Groupama lll tri, 800 mile days

[brian eiland]

...courtesy Scuttlebutt

800 MILE DAYS
(Editor James Boyd takes a sail on board Franck Cammas' incredible new a
105ft state of the art trimaran Groupama III and gives his impressions
in a story just posted on thedailysail subscription website. Here are a
few excerpts.)

Standing with the massive concrete submarine silos behind us trying to
keep our tongues in when we first see Cammas' new weapon, our first
impression is that compared to Orange II the boat is more Ferrari than
hot rod pantechnican. This is born out when we are told the weight - in
Jules Verne Trophy trim (ie she is lighter now) the boat is expected to
be just 18 tonnes, whereas the larger Orange 2 is around the 32 tonne
mark. Aside from the way she floats evidence of the lengths the team has
gone to to shed weight is that little fairing work above the water line
has been carried out - the orientation of the laminate is clearly
visible through the 28kg of paint used on her 700sqm of topside and
deck.

It has been discovered with these large multihulls, is freeboard,
particularly at the bow. The main speed limitation of the first
generation Ollier cats is when the forward cross beam starts to bury in
waves. As a result on Orange II the freeboard at the bow was raised by
0.8m to 3.3m allowing both better safety, but also for the crew to drive
the boat harder in waves. This formula clearly works and is why Bruno
Peyron's big cat now holds the big three records in sailing and many of
her crew feel she has considerably more potential to show yet, with talk
of not just 800 mile days but 830, 840 ones being possible ..and just
when the monohull world thought they were catching up...

[DGreenwood]

Oh...there is no doubt it is possible to build a faster cat or tri. The question is will it stay together long enough to achieve more than the 24 hour record. As Bruno Peyron says " it is great to go fast but you must be able to do it continuously".
Orange was built no where near the top speed potential of the design...because it is built very strong and it is sailed hard and continously. We will see how this tri stays together.

I think it's fantastic that the financing can be found ,at this level, to push the technology ahead; to take reasonable chances to go as fast as humanly possible. I wish them the best of luck! (OK, guys-I want a ride-please!!)

[rayaldridge]

I sure hope that boat has a protected steering station, in addition to the one shown in the photo. It would be fairly insane to have to steer a boat like that out in the open, with the kind of wind that will be going across the deck.

[Chris Ostlind]

" It would be fairly insane to have to steer a boat like that out in the open"

Are you questioning the mental capacities of these proven, professional sailors when it has been shown that they truly know what they are doing, Ray?

[yipster]

some good orange II video's showing that are BIG boats

[marshmat]

I think Ray's point was that the helmsman out there, as with most big fast sailboats, is very exposed to wind, spray and cold. Not only will they tire a lot quicker than someone with more protection from the elements, but in heavy seas, all the crew get very wet- and if the helmsman takes a wave it's a lot easier to lose control of the boat. It works on other boats, yes, but I too like a bit more protection at the wheel....

[DGreenwood]

When moving at the speeds the large cats move at, visibility is paramount. Time at the helm involves a very heightened level of concentration and helm changes are frequent. It is true that apparent wind and spray can be brutal but it would be a very unusual situation for a wave to reach the helmsman where they are positioned. You just have to be tough and take the weather...and trust me...those boys (and girls) do it with gusto.

[rayaldridge]

Originally Posted by Chris Ostlind

" It would be fairly insane to have to steer a boat like that out in the open"

Are you questioning the mental capacities of these proven, professional sailors when it has been shown that they truly know what they are doing, Ray?

No, actually I was just wondering if there was a protected steering station on boats like that. As in, "When it's blowing 30 knots true and 50 across the deck, the wind and spray in the face must really be insane, dude! Is there another steering station with more protection for that helmswoman?"

Good grief. Let us all rise now to defend the sanity of NASCAR drivers, bull riders, and Open 60 crew. As if they would ever give a damn what a bunch of pissants like us think.

[Chris Ostlind]

Geez, Ray, just look it up on the Internet, There are literally dozens of new pictures scattered about for you to see the new boat. I've already seen something like four specific images of the steering station, complete with its shielded protection for the driver.

You could easily do the same without these heavily loaded pronouncements... couldn't you?

Secondly, Cammas is a very experienced boat captain with thousands of full-tilt racing miles under his belt on Open 60's and other extremely high performance multihulls. Do you really think that he hasn't addressed the issues of high velocity spray as it might be directed on the driver for serious competitions like he will undertake with this new boat?

Groupama is a really big outfit in Europe and you can't really think they would just spend a few million Euro's on a new boat for Franck Cammas without a very big presence to promote such an undertaking, do you? The photos are out there.

http://en.groupama.com/page/p-126/art_id-/

Try these as starting points. The boat was designed by VPLP out of France, built by Multiplast in France and is sailed by Franck Cammas, also out of France. Cammas had a serious level of input on the design as well as the build of the boat from his successful campaigning of the Open 60 tri, Groupama. The new boat is intended for all the big speed records as well as the major crossings of oceans for shortest elapsed time.

Yes, there is an inordinate amount of potential punishment for the driver and the second watch when hooked-up at full chat. Those issues have been met in the design in order to protect the crew to the fullest extent. This boat will be extremely fast and you can expect it to realize many of the world records for speed crossing of major oceans that are currently held by Orange II and Kersuason.

Come on, man, use the tools at your disposal.

[Chris Ostlind]

Pissants... that's what my Okie Grandmother used to say when she was pissed-off.

Isn't that expression supposed to be hyphenated?

[rayaldridge]

Originally Posted by Chris Ostlind

Geez, Ray, just look it up on the Internet, There are literally dozens of new pictures scattered about for you to see the new boat. I've already seen something like four specific images of the steering station, complete with its shielded protection for the driver..

Thanks for the info.

I guess everything is working out okay. I come here to learn stuff and satisfy my curiosity, and you taught me something. It was kind of you to let me know my concern was valid after all. I was afraid for a minute there that I might have wondered about something completely stupid.

Ray

[rayaldridge]

Originally Posted by Chris Ostlind

Pissants... that's what my Okie Grandmother used to say when she was pissed-off.

Isn't that expression supposed to be hyphenated?

I don't know, but I got it from my Dad, who was an Okie too. Must be a standard expression of disapprobation in them parts. He tended to use it in wry amazement, rather than anger, though, as in "Can you believe those pissants are getting so excited about that silly stuff?" He was the calmest man I've ever known, and the strongest. I never heard him raise his voice, not once. I wish I were more like him.

Ray

[rayaldridge]

For folks who'd rather see the actual boat than read any more cheesy nattering, here's a link to a site that has a video loop of Groupama III in full flight. Magnificant boat.

http://www.cammas-groupama.com/fr/index.jsp


Chris, one more time: "Insane" was a reference to wind, not sailors. At least, it was then.

Ray

[DGreenwood]

Those image are of Groupama the Open 60...a toy compared to the maxi cat Groupama.

By the way...Orange 2 is sailed by Bruno Peyron, not Kersauson.