Please select your home edition
Edition
Vetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 LEADERBOARD

Volvo Ocean Race- Skippers try sailing at 34kts aboard Groupama

by Volvo Ocean Race on 23 Jun 2012
Franck Cammas takes the Volvo 70 skippers sailing on Groupama 3 Trimiran. Lorient stop over Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race http://www.volvooceanrace.com

Franck Cammas treated rival Volvo Ocean Race skippers Chris Nicholson of Camper and Sanya's Mike Sanderson, along with Telefónica shore boss Horacio Carabelli, to a ride of a lifetime aboard his record breaking trimaran Groupama 3.

With around 20 knots of wind and some big seas off Lorient on Friday morning, Cammas gave the monohull sailors an exhilarating two hour taste of high speed multihull sailing, blasting along at up to 34 knots.

'We wanted to introduce our Anglo-Saxon friends to the French way of sailing -- on a multihull,' Cammas said.

'Mike, Chris and Horacio came along and it was a chance for them to understand the speed difference and size also.

'I think they had a really good time sailing at this speed with such ease. They know their stuff obviously, and I think they really enjoyed it and appreciated the boat.'

'It was pretty cool,' said Nicholson afterwards. 'That is the easiest way to do over 30 knots I have ever seen.


'When you think how hard and difficult it is to do those speeds in a monohull and then you realise that 30 knots on the trimaran is part of every day life.

'I was looking at the speedo and I had to keep looking at the GPS speed to check it was right, and it was. We were doing some serious numbers.

'It was fascinating to watch the leeward hull and how it gets torqued around, and yet the mast and sails are going through the air very nicely,' he said. 'There are a lot of forces going on with the boat and a lot happening at any one time.

'I can’t imagine doing that singlehanded like Franck did,' Nicholson added. 'There is so much that can go wrong. I’m sure when times are good then great but when the weather gets bad or there is a problem, that boat would be a monster.

'I have followed this boat from when Groupama first launched it and I have a lot of friends who have sailed on it, so I have a lot of attachment to the boat,' Sanderson said.



'It is so powerful and you have to be respectful of the power. You can easily see that you would not want it to start telling you what to do.

'We have always seen this enormous boat from outside so to be able to get on board was a nice invitation,' said Carabelli. 'We spent a great morning cruising around at 25 or 30 knots.

'The way this boat works and how everything moves with the rig is a completely different world. It is difficult to find a spot on the boat where it doesn’t throw you around so you have to hold on.

'Chris and Mike and myself were fully involved and we were able to drive and that is an amazing experience to be able to helm a boat like that.

'We had 34 knots and that is a very good speed and not at all scary. The top speed of this boat is probably more than 40 knots and the speed we were doing today in a Volvo boat you would be at the limit.

'Doing 30 knots plus on Groupama 3 is like doing 10 knots on a Volvo Open 70,' Sanderson said.

'Suddenly the world becomes a lot smaller place, that’s for sure.'

Vaikobi 2024 DecemberAllen Dynamic 40 FooterMySail Crew

Related Articles

Ice and Snow Sailing Worlds concludes
Kite event took place on the beautiful Lake Mendota After a two-year hiatus, the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) made a spectacular return to the ice at the 2025 World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships, held jointly with the World Ice and Snow Sailing Association (WISSA) for the first time.
Posted today at 4:41 pm
44Cup Nanny Cay Day 2
Big Breeze and Yee-Haw conditions After the opening day of RC44 competition in the British Virgin Islands was lost to excess winds, the breezy relentless easterly trade winds abated enough on day two to permit three races to be sailed in winds ranging from 18 to 28 knots.
Posted today at 3:20 am
The 2026 J24 Worlds announces Title Sponsor
Peerless Industrial Systems support the event in Melbourne, Ausutralia The 2026 J24 World Championship is being held at the iconic Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne from the 4 - 11th November. The Organising Committee is excited and proud to announce the confirmation of our Title Sponsor, Peerless Industrial Systems.
Posted today at 12:50 am
Antoine Cornic finishes 28th in Vendée Globe
Concluding an adventure that he had been nurturing for more than two decades This Friday at 13:02, after 96 days and 1 hour at sea, French solo skipper Antoine Cornic crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe in 28th place, concluding an adventure that he had been nurturing for more than two decades.
Posted on 14 Feb
Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca Preview
Olympic Sailing's 'happy place' The Trofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca has continued to evolve, incorporating new classes, formats and organizers to become the most unmissable event on the itineraries of the best sailors of each Olympic quadrennial.
Posted on 14 Feb
Cape2Rio Race 2025 sets sail
All-female RCYC Academy crew & pioneering marine research unveiled The highly anticipated Cape2Rio 2025 Yacht Race was officially launched at the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC), setting the stage for another thrilling edition of this iconic transatlantic sailing event.
Posted on 14 Feb
Historic rivalry reignites at Wooden Boat Festival
A historic rematch between two legendary vessels The Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) hosted a historic rematch between two legendary vessels, Ngataki and Te Rapunga on Saturday 8 February 2025, as part of the festival's celebration of the Pacific theme.
Posted on 14 Feb
80th Rolex Sydney Hobart entries to open soon
Promising to be a spectacular edition of the race The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is thrilled to announce that entries for the milestone 80th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will open in the coming weeks.
Posted on 14 Feb
Geographe Bay Race Week - the countdown is on
Western Australia's premier yachting regatta Geographe Bay Raceweek is Western Australia's premier yachting regatta and a much anticipated event among the Sailing fraternity.
Posted on 13 Feb
44Cup Nanny Cay Day 1
Overly breezy opening day in the British Virgin Island After a light wind 44Cup Nanny Cay concluded the 2024 season, it was with great anticipation that the 44Cup teams awaited 2025's opening event in the British Virgin Island, for which stiff trade winds have been forecast for some days.
Posted on 13 Feb