2016 Vendée Globe – The IMOCAs continue their season in Port-la-Forêt

by Olivier Bourbon / Mer and Media Agency on 4 Sep 2015 2016 Vendée Globe – Just a fortnight or so after the conclusion of the Rolex Fastnet Race, seven boats are beginning a four-day training session at the Finistère Ocean Racing Training Centre in Port-la-Forêt today (Tuesday 1st September).

Three new 60-foot boats (Safran, Banque Populaire and Edmond de Rothschild) will be able to find out how they measure up against some of the leading boats from the 2012-2013 Vendée Globe generation (SMA, PRB, Quéguiner-Leucémie Espoir and Maître Coq). It should tell us a lot about what is likely to happen in the Transat Jacques Vabre, which starts on 25th October, but also the performance we can expect to see in the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe.

It’s back to school today for the IMOCA class skippers, who attend the Finistère Ocean Racing Training Centre. For all of them, it was a busy summer, with two training courses organised in Port-la-Forêt, one in June and the other in early August. Five of the seven taking part this week raced in the Rolex Fastnet Race, which finished in Plymouth a fortnight ago with victory going to Vincent Riou/Sébastien Col on PRB, while Yann Eliès/Charlie Dalin came in second on Quéguiner-Leucémie Espoir ahead of Morgan Lagravière/Nicolas Lunven (third on Safran), Armel La Cléac’h/Erwan Tabarly (sixth on Banque Populaire) and finally Paul Meilhat/Michel Desjoyeaux (retired on SMA). Absent from this year’s Fastnet Race, Jérémie Beyou also had a busy summer as he competed in the Solitaire du Figaro and the Tour de France Sailing Race. Aboard Maître Coq, he will have Philippe Legros alongside him for this course in Port-La Forêt. As for Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier, they will be able to test their new Edmond de Rothschild, which was launched on 7th August. For four days until Friday 4th September, they will all be doing battle while sharing the lessons.

“These sailors that we have been following for years, are used to working together. They trust each other and this is an efficient method and saves a lot of time,” Christian Le Pape, director of the Finistère Offshore Training Centre told us.

24 hours of reaching scheduled

Today (Tuesday) will be given over to coastal exercises allowing them to carry out lots of manoeuvres to find their footing. They should all be ready tomorrow (Wednesday) for the big one: 24 hours of offshore sailing.

“The goal is to see how they do against each other in reaching conditions at between 90 and 120 degrees to the wind. We shall be setting up waypoints and they will get together again at each of the marks along the course,” explained Christian Le Pape. In this point of sail, everyone will be keeping a close eye on the effect of the foils, which can now be found on Safran, Banque Populaire and Edmond de Rothschild. “We shall be attempting to determine the performance gains and losses,” added the director of the Finistère Centre. “What will the loss be upwind? Will the foiling boats really be that much faster downwind? If so, by how much? We shall be adopting a purely technical, scientific approach to the matter. This attention to detail is vital as we get ready for the Transat Jacques Vabre and then the Vendée Globe. It’s all down to these tiny details.”

Take advantage of your assets and limit your weaknesses

The seven 60-foot boats should be returning to port on Thursday lunchtime. On Friday morning, the Centre will be organising a debriefing after these 24 hours of sailing. The data will be given to the racers, who will be able to discuss, analyse and compare their performances. Everyone will find out where they are.

“We are there to issue warnings. Our overall picture enables each sailor to determine his priorities, which are not always what they had in mind before,” stressed Christian Le Pape. “In fact, what really matters for them all is they need to take advantage of their assets and limit their weaknesses. That is the case for example with the foils. Those who have chosen that option shouldn’t consider that this is an exam where they have to be good everywhere, but rather a competition, where the final result counts even if some parts may be disappointing. They are taking the gamble of setting up their boat for certain conditions, which they hope they will encounter in the Vendée Globe. That’s why we shouldn’t make any hasty judgements, as there are so many elements to take into account and it’s too early to be certain about anything.” They have been warned. Two other training courses are planned in Port-la-Forêt before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, from 16th to 18th September and from 29th September to October 1st.