominent on the outside of the boat, once retracted.
Alex Thomson had chosen a configuration that allowed him to retract his foils when he didn't want to use them. It is a configuration also chosen by Sam Manuard on l'Occitane en Provence. Once retracted, the foils don't drag in the water and don't generate boat behaviour that can't be controlled. It's one of the ways to avoid getting into complicated situations."
One thing is certain, foils still have a bright future in the design of IMOCA boats. Proof of that is Linked Out, deprived of its port foil and yet still in the race.
"In my opinion, Thomas Ruyant's remaining piece of foil is larger than the 2016 generation, which means he can possibly reach speeds similar to Bureau Valley 2, even with an amputated foil."
This edition of the Vendée Globe, if it is not a speed race as imagined before the start, will at least have the merit of raising many questions.
"We've taken a huge technological leap forward since the 2016 generation. All the skippers were well aware that they had not had the opportunity to sail in all the conditions encountered in a Vendée Globe. It's great to talk to them and to put in place a set of specifications for use and performance. It's not the fastest boat in terms of top speed that is doing well. It's what you can see in this Vendée Globe."
Because in the end, if the potential of the new foilers is really superior to the older generations, the sailors cannot exploit it to the full. They first try to preserve their mounts and their bodies.
"The next objectives will be to study how to make better use of his boat. It would appear that today the tactical choices were more important than the speed of the boat. Exploiting a Bureau Vallée 2 at 90% of its potential or a Linked Out or a Malizia at 70% is one of the issues that needs to be looked into in order to produce the future 2024 generation boat, which is as high performance as possible.
On the last transats (Jacques Vabres or Route du Rhum), the question didn't even arise. The big foils were obvious. The feedback from the sailors also confirmed the need for large foils to be in the Top 5."
Today, we're going to have to work on a compromise between boats that perform well in transatlantic races and a round the world voyage. And if the work on the foils is a food for thought, we're also going to have to work on the ergonomics of the boats.
"Because of the speed, the well-being on board is also a guarantee of performance. It's a little more new and present in the designs of the new boats. They're really tough and if you know what the men are capable of taking on a transatlantic race, a Vendée Globe, a really long race, it's certainly different."
The conclusion?
"You have to take a step back from the situation. There is no doubt that a hydrofoil boat is more efficient in a race, even a Vendée Globe. But we're going to have to make sure that a foiler is used in degraded or survival mode, and find the right configuration so that the boat can sail at higher speeds than non-foilers. Large foilers go from speeds of 30 knots to 15 knots. It's very violent, very hard, and potentially, the skippers are putting their foot up because they feel like they're roughing up their boat. They're vigilant about that.
In the end, there's no real projection and that's part of the game. When conditions don't allow you to use your boat to its full potential, it's only at 70 percent of its capacity."
