Always going to be
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 26 Aug 2018 15:00 PDT
IMOCA 60 Charal © CDK Technologies
When something looks like this, it was always going to get a big mention. Huge, in fact. That it has popped out of the same yard as another almighty beast, Macif, should also be of little surprise to anyone who knows the pointy end from the blunt. Now with a form like this it is going to be wet, but when you can hammer like she does, even standing still, I reckon you're not going to give a flying toss! Grab the ski goggles and giddy up...
She comes form the drawing boards of Marc van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, which too is barely of any surprise. VPLP, often with man of the hour, Guillaume Verdier, have turned out so many of today's speedsters, with wicked monos and awesome tris their speciality.
The last round of the IMOCAs saw the two most fandangled finish in the top two spots of the Vendée, with Hugo Boss (second) being the more recent, and offering the most insight into what was to come. Charal takes all of that, and drives off like it stole it! The foil shape alone is enough to indicate her power, let alone the intense complexity in pulling that sort of structure off.
So Charal is very, very interesting, as these things carry immense Larry (rhyme fully intended) not just in the rig, but also those foil casings. A quick glance says she is a lot like Niklas Zennstrom's Fast40+, Rán VII, from Shaun Carkeek. Deeper review reveals that there is far more of a scow bow, and probably more reverse sheer, which the added 20 feet will certainly extenuate. I have not seen Rán VII in person, but it is hard to imagine she has even less rocker than Charal, which has her rig something like 60% of the way back, and just aft of the foils.
Yet I have to say that the telling tale could well be inside their own (combined with CDK) press release. The statement says, "... (a) completely new approach with regards its general concept, together with an innovative structure (designed with Gurit) and implementation." Now there is bound to be a bit of code in that, but it will be fantastic to understand just what these engineering differences are.
SP Gurit, as the company used to be known, have the reputation of all reputations when it comes to the development of composite structures, and the loads they must distribute. So ultimately, the real tale will be in exactly what they have done to achieve the outcome, without added weight, which is the demon of all race boats. For these are boats that have to do a lap, possibly survive a foil being ripped off, or a collision with a whale, at hitherto unimaginable speeds, and hold it all together to claim the chocolates.
Also, this has ramifications across the board, for remember, you are kind of looking at the next Volvo boat, as well. On top of all of that, if a paradigm has been achieved, then it will go not only into ocean racers, but also the AC75. They are simply going to be something else, and a quick review of the footage from Ineos Team UK's 28-foot test mule, should answer all questions relative to that point.
In short, if the overall concepts were going to change so much, then the creativity into the whole design and engineering had to at least match it, if not surpass it. One hopes there is enough time, for if Boeing's 787 proved one thing, it was there just isn't as much of that super-precious commodity as you initially thought there was going to be. Boeing had the luxury of a flexible launch date (to a degree). The Vendée is not moving from its 2020 date, and this boat has a lot to do before that!
Me likey a lot! If sailing is to captivate a newer generation, then it will be craft like this that have to deliver. I certainly hope they do...
Tacking then, and I could not help noticing that our old mate, Kevin Barr is developing a new range of the ever-popular Barz Optics specs, and is seeking crowd funding to do so. If you opt in to help, you'll get a 40% discount on a pair when they become available later in the year. They are photochromic, polarised, and if you are a tad older, can also have bi-focal readers in the bottom of the lenses, so that you can see the chart, or more importantly these days, the screen on anything and everything around you. Go check it out and help if you would like to do so.
Right oh - here today there are some gems for you to review. We have information from WA with the 'Freshies' to bring some of their offshore racing in closer to allow folk to access it more (tick, tick), J/122s did well in the Round Britain and Ireland, Laser Radial Youth Worlds from Kiel, intel form North Sails, 14-foot skiffs, 5.5metre boats from Cowes, the Extreme Sailing Series, 52 Super Series, Sailors for the Seas report that 1000 events registered for 'clean' status, RS Games, Golden Globe Race, Keep Australia Beautiful Week, and certainly there is much, much more.
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John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS