A Mediterranean delivery
After a windy stage in Gran Canaria, the Ocean Fifty fleet will make a final run between Toulon and Brest. This offshore sailing should define the winner of the Pro Sailing Tour, the 50-foot multihull championship. After stopping in Marseille for a few days, the blue trimaran will sail to Toulon to join the other competitors at the race venue. It is thus for this 50 miles convoy that the Défi Voile Solidaires En Peloton team welcomed me on board.
The skipper, Thibaut Vauchel Camus, has been at the helm since 2018. After having made his debut in a sport catamaran, Thibaut has been on the podium in Class 40 and Ocean Fifty.
After sending the mainsail in front of the Mucem, the entrance to the old port, we unrolled the gennaker to get out of the harbor of Marseilles. A light 4-5 knots westerly flow allows us to drift towards the southern harbor, where we should get some fresh air. After a small gybe in front of the Frioul, I take advantage of these moments of calm to look around the boat.
An incredible machine and team dedicated to a noble cause
Défi Voile Solidaires En Peloton is a 15.24 m long trimaran, that is 50 feet. It belongs to the Ocean Fifty class, which currently has 7 members. All the boats of the class are prototypes, but some elements (foils in particular) are monotypes, in order to limit the operating costs.
This VPLP design, which was launched in 2008, has a large open cockpit with two coffee grinder columns. The small roof houses the electronics dedicated to nav and the tiny companionway, which allows access to the central hull. The interior is very succinct. No paint or fittings to save weight.
The floats are only accessible for technical interventions or control checks.
Based in Saint Malo, the Ocean Fifty defends a noble cause by bearing the name of the ARSEP Foundation (Aide à la Recherche sur la Sclérose en Plaques), which seeks to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune and incurable disease.
Exclusively financed by Patronage, the association benefits from the great work of Thibaut and his team to raise funds and get patients sailing. The sail number (100,000 at its launch in 2018), symbolizes the number of cases diagnosed each year. Unfortunately, in 2021, the trimaran will have the number 120 000... Proof that the disease is progressing and that the fight must continue!
A big kick in the butt!
With a displacement of 3.8 t for a downwind surface of 270 m2, it doesn't take much to make this beautiful machine move. The forecasted westerly flow is starting to be felt. In a typically Mediterranean atmosphere, the anemometer went from 5 to 15-20 knots in a few minutes. The trimaran reacted instantly and took off to reach 25 knots.
As if a big kick in the butt would make the multi go away. Unaccustomed to sailing on such nervous boats, I hang on. The feeling of speed is exhilarating. Watching the crew's reaction, I understand that this incredible speed is not dangerous. The trimaran, well fixed on its foil and on this flat sea, has a very healthy behavior.
Thibaut takes the helm. He relaunches and easily passes 31 knots, without forcing. The leeward foil starts to whistle, the sheets are tightened, the platform wakes up while keeping a great flexibility to better absorb the speed variations. To think that these formidable machines are capable of evolving at more than 40 knots..
Thibaut offers me to steer. Comfortably seated in the bacquet seat, I enjoy it. The helm is very precise, I do my best in the relaunch under gennaker. We link gybes along the Var coast. The distances are shorter with such a machine.
The port of Toulon arrives quickly. I would have gone around Porquerolles to extend the distance a little bit, just to enjoy a little bit more this wonderful boat. We set off again upwind to enter Toulon harbor. Thibaut slalomed between the numerous boaters who were sailing in this beautiful summer day before coming to moor in the old dock of Toulon.
A return to Brest in the race
Défi Voile Solidaires En Peloton is the first trimaran of the class to arrive in Toulon. The whole fleet will race towards Brest, then the trimaran will return to its base in Saint Malo, before lining up at the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre in November.
Thibaut will be assisted by Frédéric Duthil, with whom he finished 2nd in the last edition. So we can count on the two companions to occupy the front posts!
