A look at the progress being made with the new builds for the Vendée Globe

With Armel Le Cléac'h presenting his IMOCA project next Thursday, there are currently six new boats being built for the next Vendée Globe: the new Safran, Banque Populaire, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Hugo Boss, Vento Di Sardegna and Saint-Michel Virbac. They have all been designed by VPLP-Verdier, will all have foils and are due to be launched in 2015, starting with Safran. Here’s the current state of play ... 

 

The new Safran / Morgan Lagravière: the first to be launched in early March

Safran, the second to bear the name will be the first of the new boats to be launched on 7th March 2015. The deck was built at the Couach yard in Arcachon and delivered in the autumn. The hull – for which studies were carried out in collaboration with Banque Populaire and built in the same moulds – is also finished. The team is starting the final assembly this Christmas week at the CDK-Keroman yard in Lorient. Marc Guillemot and his team’s experience have been vital in the handover of the helm to the new Safran IMOCA skipper, Morgan Lagravière. The young sailor has been dreaming of the moment when he sees her in the water and can’t wait to get out there racing, after “spending more than a year in the research department and with the designers.”

Banque Populaire / Armel Le Cléac’h: to be handed over in March

The new Banque Populaire is also being built by CDK, but in Port-La-Forêt. So there is no chance of getting a sneak preview, with Safran being built 40 miles down the road at CDK-Lorient. Logically, Armel Le Cléac’h’s boat will be the second in the water, a few weeks after Safran. So some time in March. In late December, 50% of the structure and bulkheads had already been fitted and the second part of the mould is due to be removed at the start of the year. The deck was delivered in early October. The team is continuing to fit certain elements, such as the winch unit and the protective overhang from the coach roof. She will be closed up (the deck fitted to the hull) as late as possible in order to make it easier for the boat builders to work on her. For the time being, the schedule has been respected to the letter. Banque Populaire will tell us more about the latest innovations on Armel’s boat in mid January. We should add that Safran and Banque Populaire carried out some studies together and share their moulds. They even worked on the first stage of the development of the foils together.

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild / Sébastien Josse: in June or July

Under construction at Multiplast in Vannes since last September. Her launch is scheduled for June-July. She is expected to be removed from her mould in the coming weeks, allowing Gitana Team to start work on the assembly of the Edmond de Rothschild monohull by late February – early March 2015. As with the other boats currently being built, a lot of work has been done on the foils, as Sébastien Josse is extremely keen to use them. As with the other major teams, with their own research department – and with a lot of talented people at Gitana – they are working in collaboration with the designers from VPLP and Verdier.

Vento Di Sardegna / Andrea Mura: in June

Yet another VPLP-Verdier design, but this time not being built in France. “I wanted a boat that was as Italian as possible,” explained Andrea Mura. So Vento Di Sardegna is being built at Persico Marine, in Bergamo in Northern Italy. She is due to be handed over in June 2015. Persico is a highly specialised yard having worked on many boats for the America’s Cup – from Moro di Venezia to Luna Rossa and not forgetting Artemis – on Maxis like the famous Ran and on the RC44 developed by Russell Coutts. So they are hardly newcomers.

Hugo Boss / Alex Thomson: next summer

As for all the others, a VPLP-Verdier design, but this one is being built in England at the famous Green Marine yard. Alex is racing in the double-handed Barcelona World Race (start on 31^st December from Barcelona) aboard the former Virbac-Paprec 3 in the company of Pepe Ribes. But the construction of his next Hugo Boss is progressing smoothly during his absence near Southampton. She too will be fitted with foils, “a revolution that is as important as the canting keel in the past” stated Alex, whose ambition  is to be the first Englishman to win the Vendée Globe.

Saint Michel-Virbac / Jean-Pierre Dick: in August or September 2015

A VPLP-Verdier with foils of course… with the slight advantage of having seen the results on the first boats in the water, as Jean-Pierre Dick’s boat won’t be delivered until the end of the summer of 2015. As with Sébastien Josse’s boat, the construction of the 60-foot Saint Michel-Virbac is being carried out at the Multiplast yard in Vannes. The moulds have been made and the real construction work is due to start towards the end of February 2015.

Mer & Media Agency

NB: There is a seventh “new” boat (she was the first under the new IMOCA rules), but she is already sailing: we are talking about Spirit of Hungary skippered by the Hungarian, Nandor Fa, who is currently racing her in the Barcelona World Race. She will be the only new boat to have already clocked up one voyage around the world when she sets sail in the 2016 Vendée Globe. (www.vendeeglobe.org)