New floats for Groupama 3; record out for winter

by Franck Cammas, Groupama Media on 17 Jun 2008
On 18th February 2008, whilst sailing with a day's lead over Orange's record, Groupama 3 fell victim to serious damage to her port float. In a matter of seconds, the maxi trimaran skippered by Franck Cammas flipped over.

Five days later, thanks to a great chain of solidarity, Groupama 3 was righted in the New Zealand port of Dunedin and then loaded onto a cargo ship. After five weeks at sea, the Atlantic record-breaking trimaran was unloaded in Lorient and then delivered to the Multiplast yard where it was built.

Whilst the list of work to be undertaken was as long as a day without wind, the architects and engineers have not yet decided with any degree of certainty about the precise cause of the damage. Experts and members of Groupama team's design office have a host of hypotheses: 'Fatigue of the materials where there has been impact with a floating object may be the source of the damage. What we are sure about is that the construction is not in question' details team manager, Stéphane Guilbaud.

In these conditions, the shipowner Groupama rapidly made a decision: 'Groupama 3 must be repaired according to the book so as to be fit to continue its record campaign in the best possible conditions. To take risks by working quickly would make no sense as, beyond performance, it is the safety of our crew that takes precedence. Delaying the attempt for a year to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy is the best decision we can make today' declares Frédérique Granado, the group's communications manager.

Alongside them, skipper Franck Cammas continues: 'maxi trimarans like Groupama 3 are increasingly quick. In big, messy seas like those you face in the Indian Ocean, any impact is incredibly violent. To live aboard sometimes becomes almost an impossibility. With the wealth of experience we've gained, we have decided to alter the two floats by replacing the honeycomb-carbon sandwich with monolithic carbon. Groupama 3 will be a little heavier whilst continuing to be high performance'.

Team manager Stéphane Guilbaud explains the repercussions of this: 'To alter the two floats will extend the duration of the work by nearly two months. Rather than being relaunched at the start of November, Groupama 3 won't be able to leave the Multiplast yard prior to January. Suffice to say this will be too late to attempt to contest the Jules Verne Trophy again in 2009'.

For the shipowner, Groupama, risk management has become second nature rather than simply a job: 'We have been placing our trust in Franck and his team for over ten years now. It's them who are aboard, in good times and in bad. The attempt to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy has been put back a year, but we're going to tackle other records like that of the Mediterranean, or even attempt to improve on our own record for the Atlantic crossing in 2009' concludes Frédérique Granado.

Franck Cammas furthers this to say: 'With Groupama 3, we have already broken four records. The Jules Verne Trophy is still on our wish list and we're not giving up. Thanks to Groupama, we're not only going to repair the trimaran but also improve on it. The whole team is working on her and she really deserves it as she's a fabulous boat. And we're already really looking forward to the winter of 2009-2010' adds the skipper, who is currently training aboard Groupama 2 to contest the SNSM Trophy (French lifeboat association) for which the start will be given in St Nazaire, France on 22nd June 2008.

Groupama 3's four records:
1. Discovery Route Record at an average of 21.7 knots
2. Miami - New York Record at an average of 27 knots
3. Distance Record over 24 hours at an average of 33.08 knots and covering 794 miles
4. North Atlantic Crossing Record at an average of 29.26 knots in less than 100 hours