The latest IMOCA of the 2022 generation, an improved sistership to Apivia and LinkedOut
Biotherm is the latest IMOCA of the 2022 generation, designed by Guillaume Verdier and a sister-ship to Apivia and Linked-Out. These boats are renowned for their versatility and speed, and have quickly established themselves in every race since the Transat Jaques Vabre 2019.
It is built in the molds of For The Planet, Thomas Ruyant's ex-Linked-Out, now in the hands of Sam Goodchild. This business model saved both time and money.
Biotherm has undergone a number of architectural changes. The bow is spatulated and has more rocker to help it get out of the waves better downwind, and to reduce sinkage. The foils have been redesigned, and a new cockpit cover has been installed to provide greater comfort for the skipper. The rudder lift system is also more conventional than on LinkedOut. Paul Meilhat's objective is to have a solid, simple and versatile boat.
During construction, Paul Meilhat discovered how to handle this Verdier plan thanks to a season of double-handed sailing with Charlie Dalin on Apivia.
Construction of Biotherm begins in mid-December 2021 at Persico Marine in Italy. In mid-June 2022, the sailor and his team go on site to take part in the final month of construction. The team takes delivery of the boat on August 24, before launching it in Lorient on August 31, 2022.
A program centered on a crewed round-the-world race, The Ocean Race
For his first major race, the Route du Rhum 2022, the sailor finished in 6th place. This was followed by The Ocean Race 2022-2023, a crewed round-the-world race with stopovers. This was the first IMOCA race, and Paul and his crew finished 4th out of 5 competitors.
On the Transat Jacques Vabre he was racing with Mariana Lobato, the duo was forced to retire after the mainsail tore. Weather conditions were too violent for repairs.
Finally, for its transatlantic race of the season, on The Transat 2024, Biotherm, then in 3rd position, collided with a UFO, generating an ingress of water. The port foil was also damaged. Forced to slow down, he finished 15th out of 33.
New foils 1 month away from the Vendée Globe 2024
With six months to go to the Vendée Globe, the replacement project is problematic. The deadline was short, and the studies for the production of new foils too long. The team opted for an existing model, designed by Sam Manuard and adapted to Biotherm's wells, already in place on three boats in the fleet: Initiatives-Coeur 4, Malizia III-Seaexplorer and Oceanslab Innovations. These foils are presented as more versatile and should improve the boat's downwind behavior. The foils are being built at Avel Robotics in Lorient, France, during a final maintenance and optimization phase in preparation for the round-the-world race. The boat was relaunched on September 13, and the appendages were quickly installed.
Biotherm immediately set sail again for a series of intensive tests. Over a two-week period, Paul Meilhat and his team spent six nights at sea and took part in a training course in Port-La-Forêt. These training sessions enabled them to validate the performance of the new improvements.
"It's going to bring us performance, but I'm also going to continue to learn a lot during the race, like all my competitors for that matter. The most important thing is that I'm setting off serene, with a high level of confidence to be able to exploit the boat." confided Paul Meilhat before the start.
Scientific commitment at the heart of the project
Biotherm is more than just a racing machine. Thanks to a partnership with the Tara Océan Foundation, the boat is equipped with a state-of-the-art microscope, the IFCB (Imaging FlowCytobot). This tool collects and analyzes phytoplankton data in real time, a world first in ocean racing.
To date, over 432,000 unique data sets have been shared with the scientific community via the EcoTaxa platform. This project aims to enrich our understanding of marine ecosystems and study the impacts of climate change on ocean biodiversity.
