Vendee Globe skipper uses CT Sailbattens to strengthen his yacht

by Lara Cooper on 20 Feb 2009 CT Sailbattens not only provided the battens for the majority of yachts in the last Vendee Globe but also went a step further to helping yachts stay in the race when conditions got tough. A prime example came after Roland Jourdain (known as Bilou) sailing 'Veolia Environnement' collided with a whale. His yacht suffered considerable damage and Bilou used batten sections to strengthen the main bulkhead. The CT Sailbatten sections provided structure and support where previous efforts had failed.

Quote from Roland Jourdain (Bilou)

'I'm pleased about my night and this final piece of work using bunches of battens from the mainsail, which I stuck together to form a solid bar, and then stuck onto the bulkhead at the foot of the mast to consolidate everything. It should be as solid as concrete’’

Like all participating sailors Sebastian Josse (sailing BT) had a tough race, often encountering storms and high winds that knocked him down several times in one day.

BT was forced to retire off the South Island of New Zealand and is currently in Auckland. This year saw over a third of the competitors forced to retire, a cruel reminder of how tough the race really is.

The winner of this year’s Vendee Globe race was Michel Desjoyeaux, one of the World’s most successful sailors, sailing his Open 60 Foncia. Sailing to victory in a record time of 84 days, 3 hours and 9 minutes, he beat the previous record by an outstanding 3 days. He is the only person to win the race twice, achieving an historic double victory. Foncia was one of 23 Open 60’s from a fleet of 30 that used CT Sailbattens.

Sailing 28,000 miles, crossing three capes and three oceans, the Vendee proved, as always, to be a notoriously hard race, providing one of the most challenging environments in yachting. This year extreme conditions in the Southern Ocean saw most yachts encounter serious problems. Rigs, keels and rudders broke, sails delaminated and crash gybes pinned boats over at 90 degrees. An Australian warship had to rescue the Frenchman Yann Elies (skipper of 'Generali') after he was badly injured in the remote Southern Ocean.

Alex Thomson, IMOCA Executive Committee member & skipper of Hugo Boss comments:
'The Vendee Globe is proving yet again to be the toughest sporting challenge that exists on our planet today'

Equipment breaking when racing high-tech, light-weight yachts is inevitable, so shore crew and skippers choose their suppliers wisely. Supplying mainsail battens to 23 out of the Vendee Globe’s 30 yachts shows the confidence CT Sailbattens has created in this fleet alone.

By transferring the technology developed for the AC environment CT Sailbattens have became a viable, light-weight alternative for use on yachts in the toughest sporting challenge in sailing history, the Vendee Globe.


For more information, visit www.sailbattens.com or send an e-mail to info@sailbattens.com

Contact Details

Director: Alex Vallings
Phone: +64 (9) 810 8406
Fax: +64 (9) 810 8409
E-mail: info@sailbattens.com

C-Tech Ltd
PO Box 58, Waitakere 0660
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Websites: www.sailbattens.com
www.c-tech.co.nz