Stand As One, an IMOCA scow with straight daggerboards for Bellion, born of a pooling gamble

© Qaptur

Éric Bellion's boat for the Vendée Globe 2024, Stand As One, is an IMOCA designed by David Raison. Built at Persico Marine, she embodies a sober, innovative philosophy, with bold technical choices.

Skipper Éric Bellion makes his return to the Vendée Globe scene with an atypical IMOCA, Stand As One. Designed by architect David Raison and due to be launched in June 2023, this boat embodies a different approach to ocean racing, centered on sobriety and the pooling of resources. It stands out for its absence of foils, appendages that seemed to be a staple of new constructions since 2020.

L'<a onclick=IMOCA Stand As One dispose d'un cockpit ouvert © Qaptur" width="540" height="359">
The IMOCA Stand As One features an open cockpit © Qaptur

Pooling as a key to success

Stand As One is the fruit of a project to pool resources. Éric Bellion's team worked closely with Jean Le Cam's to build "Hubert 2.0". Hubert is the name of the 64-year-old sailor's former IMOCA - an older-generation boat without foils - on which he crossed the finish line in 2020 in 8th place, eventually reclassifying to 4th place thanks to a bonus.

The two teams and their partners thought about creating two identical boats, sharing the same architect, the same shipyard and pooling their experience and finances, for an identical budget of 5 million euros. It was a big gamble, since without a design team, it was Eric Bellion's entire team that was involved, and a total of 45,000 hours of work were needed to bring this innovative IMOCA boat to life.

"Without pooling, we wouldn't have been able to build this boat" says Eric Bellion. The two projects, launched simultaneously, have enabled us to optimize available resources. "We built two boats between February and September, armed from head to toe, on a tight schedule. It wouldn't have been possible without such organization." explains team manager Marie Lattanzio.

L'<a onclick=IMOCA Tout Commence en Finistère Armox Lux de Jean Le Cam issu des mêmes moules que Stand As One © Eneour Lost" width="540" height="404">
Jean Le Cam's IMOCA Tout Commence en Finistère Armox Lux, built using the same moulds as Stand As One © Eneour Lost

A sober, thoughtful design

David Raison, known for his revolutionary designs in the Mini and Class40 classes, has applied similar principles to this IMOCA. Inspired by scows, boats with wide, flat bows, Stand As One focuses on reliability and simplicity. This scow design with a straight daggerboard and a strong rocker is a concept that didn't exist in the IMOCA class, as its skipper confided.

Unlike the majority of foil-equipped competitors, Bellion and his team have opted to stick with a daggerboard design, thus limiting the costs and risks involved in mastering these complex appendages.

"We realized that we couldn't make a foiler. It's a lot of money and we didn't have the time to master all the intricacies." explains the skipper.

L'<a onclick=IMOCA Stand As One © Qaptur" width="540" height="359">
IMOCA Stand As One © Qaptur

Innovative in form, Stand As One is also innovative in its technical features. While many of its competitors rely on closed cockpits for greater comfort and protection, Eric Bellion has made the opposite choice: "I want to see the ocean, the birds, the moon, the sunset and the sunrise." Its open cockpit embodies this desire to be in constant contact with the natural environment, even if this means being more exposed to the elements.

One of the main aims of its design and construction is to gain an average of 1.5 knots per day compared with other daggerboard boats. The idea is not to go "very fast, but to go fast all the time." A choice shared by the architect: "We're back to the behavior of a Class40, she takes off quickly on the water, with a taut wake. The resistance is fairly linear. If you accelerate by 50%, the speed increases by 50%. There's no peak braking in the boat."

Une étrave de <a onclick=scow spatulée © Qaptur" width="540" height="360">
A spatulate scow bow © Qaptur

Time trial for costly repairs

On the Défi Azimut 2023, Eric Bellion was forced to retire after autopilot problems. A few months later, during the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, Stand As One suffered severe damage after a collision with an unidentified floating object (UFO). The impact caused 12 to 14 m² of hull delamination, necessitating a costly rebuild of this area. "We had to repair a huge part of the hull, nearly 10% of the boat's total surface area." explains Eric Bellion. The total cost of repairs amounted to ?400,000, representing a considerable financial challenge for the team.

In addition to the rebuild, other areas of the boat were damaged, including the stringers and parts of the internal structure. Today, the boat is ready and equipped with a bench for the sailor to rest during the race.

"I tested the boat on the English Transat in complicated sea conditions, and she proved impeccable. She's ready for the Vendée Globe" concludes Eric Bellion.

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