Groupama 4 launches with pride in Lorient

by Welcome On Board Communications Agency on 15 May 2011 Groupama 4 has been launched in Lorient, France, opposite Groupama Sailing Team's base, at 1400 GMT. The vessel is the first Volvo 70 built in France. The entire Groupama ‘family’ and an ecstatic crowd attended the important stage of the project led by skipper Franck Cammas.

After nearly 50,000 man hours, the monohull Groupama 4 is now ready to traverse the globe's seas.

Australian Ben Wright, head of the shore team with five Volvo Open 70 build projects already under his belt, seems particularly satisfied with the work achieved by the team. 'It's a big day… in a long series of big days! We still have a few miles to cover with Groupama Sailing Team. However, at least now we're done with the sketches: the boat is here in front of us. We're tired but that's par for the course after all these man hours. We've worked hard but we're not stopping here! It's only just begun in fact!'

The sense of pleasure is palpable and the event brings everyone together. After all the difficulties that have to be surmounted during a project of this scale, Groupama 4 is now floating in the port of Lorient. As such Franck Cammas and his men have taken another step in the history of the Groupama Sailing Team:

'In the construction of a yacht, the further you push the thought processes, the better you understand things, but the more difficult it becomes to make choices. You're always keen to go into things deeply but there's a deadline where you have to stop thinking and concentrate on making ideas a reality. Today, a new side to the work begins in the form of sail trials. And for the all those involved in the project, now is the moment of truth'.

In sailing, the competition begins well before the warning signals for the race start. It's in the minds of the men behind the boat's design, in the gestures of the boat builders and all those taking part in the project, that a victory is built.

When you decide to take part in a project of this size, you're never sheltered from obstacles. Franck Cammas:

'You encounter difficulties everyday. When you have to make choices, you're bound to have to overcome obstacles. As was the case during construction of the first three Groupama boats, we encountered problems here too: it was inevitable that there were differences to the original schedule… There were a few timings which weren't adhered to, some adhesion processes which had to be redone and parts that had to be rebuilt… That's another reason why I'm proud of the work my team has done. Thank you to them, thanks to Juan Koujoumdjian, our architect, and thanks to Groupama, without whom we wouldn't be here!'

Jean-Luc Baucherel, President of Groupama, travelled to Lorient with around fifty representatives from Groupama Loire Bretagne:

'It's an important day for Groupama as our first monohull has been launched. Five years of new adventures lay in store. We'll be able to weigh up our performance against the best Anglo-Saxon crews during the next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. This is a whole new concept for Groupama but we are in no doubt about the abilities of Franck Cammas and his crew to be up there with the frontrunners. We're taking over from a great sailor called Eric Tabarly and we hope we can be worthy of him and carry France's colours high. We were familiar with the multihull and, today, we're ready for a new series of competitions aboard a monohull. It is with great enthusiasm and pride that we are competing in this new competition'.

Although the phase in the yard is over for the members of the shore crew, sail trials are set to begin on Tuesday 17 May for the sailing crew. The next major stages which will punctuate the life of Groupama Sailing Team between now and the start of the Volvo Ocean Race will be the christening of Groupama 4 on 11 June in Lorient, then the Fastnet Race in the UK on 14 August. In the latter, Franck Cammas and his crew will, for the very first time, be able to see how Groupama 4 fairs in relation to her future rivals.

Technical specifications for Groupama 4:

LOA:21.50m
Beam:5.70m
Water draught: 4.50m
Displacement: 14 tonnes
Keel: swing
Material: carbon honeycomb sandwich
Upwind sails: 315m²
Downwind sails: 675m²
Architect: Juan Kouyoumdjian

A communications project to support the group's internationalisation for more than 13 years, Groupama has chosen sailing sponsorship as a lever to support its strategy for growth in the service of its clients. One of the France's leading insurance firms and the 15th largest insurer in Europe, the Group boasts a turnover of 17.6 thousand million Euros (2010).

Groupama is accelerating its international development and aims to become one of the top 10 European insurers.
Established in 14 countries, the Group comprises 39,000 employees, including 11,000 overseas, where it achieves 30% of its turnover. The commitment to a more international sporting project through until 2015 has to support the construction of a European insurance group and a bank which is a creator, a humanist and something that lasts.

The Volvo Ocean Race - A crewed round the world race with stopovers, the Volvo Ocean Race, formerly known as the Whitbread, will set out from Alicante (Spain) on 5 November 2011 for its eleventh edition. Spanning nine months and 10 stopovers, the participating crews will cover over 39,270 miles over four oceans. The race will conclude in Galway (Ireland) on 7 July 2012 after making a stopover in Lorient, France, Groupama Sailing Team's base, from 16 June to 1 July 2012. Groupama 4 is the first French boat to compete in the event since 1993.

Volvo Ocean Race: Website

Groupama: Website