Route du Rhum 2014

Armel le Cleach and Francois Gabart are sailing together on Banque Populaire VII at the Grand Prix Guyader in the bay of Douarnanez

From the following article on Vendeeglobe.org

http://www.vendeeglobe.org/fr/actua...abart-ensemble-sur-le-grand-prix-guyader.html

and the rough bing translate:

Thursday, on the occasion of the first navigation off the coast of Groix and Belle-Isle of the new Maxi Solo Bank Populaire VII of Armel Le Cléac ' h (2nd of the two last Vendée Globe), the breton Navigator announced the coming of François Gabart at his side at the next Grand Prix Guyader, from 2 to 5 may in Douarnenez!

Longer leave! After 78 days nearly edge to edge during the last Vendée Globe, François Gabart (Macif) and Armel Le Cléac ' h (Banque Populaire) will soon sail together. At the next Grand Prix Guyader, the winner of the round the world single-handed, non-stop and without assistance will indeed be part of the crew of his heir apparent aboard the maxi-trimaran solo Bank Populaire VII (ex-Groupama 3).

"I am very pleased to embark along with Armel, welcomes François Gabart.". I had sailed on Banque Populaire V giant at a ferry and it was fabulous! In fact, we have much been since the arrival of the Vendée Globe and as I had known during the world tour that Armel would prepare the Route du Rhum on the ex-Groupama 3, I offered to come on the occasion of the Grand Prix Guyader in Douarnenez. I'm so pleased to support Armel for this first race crew and if ca is again before the Transat Jacques Vabre (Editor's Note: it will play aboard Macif), I will repeat the experience with pleasure... »

Gabart Le Cléac'h© VINCENT CURUTCHET / DPPI / Vendée GlobePending the meeting at Douarnenez from the star of the last Vendée Globe, Armel Le Cléac duo'h began to familiarize themselves with its new Maxi Solo Bank Populaire VII, put in water last Monday in Lorient, during a first navigation this Thursday. "My only references, these are the few outputs that I had done on the previous Bank Populaire v trimaran. It is much more manageable and much simpler in terms of flexibility. It is therefore a multihull to human size: I feel not exceeded in the anticipation of solo sailing. And it is able to hold very good medium long while retaining a significant safety margin! The boat is very well led and we will be able to concentrate on sailing before optimizations. »

The maxi-trimaran Solo Bank Populaire VII program
From 2 to 5 may : Grand Prix Guyader
From 9 to 12 may : Armen Race (with Bertrand Pacé at the helm, Armel Le Cléac ' h then being Figaro)
June 23 : Record SNSM (with Bertrand Pacé at the helm, Armel Le Cléac ' h then playing the Solitaire du Figaro)
From 11 to 14 August : Rolex Fastnet Race
From late September : record for the crossing of the Mediterranean in solitaire (Marseilles-Carthage)

 

My apologies as HASYB notes below this is an old video (though recently uploaded) I'll leave it up though as it gives a good look at IDEC.

Video from Francis Joyon showing the revamped IDEC II trimaran. From an interview I read with Francis some time ago they have modified the rudder so it kicks up. It also looks like he has removed the float rudders and possibly the lifting foils but it's hard to say for sure. It would fit in with his philosophy/concept of keeping everything as simple as possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmuIFfBiMr4

 

Corley, I might be wrong but isn't this video referring to the build of IDEC?
In the recent "record de la route de la découverte" I think the foils and rudders were still there.

 

Thanks HASYB, you are right I looked at the published date of the video not the original date which is June 2007 and assumed it was new. So IDEC II is in its lifting foils and float rudders configuration as in the Discovery Route record.

 

Whew! You scared me there for a minute...taking foils off-no , no , no.
Good stuff anyway, thanks Corley!

 

I thought Joyon DID take his foils off recently.

 

Foils

Damn, you must be right, Gary. There are no pictures of ama foils and no mention of them on the IDEC website: http://www.trimaran-idec.com/

But it just doesn't fit with his own comments after adding the foils to IDEC:

 

LOL....off, on, off, on...
Ha, I guess Joyon remains a man of many mysteries.
Its still not very clear to me because these two pictures from 13th april show one. Off course the foto's could be from an earlier date.

Also the life broadcast from the latest video about de route de la découverte, in which he reports about the race, clearly show one. At 0.37 min.

I could be wrong though.

Cheers,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7lR4rK1UKlQ

 

This one shows the foils as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxvZ3Vw9w4g

 

Here is a rough Bing translate of the following article. We are going to see how well the new Prince de Bretagne stacks up against Gitana 11 in the upcoming Tour de Belle Island:

http://www.courseaularge.com/articl...du-entre-Gitana-11-et-Prince-de-Bretagne.html

A duel expected between Gitana 11 and Prince de Bretagne

Tour de Belle-Ile / Thursday, April 25, 2013

Among the more than 500 boats which s´elanceront on Saturday, 4 at 10: 00 for the sixth edition of the Tour de Belle - Island, the big multihulls will be once again to l´honneur, with a showdown expected between Gitana 11, who holds the record for l´epreuve from 2011 (2:42), and Prince of Brittany, former 60-foot Orma extended 80 feetwhose Tour de Belle-Ile will be the first race.

Anne Caseneuve in 2008, Francis Joyon in 2009, Yves Le Blévec in 2010, Sébastien Josse in 2011 and 2012, what is the peculiarity of all winners to the scratch of the Tour de Belle-île? Not difficult, they were all on a multihull. And the 2013 edition probably not derogate from the rule, in the role of victory contenders, two trimarans with the same particularity, that of having been extended, from a 60 foot Orma at 77 feet to the first Gitana 11 at 80 feet (24.38 meters) for the second, Prince de Bretagne.

A Prince of Brittany for which this Tour de Belle-Ile will be a first, since the former 60 feet Sodebo of Thomas Coville, who fired his first tacks in January, has not yet had the opportunity to confront to the competition in the race, where a big desire to do battle with his skipper Lionel Lemonchois. "It is clear that we have wanted to run with the boat, there's nothing better than to have competitors to feel where it is in the capacity of the boat." Wink of destiny, the main opponent of Prince de Bretagne on the Tour de Belle-Ile will be Gitana 11, who is none other than his former 60 foot Orma, the bar where he won the Route du Rhum 2006, record overwriting the key (7 days 17 h 19'06 "). And incidentally, since it was extended to 77 feet in 2009, the record holder of the Tour de Belle-île in 2 h 42 with Sébastien Josse in command.

How Lionel Lemonchois sees this upcoming duel? "Two boats have exactly the same philosophy, but ours, I think, is more successful. '' "We were a little further than them," smiles the skipper who adds about the choice made to extend a 60 foot Orma: "the basic idea was to make possible the largest boat bearing the same efforts there on Sodebo, in order to go faster easier single-handed. All this by making a boat not expensive. »

The two-time winner of the Route du Rhum (it has recurred in 2010 in Multi 50) has been much involved in the construction of elongation of Prince de Bretagne, just thought from the perspective of the next transat singlehanded, between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre (2014). "We started in October 2011, starting by retrieving Sodebo that has been boned and disassembled in Lorient. '' We we are busy to strengthen the arms, and then we were sent to valves where, at the same time, Multiplast had manufactured moulds and tools to make the central hull and floats. Sodebo, today remains the arms, mast, boom, fittings, appendices, namely foils, derivatives and central hull rudder. «In fact, everything except the central hull and two floats»

Final Assembly took place in Vannes before a water in October and a first outing at sea off the coast of Lorient on January 11. Since then, Prince de Bretagne unstoppable miles, while ironing quickly through the portal box, time for a few small changes. Then, the first sensations? "Is pretty much like 60 feet, except that due to the greater length, it has a big margin that was not on the Orma, meets Lionel Lemonchois.» The boat looks good-born, it goes quickly easily, exactly as I wanted. It is also quite easy to use, pleasant place to live, I am generally rather very happy, and in addition, it is very beautiful! »

Lionel Lemonchois welcomes anyway to participate in theFestival. "Technically as it is a relatively short course, with release of the Bay of Quiberon, Tower of Belle-Ile, and return to Quiberon Bay, there is a lot of maneuvers, changes in the angles, this is a pretty intense race and a true speed run. If we have good conditions, in two hours, it will be sheeted for us! » And the skipper to finish opening the box to remember: ' the first time that we have, we had finished second with Multi 50 Prince de Bretagne just behind Gitana 11 (2'38 '' gap in 2011, Editor's note), it was great.» We are therefore very happy to go back, I hope that we will do at least as well. " Double reigning champions, Sébastien Josse and his men have been warned...

 

Captain Incroyable Francis Joyon is set to go on standby for a passage record attempt on the New York - Lizard transatlantic route from May 15. The record is currently held by Thomas Coville on the trimaran Sodebo 5 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes and 20 seconds with an impressive 20.97 knot average speed.

 

Voiles et Voiliers have published an excellent interview with Lionel Lemanchois and Laurent Prevost of VPLP. It discusses the new Prince de Bretagne Maxi 80 and the other Ultime multihull competitors for the 2014 Route du Rhum.

The original article is here:

http://www.voilesetvoiliers.com/cou...prevost-lionel-lemonchois-prince-de-bretagne/

and the rough bing translation below

While Prince de Bretagne is baptized this weekend in Roscoff, Lionel Lemonchois gives his first impressions on this 80-foot trimaran made from the platform of the ORMA Sodebo60. Architect Vincent Lauriot-Prévost completes its analyses, as Bank Populaire VII (ex-Groupama 3) comes to his first outing and Thomas Coville transformed ex-Geronimo. All of these ultimate multihulls have only one major objective: the Route du Rhum 2014!


Lionel, back first on the concept of Prince de Bretagne...Two years ago, you decided to change a 60 foot ORMA, but not with the same approach as Gitana 11 in 2010.
L.L. : The choice was related primarily to the financial means available to my partner. The idea was from an ORMA trimaran redeemed not too expensive, to make a large boat capable of winning the Route du Rhum 2014. It would have probably been better from a blank sheet to design a multihull specially adapted for this race, but the budget was not at all the same!

Lionel Lemonchois et Vincent Lauriot-PrévostBefore the 80-foot Prince de Bretagne, Lionel Lemonchois and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost plan new optimizations before the Route du Rhum 2014.Photo @ Dominic Bourgeois The last Route du Rhum, there already was Groupama 3 (now Bank Populaire VII), Sodebo, Idec and Gitana 11Well, it imagined that they would be back at the start in Saint-Malo in 2014...
L.L. : IIL had to play in harmony with the financial means available to me. Groupama 3 was too expensive, a new boat also. We have found a solution that satisfies everyone, from a technical, budgetary, athletic perspective with the objective of a boat that will quickly, easily. I turned logically to the vplp which is a reference in the multihull. Then it took to choose the most appropriate for these transformations ORMA trimaran.

Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, why the ex -Sodebo ?
V.L.P. :C' was the broadest of the fleet (18.20 meters), which was an important parameter for the length-to-width ratio is coherent and efficient. Groupama 2, for example, was too fickle, less wide (17 metres) and especially too light (6 tonnes) to support additional power without going through the box reinforcements. The ex-Sodebo was heavy enough and structured to avoid having to review all the structure since the principle was to significantly increase the power. We had an appropriation of weight that allowed us to design a pretty close final weight of the original Prince de Bretagne .

Compared to Gitana 11 which was also boosted in 2010, what does it change?
V.L.P. : To change the three shells made out the arm, to change the roots of mast and wells of drift. So to find a balance by positioning the arm where it was needed, a contrario of Gitana 11, whose only floats have been changed and extended central hull. If we had imagined a new boat, we would have been on the same width. And with a distribution of volumes of fairly similar float. The ex-Sodebo was a trimaran, which lent itself perfectly to these transformations.
L.L. :With 7 knots of wind, Prince de Bretagne throws the paw! The behavior is pretty close to an ORMA trimaran with 20 feet long and more... The boat is harmonious, and if we had a boat nine, only the mast would have earned two meters in height. Originally, the ship weighed 6.9 tons, and in its current version, it made 7.3 tons!

And in terms of wing, one remains in the same values?
L.L. : It's the same rig, but we were able to increase the surface area of the Genoese and the gennakers because the length of central hull went 80 feet (24 meters): tack points were therefore able to be advanced. The surface of GV is identical, the Genoa is slightly larger and maxi gennaker won quite a lot of square meters. To be the lightest possible, we removed the mainsail hydraulics: the weight of cylinders and others turned into length of shell.

Caractéristiques de trimarans VPLP Rhum 2014The new Prince de Bretagne is very similar to Gitana 11 but with a higher although righting moment two times less important than that of Groupama 3. But the last winner of the Route du Rhum is proportionately much less canvas. The confrontation with the MOD70 promises to be thrilling in the medium... Note that the features of the new Sodebo (ex-Geronimo) are not yet announced.Document @ VPLP Is the behaviour of Prince de Bretagne satisfactory compared to Gitana 11?
L.L. : I've never sailed on Gitana 11 boosted! (Lionel Lemonchois had curtly thanked after won the Route du Rhum 2006 and cumulative records with the giant cata Gitana 13, ED) . But the feedback I had confirmed that his behaviour was very close to an ORMA, very fickle. We have gained in security, especially in longitudinal with six meters more. It does not fear when felled! Prince de Bretagne accelerates and pitch not up as much as Gitana 11.
V.L.P. : On Gitana 11, we left on forms of very powerful floats which sank very little - this also contributed to make fickle, especially because he tends to be soft. On Prince de Bretagne, forms are similar to those of a MOD70 and the boat is slightly burning, allowing positively transform a laughing stock under acceleration without having to push the bar.
L.L. :The balance is excellent because with the new drift to trimmer, the boat is either neutral or slightly burning. In the almost singlehanded under driver, a boat that has a tendency to climb into the wind is healthier and downwind, a boat that restarts itself, it is more efficient!

Since the water in October 2012, how many outputs at sea?
L.L. : We started to navigate in January and is cumulated more than 20 days at sea. Lack us still exits in heavy weather, but on rise in power. For the moment, the boat corresponds perfectly to what I imagined: very healthy, very pleasant, quick and easy to carry. There are still a few small improvements possible, like the change of the central rudder, currently on the transom and we could develop further, suspended under the hull. There are some files that I preferred set up after sailing: the Route du Rhum is in over a year!

Banque Populaire VII : première sortieApril 18, 2013: first exit for Bank Populaire VII (ex-Groupama 3) and Armel le Cléac 'h. The boat has already aligned off the coast of Belle-île, more than 35 knots in around twenty knots of wind...Photo @ Yvan Zedda Sea & Co

The fact of having achieved Prince de Bretagne has apparently created vocations for the next Route du Rhum, precisely. Theoretically, who will win?
V.L.P. : Banque Populaire VII (ex -Groupama 3) has so far not changed. Armel Le Cléac ' h is in the getting started phase and the boat had already well adapted to the solitaire for Franck Cammas. It measures 100 feet (30,50 m) with a four-metre mast above: it has a power of 160 m.t. while Prince de Bretagne is approximately 70 m.t.. But these boats there single-handed sail not 100% of their potential. Bank Pop VII has more reserve, but one can imagine that it will be often led to 70%, while Prince de Bretagne will instead to 85%. Armel is not going to be able to afford to change sail too often and gybes are difficult and long. But his boat has more inertia in the seas and more security reserve in grain... Theoretically, Lionel will be more comfortable to fit a diverse weather. In fact, the two boats are likely not to follow the same path on the Route du Rhum! Bank Populaire VII should favour a route with the least possible manoeuvres, much like in 2010. with Franck Cammas - but, for the next edition, which can predict that there will not be three depressions to negotiate out of the channel? It is therefore impossible to know how much it must degrade the speed of one and the other vessel polar and which will be the first in Pointe-à-Pitre...
L.L. : On Bank Populaire VII, it will be hard to be in the good 'range' of sailing at all times. If the weather is fickle, I would have easier to adapt. We know that the first coming out of the train of depressions to touch the trade winds escapes... Remains to be seen if this will unfold as in 2010 or as in 2006! I believe that the key is to feel good about his boat, with confidence, not to be exceeded. The Route du Rhum is a lonely race! I do not at all feel frustrated not navigate on the ex -Groupama 3.

And from the two planes Nigel Irens/Benoît Cabaret, Sodebo and Idec ?
L.L. : I'm less worried... It will also depend on the weather, but the Route du Rhum, is not that of about in the breeze.
V.L.P. : I think that Prince de Bretagne is faster, not all the time, especially to the close, but on the whole route, Yes.

Comparatif Prince de Bretagne, Gitana 11, Groupama 3The new Prince de Bretagne (left) is positioned as an intermediate trimaran Gitana 11 (in the centre) and the ex-Groupama 3 (right). Without claiming to be the same potential in the breeze as the previous winner of the Route du Rhum 2010, Lionel Lemonchois mult will be more reactive than the ex-Groupama and easier to handle than Gitana...Document @ VPLP

And ex-Geronimo as Thomas Coville is transforming, it will be nearest Bank Populaire VII or Prince de Bretagne ?
V.L.P. : Clearly, the target from a big heavy boat (105 feet and 20 tons), was closer to the Groupama 3 (17 tonnes) concept. The new Sodebo should get closer the weight of Bank Populaire VII... And there is little difference in width between these two ships: 20 meters for the ex -Geronimo 21.20 metres for the ex -Groupama 3.

By changing the central hull and mast, but also the floats? Or by cutting the lower hull to have shapes similar to the ex -Groupama 3 ?
V.L.P. : A new central hull allows, as on Prince de Bretagne, change mat and wells of derivative roots, and choose suitable sail plan. In the end, the characteristics of the new Sodebo and Bank Populaire VII will be very close, with a power, a wing and a similar weight - they will have the same strengths and weak points that Prince de Bretagne... As to changes outside the central hull and rigging, it will depend on the budget of Thomas and his program over several years. The first deadline, is to be ready in Saint-Malo, which short still to transform all of a sudden.
L.L. : This comes very quickly, I know something! For our part, after the baptism in Roscoff Saturday, we go down to Trinidad for the Tour de Belle-Ile (4 May) and we put with great price Lesley in Douarnenez (5-6 May). This will be an opportunity to compete with Bank Populaire VII ! Then we go down to Valencia for the Route of the Princes (9-30 June). We are five for the tour of Europe with Mathieu Souben, Fred Le Peutrec, Jean-Luc Nélias and Alex Pela. We will be the only ultimate multihull but we will have the reference of the MOD70: in the little time at the close with their large gennaker, they are very fast!

And what about the 50-foot Prince de Bretagne?
L.L. : Gilles Lamiré is currently redeem him: it should take possession next week with its own partners (the Saint-Malo agglomération) to align with the Princes road.

 

Destremau Sailing News TV video covering the christening of the new Prince De Bretagne Maxi trimaran.

 

The following link covers the 77' maxi trimaran Gitana XI and the modifications that it has undergone over the years.

http://www.gitana-team.com/en/event.page.aspx?eventid=85&category=boats&page=gitana_11_2012.html

The boat started out as the ORMA60 Belgacom and was extended to 77' it has had mixed results over the years and while not a slug by any means has not proved to be an outstanding success. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against the new Prince de Bretagne Maxi of Lionel Lemanchois.

 

Not about the Route Du Rhum specifically but some of the main multihull competitors are going to go head to head at the Grand Prix Guyader and Tour de Belle Isle:

Here is the rough bing translate of the following article by Axel Capron:

http://www.sports.fr/voile/articles...der-les-multicoques-font-leur-rentree-621308/

Offshore racing season really began at the beginning of the month of may with two events, the Tour de Belle - island and Grand Prix Guyader, which will give the opportunity to the multihulls of all sizes to offer first confrontations. We think including the new Prince de Bretagne of Lionel Lemonchois, the Bank Populaire VII of Armel Le Cléac ' h, the MOD70 and the Multi50.

Brittany waters will bubble at the end of week! Douarnenez in La Trinité-sur-Mer, where respectively compete for Grand Prix Guyader (3-5 May) and the Tour de Belle-Ile (4 May), multihulls will be at the party after a winter 2012-13 media dominated on the Vendée Globe Imoca class monohulls. Some Imoca incidentally also benefit from the beginning of the month of May to make their re-entry (Akena Verandas on the Tour de Belle-Ile, master cock, Safran, Initiatives heart, Groupe Bel in Douarnenez), but it is on the trimarans will have attention with first clashes expected share and other Atlantic water plan.

The Tour de Belle-Ile will thus provide an opportunity for Lionel Lemonchois to try out racing his new Prince de Bretagne, trimaran of 80 feet (24.38 meters) which is other than the old Orma (60 feet, 18.28 meters) from Thomas Coville, Sodebo. After a year of construction of elongation in Vannes, the vessel proceeded to water last October, he sailed since January and his skipper does not hide his haste to do battle with the competition, history of measuring the potential of his steed. "It is clear that we have wanted to run with the boat, there's nothing better that to have competitors to feel where it is in the capacity of the boat," he says on the site of the Tour de Belle-Ile. And that fall well, since Norman has just found competitor facing him in the person of its former Gitana 11, with which he won the Route du Rhum 2006, record key, extended from 77 feet the same philosophy as that of Prince de Bretagne.

"Ours, I think, is more successful," considers Lemonchois, while in the opposite, Sébastien Josse, double camp taking this Tour de Belle - Island, which meet more than 500 boats on the same starting line, waiting to see: "Prince de Bretagne is a little bigger, he has no doubt of the things that we do not, but there is no tilting mast. "This first confrontation looks super interesting."A confrontation that is summarize elsewhere not to this single duel, as a third grand multihull will part, MOD70 Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) which, if the conditions are favourable, could well play the spoilsports.

Debut for Bank popular VII

Of the MOD70, there is also in Douarnenez on GP Lesley, with the debut of Jean-Pierre Dick at the helm of his new Virbac-Paprec, nice, after more than a decade dedicated to the Vendée Globe and the Imoca class, having decided to go have fun on three hulls. And to fill his lack of experience, it is surrounded by a "friendly to the skills crew" with denominator common "experience of the offshore race" found among others at Vincent Riou, Roland Jourdain, or Thierry Duprey. In southern Finistère, the VP Boys in découdront with Oman Air's Sidney Gavignet, which hosts including aboard her Irish multi-card Damian Foxall.

Multihulls again with the presence at Douarnenez from a beautiful fleet of Multi 50, the tenors of the class of the 50-foot trimarans that are Actual (Yves Le Blévec, also on Tour of Belle - île), master Jacques (Loïc Féquet) and ˜windowâ-Cardinal (Erwan Le Roux), welcoming a new kid in the person of Lalou Roucayrol coming to water his brand new Arkema-Francepending Gilles Lamiré who bought the former Prince of Brittany. Finally, finally, the largest multihull of this fleet will be also on le Guyader GP, it will be Bank Populaire VII, former Groupama 3 of Franck Cammas and Armel Le Cléac ' h, second of the Vendée Globe, comes from taking charge. And as the Saint-Politain is not rancorous, it embeds this big weekend time that deprived him of victory on the tour of the world for a little more than three hours, François Gabart.

All this small world, except the latter, will be then in June for a new tour of Europe for the multihulls, the Route des Princes, that will take from Valencia to the Morlaix Bay passing through Lisbon, Dublin Bay and Plymouth, before the final bouquet will be the Transat Jacques-Vabre, that only MOD70 will compete, the Organization (but also other classes)did not want to open the race to the larger units.