6 new foilers, newcomers to watch
Speed runs, 48 hours of sailing over a course of at least 500 miles, solo or with a crew, and a record to beat of 1 hour and 10 seconds on the Tour de l'île de Groix, this is the program for this 12th edition of the e Azimut Challenge, organized in Lorient from September 13 to 18, 2022.
This edition was also the opportunity to discover 6 new foilers in the race, 1 VPLP design, 2 Manuard designs and 3 Verdier designs:
- Malizia - Seaexplorer by Boris Herrmann,
- Charal 2 by Jérémie Beyou,
- Heart Initiatives by Samantha Davies,
- Biotherm by Paul Meilhat,
- Holcim-PRB by Kevin Escoffier,
- V and B-Monbana-Mayenne by Maxime Sorel.
A trio of regulars on the runs
The run event, organized in a westerly flow of 8 to 13 knots, conditions more favorable to foilers, saw the trio Apivia of Charlie Dalin, Charal 2 of Jérémie Beyou and 11th Hour Racing Team of Charlie Enright climb on the podium, with a time of 02 minutes 43 for the winner over one nautical mile.
But it was on the 48-hour Challenge that everyone was waiting to test themselves, between new boats and newcomers. For the first time, the Azimuth Challenge served as a warm-up for four of the five teams competing in The Ocean Race. Thus, Charlie Enright's 11th Hour Racing Team, Paul Meilhat's Biotherm, Boris Herrmann's Malizia âeuros Seaexplorer and Benjamin Dutreux's Guyot Environnement-Team Europe raced as a crew of four, including one woman, plus a mediaman.
An Azimuth challenge with two starts
The latter crossed the start line at 2:38 pm, followed at 3:06 pm by the 24 solo sailors in a light north-westerly flow of 7-8 knots, for a 550 mile triangle in the Bay of Biscay. On the program, 2 waypoints and three tacks, the first one downwind of 215 miles to a waypoint located in the middle of the Spanish coast at the latitude of Arcachon, the second one downwind of 215 miles to a waypoint located in the middle of the Spanish coast at the latitude of Arcachon e eastward on a reach for 92 miles then back to Lorient upwind for about 24 hours, tacking.
The advantage to daggerboard boats for the start
In the 2 e in the group, Damien Seguin's Groupe Apicil got off to the best start among the 15 foilers and 9 daggerboard IMOCA boats, on flat seas and light winds. Followed by Thomas Ruyant's LinkedOut and Samantha Davies' Initiatvies-Coeur, he gave up his place to Louis Duc's Fives-Lantana Environnement followed by Benjamin Ferré's Monnoyeur-Duo for a job, two daggerboard boats, for the first leg to Pen-Men.
The return of the foilers who arrived at sea
Once offshore, Charlie Dalin's Apivia took the lead, followed by Jérémie Beyou's Charal and Thomas Ruyant's LinkedOut. In the TOR group, for The Ocean Race, it was Charlie Enright's 11th Hour Racing who took the lead.
Close match for the podium of the runs and nice top speeds!
Before passing the first waypoint, DMG Mori Global skippered by Kojiro Shiraishi turned back for personal reasons. After a fast downwind descent, which favored the foilers, the first waypoint was passed with three hours advance on the forecast. The reaching leg to the 2nd e waypoint gave rise to a tight match between the trio of regulars composed of Apivia, LinkedOut, and Charal; V and B-Monbana-Mayenne of Maxime Sorel in ambush. The conditions of the night have allowed some nice peaks for the foilers, with speeds between 29 and 34 knots!
A victory without surprise?
After a 200-mile passage to Lorient, it was - unsurprisingly - Charlie Dalin, who was able to keep his opponents at a distance, who won. Arriving at 06h48 on September 17, 2022 after a course of 505 miles and a loop of 1 day, 15 hours, 42 minutes and 50 seconds with an average speed of 12.72 knots, he won ahead of Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut and Jérémie Beyou on Charal, who complete the podium of the 48h Azimut solo.
After the Guyader Bermuda 1000 Race and the Vendée Arctique, Charlie Dalin has retained his title in the Azimuth Challenge. The skipper of Apivia, who is untouchable upwind, his preferred point of sail, said he had noted "a 5 to 7 percent gain in speed under certain conditions." The only exception was the Tour de l'île de Groix, which was won by Benjamin Ferré, a rookie who also scored a fine 11 e place over the 48 hours.
Some nice surprises among the regulars and the newbies
Among the nice surprises of this Solo Challenge, we salute the performances of Maxime Sorel on V and B-Monbana-Mayenne and Kevin Escoffier on Holcim-PRB, respectively 4 e and 5 e on recently launched boats. Justine Mettraux on Teamwork also had a great race. She bought the ex-Charal 1 in the summer of 2022 and finished in 6th place e followed by another woman in 7th place e place. While she had just launched her boat, Samantha Davies demonstrated the potential of her Initiatives-C?ur. Tanguy Le Turquais on Lazare had a great race. The rookie won 9th place e place in the ranking, as the first daggerboard boat of the race.
Retirement for Biotherm, victory for 11th Hour Racing Team
In the crew category, Paul Meilhat's Biotherm had to abandon the race due to minor structural damage. He was the last of the fleet to launch his boat, only 10 days before the start. 11th Hour Racing won the race with a course of 545 miles completed in 1 day, 18 hours, 56 minutes and 58 seconds at an average speed of 12.66 knots. Guyot Environnement-Team Europe of Benjamin Dutreux and Malizia âeuros Seaexplorer of Boris Herrmann complete the ranking.
