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The unofficial category of IMOCA boats with centerboards is gaining two new competitors. Aurélien Ducroz and Nicolas Rouger have just announced the acquisition of two monohulls that have already logged many miles in racing. The former is launching his campaign toward the 2028 Vendée Globe. The latter is also preparing for this goal, with a much closer deadline: the Route du Rhum, on November 1.
Two new projects in the non-foiling IMOCA class
They won?t have foils to lift their hulls out of the water, but they?ll certainly have their place on the starting lines alongside the newest boats. With just a few weeks to go before the 2026 Route du Rhum, two new projects are joining the fleet of IMOCA boats with straight centerboards.
On one hand, Aurélien Ducroz, a former freeride skiing champion turned offshore sailor, has acquired a 2011 Owen Clarke design. On the other hand, Nicolas Rouger, a skipper from Marseille who is already set to compete in the 2022 Route du Rhum, is taking over a Farr-designed boat launched in 2007.
Aurélien Ducroz is taking over the former Acciona, a 2011 Owen Clarke design
Aurélien Ducroz has reached a new milestone in his sailing career. Following his campaigns in the Class40 series, he has become a co-owner, along with Thomas Riboud-Seydoux, of a 2011 IMOCA.
The boat was built in New Zealand by Southern Ocean Marine, based on plans by Owen Clarke Design. It is best known for having been launched under the name Acciona 100% EcoPowered , with Spanish skipper Javier Sansó.
This monohull had been designed with a specific goal in mind: to demonstrate that it was possible to compete in the Vendée Globe by generating the boat?s electrical power without relying on fossil fuels for that purpose. This approach gave it a distinct identity within the fleet.
Since then, the boat has changed hands and names several times. Notably, it sailed under the colors of Offshore Team Germany before joining Canada Ocean Racing with Scott Shawyer. Its track record includes a class victory in The Ocean Race Europe 2021, which was contested as a crewed race.
For Aurélien Ducroz, the purchase marks, above all, the transition from an ambition to a concrete plan.
" "Ever since I started sailing, my journey has been shaped by one ambition: to one day be at the starting line of the Vendée Globe," he explains in the press release announcing the acquisition. The next step is to transform this boat into a racing vessel suited to its new skipper. The announced plan includes a familiarization phase, technical work, and the formation of the team.
Ocean Peak: An Offshore Race Combined with a Mountaineering Challenge
Aurélien Ducroz's project is called Ocean Peak. It has two athletic goals: to prepare for the 2028 Vendée Globe and to climb all 82 peaks in the Alps that are over 4,000 meters high.
This dual ambition reflects the sailor's career path, as he first built his career in mountaineering before turning to offshore racing.
Nicolas Rouger chooses a Farr-designed boat that has already won the Route du Rhum
Nicolas Rouger's schedule is tighter. The Marseille-based skipper has just acquired the former Freelance.com , an IMOCA designed by Bruce Farr and launched in 2007. It is an 18.28-meter monohull equipped with straight centerboards, whose racing career spans nearly twenty years.
In particular, the boat won the 2010 Route du Rhum with Roland Jourdain, while sailing under the colors of Veolia Environnement . He then finished third in the 2012?2013 Vendée Globe with Alex Thomson, under the name Hugo Boss . More recently, Benjamin Dutreux sailed it to ninth place in the 2020?2021 Vendée Globe. Guirec Soudée also used it for the most recent solo round-the-world race.
The acquisition nevertheless marks a significant change for Nicolas Rouger. The sailor had purchased the former in 2022 Campaign of France owned by Miranda Merron. He had competed in his first Route du Rhum on this boat before an accident in 2023 derailed the rest of his racing schedule and his participation in the 2024 Vendée Globe.
Rather than carrying out the necessary work on his previous IMOCA, he chose to start over with a different boat. According to his team, Michel Desjoyeaux was a key advisor in this decision. His new boat will fly the project?s colors Tomorrow is a long way off , featuring artwork by the artist Hervé Di Rosa.
But before we get into the issue of visual identity, there?s one thing we must do: get ready for Saint-Malo.
