Vendée Globe – Christian Le Pape - Skippers in training

by Bruno Ménard / Mer and Media Agency on 24 Sep 2015 Vendée Globe – As they prepare for the Transat Jacques Vabre, three IMOCAs took part from 17th to 19th September in the fifth training course organised at the French offshore training centre in Port La Forêt (Finistère).

Two with straight daggerboards, SMA and Maître Coq and one of the new generation boats with foils, Banque Populaire VIII. We find out what happened with Christian Le Pape, head of the Centre.

Christian, how did it go at the fifth training course for the IMOCAs?

'There were only three boats involved, as many of the others had scheduled some work in the yard. But it’s always interesting to see how the boats measure up against each other, in particular here with one foiling boat, Banque Populaire skippered by Armel Le Cléac'h with Erwan Tabarly and two boats from the previous generation with straight daggerboards, Paul Meilhat’s SMA with Michel Desjoyeaux at his side and Jérémie Beyou’s Maître Coq with Philippe Legros also on board.'

What was the programme?

'Initially we had planned to have a long 24-hour race, so with a night at sea, but the forecasts predicted that a thundery low-pressure area would work its way up with 40-knots winds. In the end, we opted for day trips. These generally involves a 70-mile course with the boats getting back together again to practice starts, manoeuvres and try out various sail, ballast, keel combinations and the settings for the daggerboards or foils. This was all done in lively condition with around 25 knots of wind, often with a reef in and the J2 or even the J3 (headsails – editor’s note).'

What can you tell us about the comparison between the new foiling boats and those from the previous generation with straight daggerboards?

'This was the comparison the sailors wanted to see. There weren’t any surprises and everything matched the performances forecast by the designers. The advantage for foils in some points of sail and certain wind strengths was interesting. But it is very hard to quantify, and we can see that those with straight daggerboards were well tuned, while the others are still in the development phase. For the moment, it is hard to decide what to do, but the move forward looks encouraging and the initial results are positive. It’s not a game of smoke and mirrors. The stronger the wind and the wider the angle, the more pleasing the result with the foils. Particularly, when reaching. We carried a lot of comparisons with angles going from 80 to 130 degrees.'

In their infancy

But when tacking upwind, the foiling boats don’t perform as well…

'You don’t need to be an expert or top designer to see that the anti-drift properties of the foils are not as good. Especially at low speeds. It’s never black or white. You have to find where to place the cursor and how to get it set just right… and every detail counts. They’re going to have to study each shape and each position etc. We mustn’t forget that everything is linked - sails, ballast tanks, keel position, foil adjustment, etc. For the moment, you could say we’re writing the instruction manual, but it’s not yet complete, which is only to be expected. The teams will have several possibilities to choose from after the Transat Jacques Vabre, which will be a real test. Will they modify the foils, and/or their adjustments, or maybe even go back to straight daggerboards, even if that doesn’t seem likely, as the contribution from the foils is positive.'

In the Transat Jacques Vabre, Armel Le Cléac'h thinks that boats from the previous generation will be the favourites, because they are better tuned. Do you think he is right?

'Armel is reacting as an intelligent skipper. He knows that between a boat that has been 100% fine tuned over the past four years and one that has only been in the water for six months, it is not a photo finish. Especially when they are both sailed by skilled skippers. If you compare it to children, the boats with straight daggerboards are at primary school, with all the basics in place and they can perform well, while the foiling boats are new born babies, with everything to learn, but their potential for development is huge. This is just the beginning for the foiling boats. For the IMOCAs, the Transat Jacques Vabre will be an important step forward, as we mustn’t forget that everyone is really focusing on the Vendée Globe, which is just over a year away…'

Does this mean that we are likely to see boats designed for very specific conditions, making the races very different depending ion whether the boats have straight daggerboards or foils?

'Yes, that’s possible. Each skipper’s strategy will depend on the weather conditions. We can’t rule out seeing two very different strategies adopted between those with foils and those with straight daggerboards. We could imagine seeing two fleets within the same class, with each trying to make the most of their strengths and trying to limit their weaknesses. In the Transat Jacques Vabre, if they have to tack their way upwind out of the Bay of Biscay, those with straight daggerboards will have the advantage, for example…'