A new round-ended IMOCA without foils
For his 6th Vendée Globe, ocean racing icon Jean Le Cam has chosen to build a new IMOCA. But the 66-year-old sailor has opted for sobriety, deciding to build a boat without foils.
He has chosen to team up with Éric Bellion for the design of his new IMOCA. Together, they called on architect David Raison, renowned for introducing scow shapes to the Mini and Class40 classes. This is a first in IMOCA for the architect. The result is a round-ended boat with daggerboards, featuring an innovative hull designed to optimize downwind performance, while simplifying single-handed sailing.
"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" explained David Raison during the sea trial of Stand As One, sister-ship to Le Cam's IMOCA.
Italian construction at Persico
The construction of the IMOCA Tout Commence en Finistère - Armor-Lux was entrusted to the Italian shipyard Persico Marine, renowned for its expertise in building high-performance prototypes. This choice enabled us to benefit from optimum build quality, while meeting tight deadlines. The boat was launched on September 25, 2023, marking the start of a new adventure for Jean Le Cam.
Collaboration and pooling of resources with Eric Bellion
To reduce costs and facilitate logistical management, Jean Le Cam and Éric Bellion decided to build two identical IMOCA boats. This mutualization has enabled them to share design and construction costs, with a total budget of 5 million euros, while benefiting from exchanges of experience between the two skippers. This collaborative approach reflects a modern, pragmatic vision of ocean racing.
Preparation and objectives for the Vendée Globe 2024
After the launch, Jean Le Cam embarked on a series of voyages to test and optimize his new boat: measurement, sails, electronics, computers, fittings, layout... Despite a tight schedule, he has succeeded in fine-tuning the adjustments needed to tackle the Vendée Globe 2024 with confidence. His main objective remains to finish the race, while aiming for a respectable performance against the foil-equipped IMOCAs.
His first race of 2023 is the Retour à la Base. He chose to sail his IMOCA with Bernard Stamm, but conditions were not ideal. They finally waited until November 14 to set sail again, and reached Fort-de-France a few days after the start of the race on November 30. Nevertheless, to qualify for the Vendée Globe, Jean took the start on December 6 - the line remained open until December 7 at 1pm - and finished the race in 32nd position.
In 2024, the sailor did not take part in any races. He took the start of The Transat CIC Lorient New-York Vendée, but eventually retired at the start for family reasons.
Although Tout Commence en Finistère - Armor-Lux is a new boat, Jean Le Cam has already demonstrated his competitiveness on previous round-the-world voyages. His vast experience and in-depth knowledge of solo sailing are major assets for the Vendée Globe 2024.
