Residual hook usage.
Karver system is first and foremost a small company, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Although the head office is based in Honfleur, being at the heart of the race has naturally, geographically and technically become a priority. The Karver offices in Lorient la Base were opened 5 years ago, and now feature a showroom showcasing the brand's flagship equipment.
" This allows us to work more closely with the skippers, to be available to answer their questions and meet their needs "As Tanguy de LARMINAT, Managing Director of Karver System, explains.
Turning a corner during covid
Despite the covid crisis, the company has turned a corner. If some skippers in the Vendée Globe 2020 have had to deal with incidents linked to the use of hooks, the explanation is simple enough for the director. Under normal circumstances, without a pandemic, the following steps are carried out on racing yachts before the start of a race:
- skippers are trained in the use of their on-board fittings
- Essential replacement equipment on board
- a team of 5 Karver technicians is dedicated to checking the correct installation of the equipment during the week preceding the start (the boat is then "frozen" once the correct operation of the equipment has been checked and validated by the teams' technical teams).
In the Vendée Globe 2020, the impact of covid led to restrictions on the use of pontoons and boats. As a result, skippers were less aware of the correct use of their equipment, and there were no equipment checks, so no good spare on board either... The poor use of laterals and the heavy weather at the start of the race led to breakage.
Absorbing tensions and focusing on innovation
Karver fittings are immediately recognizable: noble materials, a polished appearance and ergonomic design, a state of mind born of the yachting industry, where the brand originated. The solidity of stainless steel, the lightness of carbon or titanium and the nobility of wood can be found aboard the IMOCA boats at the start of the Vendée Globe, as well as on equipped racing and cruising yachts.
Karver's mission in equipping racing boats is clearly to offer more resistant and tolerant fittings in order to manage as effectively as possible the peak loads that appear on new-generation boats (30% to 40% higher than on older IMOCA boats).
This also makes it possible to modify the size of the ropes: hooks, blocks, blockers, but also textile fittings, Karver adapts, in the best possible way, to the needs for lightness and performance aboard Ultim, IMOCA and Class40 boats, among others.
Innovating in the fields of racing and ocean cruising
Investing in innovation for racing and then applying it to ocean cruising is a logical strategy for the brand. The development of new equipment doesn't stop at the design office door.
" Almost everyone at Karver sails, and some of our equipment is the direct result of the sailing experience of some of our sales staff and technicians. "
Himself a sailor and former skipper, Tanguy particularly appreciates this family spirit, with its focus on optimizing performance and design:" Whether racing or cruising: reliability, durability and ease of use are the hallmarks of successful cruising ".
Races, trade fairs, exhibitions: a busy November of events
" Our equipment is on board 100% of the boats taking part in this Vendée Globe 2024, particularly Charal, Macif, L'Occitane, Hublot, Initiative coeur and Devenir, and a real relationship of trust has been established with the technical teams and skippers. The atmosphere in the village was pretty good, according to the 5 Karver people (technicians and sales staff) who were there a week before the start of the race to carry out the final installation checks on the equipment. Hooks, furlers, blocks, blockers - our latest-generation equipment and optimized classics will be on board at the start of this exceptional race, and we're proud of it "confides Tanguy.
In addition to technological innovation, a real concern for ergonomics combined with unique design are part of the equipment manufacturer's DNA, adapting as closely as possible to the evolution of racing boats. At the beginning of November, Karver was even present at the Musée National de la Marine exhibition in Paris dedicated to single-handed round-the-world racing. A strong marker just a few days before the start of the Vendée Globe 2024. The brand's products illustrate the evolution and technological innovations in the field of fittings.
