A new chapter begins for Jean-Pierre Dick
by Easy To Fly 13 Dec 2017 03:03 PST
13 December 2017
A new chapter begins for Jean-Pierre Dick with the Easy to Fly catamaran © Easy To Fly
After 16 years of sailing the world's seas in the Imoca class, with six great wins among his achievements, Jean-Pierre Dick has started to sail on another type of boat: the Easy To Fly, an eight-metre catamaran with foils, which he designed.
In 2018, the skipper from Nice will sail on the Easy to Fly flying the colours of ABC arbitrage and Ville de Nice. JP will take part in the five regattas of the official programme.
Where did the idea for this project come from?
Jean-Pierre Dick: "I watched the catamarans in the last America's Cup with great admiration. They set me dreaming and inspired me to contribute to the history of flying multihulls. Then the Easy to Fly concept then seemed the obvious step: small in scale, a happy medium between the dinghy and extreme racing, make the adrenaline of flying accessible to amateur crews."
Why did you decide to join in the 2018 series?
"This is the first year of official regattas for the Easy To Fly. It is an important stage in the project. We have a programme with five important dates, the first of which is in Nice, a city I love, and I just had to be there! My crew members and I would like to perfect our skills in flying and sailing above the water, but, above all, we want to create a dynamic class with other crews."
You will be the skipper of Easy To Fly ABC Arbitrage-Ville de Nice. What does this mean to you?
"I thank them both for their confidence. Nice is where I was born and I love the city. It places great emphasis on sport. I am very proud to be flying Nice's colours. I still recall my childhood desire to sail. Today, I want to pass on this passion to the young people in my city, to introduce them to sailing, and why not to create future champions from Nice!
ABC arbitrage is a company puts their heart and soul into what they do, just like me. The management has placed its trust in me for about ten years and to see them remaining loyal on a completely different boat is very touching. The project is innovative, small in scale and exciting and these are values I share with the ABC arbitrage team."
Jean-Pierre Dick's great wins:
- 4 Transat Jacques Vabre races: 2003 with Loïck Peyron, 2005 with Nicolas Abiven, 2011 with Jérémie Beyou and 2017 with Yann Eliès
- 2 Barcelona World Races: 2008 with Damien Foxall, 2011 with Loïck Peyron
Easy To Fly characteristics:
- Concept: Jean-Pierre Dick
- Architect: Guillaume Verdier
- Hull lengths: 7.93 m (26')
- Beam: 4.30 m (14')
- Mast height: 13.70 m (45'3")
- Draught: 1.20 m (3'93")
- Weight (with sails): 350kg
- Carbon epoxy S-Foils
- Sail area upwind: 40m" (48 sq yd)
- Sail area downwind: 66m" (79 sq yd)
The 2018 Easy To Fly Programme:
STAGE 1: GRAND PRIX DE NICE
Place: Nice - FRANCE
Date: End April – early May 2018
STAGE 2: GENEVA - ROLLE - GENEVA
Place: Geneva – SWITZERLAND
Date: 1st to 3rd June 2018
STAGE 3: BOL D'OR MIRABAUD
Place: Geneva - SWITZERLAND
Date: 8 to 10 June 2018
STAGE 4: GARDA FOILING WEEK
Place: Lake Garda - ITALY
Date: 28 June to 1st July 2018
STAGE 5: MEDITERRANEAN
Place: to be confirmed
Date: 11 to 14 October 2018