Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008 - (Page 29)

IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE GREAT SINGLE-HANDED OCEAN RACES, Michel Desjoyeaux has practically won them all. First in the second leg of the Mini Transat 1991, three times winner in the Solitaire du Figaro (1992, 1998, 2007), winner in the Vendée Globe (2000), the Route du Rhum (2002), The Transat (2004). However, the youngest member of a family of seven is not just an expert at single-handed sailing: there is a also a list of successes that started with a win in the Twostar in 1990 racing a multihull with Jean Maurel, followed by a series of places on the podium and results that can only be described as honourable in almost every racing series. What still motivates this fan of performance, who has a keen eye for new technology, someone, who never ceases to innovate, a skipper, who is always ready to get his hands dirty? In recent times, you seem to be very attentive to all the different sailing projects, which are appearing… " Of course! I watch what is going on in the America’s Cup. I shall be following Groupama 3’s record with Joyon and Coville. I monitored closely the Mini Transat (well done Yves !)… Of course, I’m interested in all sorts of sailing, in the technology that is being developed and everything that enables boats to sail more quickly and makes them more enjoyable." There have never been as many boats in all the monohull categories (Mini, Figaro, Class’40, IMOCA)… " That just goes to show that based on these figures, sailing is doing well. It is up to us, racers and organisers, to ensure that we aren’t selling projects that don’t really work. It’s a good sign, when there are so many different things happening, as that means it is open to all sorts of budget, so a wide range of sponsors. However, we must not get confused with formula One racing: when the IMOCA was so critical of the ORMA class after the Route du Rhum 2002, that was not very positive!" race, all alone… I can’t wait to be back out there!" It feels like there is the same explosion of sailing in France as back in the mid-eighties with the maxi-multihulls, half-tonners, and the Admiral’s Cup… " It’s true: just like the tide, there is an ebb and flow… ORMA trimarans are in a trough, but they’ll be back: they are quite exceptional boats! Even those, who are used to maxi-multihulls say the same thing. For me, there are no boats like them: they must remain in the spotlight, but I don’t believe onedesign boats are the solution. The leading categories in a sporting event are always the prototypes…" Don’t you fear that the IMOCA monohulls, which have had such a great development phase leading up to the Vendée Globe, risk falling into the same trap as the ORMA trimarans in 2002? " I just hope that sailors remain aware that sailing in the deep south and crossing the Atlantic are two distinct things. In a normal year, the South is closer to the 2002 Rhum… And in 2006 in the Rhum, we all made it through without any hitches! The sea is never the same two days running: the Vendée Globe really took off in its difficult moments, particularly in 1996, and both the media and the general public are looking forward to a tough race. Sponsors are present too because their work involves taking risks: we can’t know what will happen next year… but some people are going to be disappointed!" Why the Vendée Globe again after winning it in 2000? "There are a lot of competitors! The competition is always that much more exciting when there is a top line-up. I enjoy sailing and particularly in this class, because there is a design phase, the build and a lot of preparation before a long, difficult, exciting In what way is the Jacques Vabre route interesting in preparing the Vendée Globe? "It is the first stretch of a round the world race and a longer transatlantic crossing than the Route du Rhum. Moreover, you have to return from Brazil, which I’ll be doing alone to qualify for the Vendée Globe. In the end, we’ll be covering quite some miles and with a great line-up: seventeen boats starting out, almost all candidates for the circumnavigation!" Why choose a Farr design for the new Foncia project? " Already back in 1999, I was in contact with the Farr team, but at that time, they could not get involved in this project, which was new to them, within the time frame. That’s why I turned to the Finot group. Eight years on, I pointed out to Vincent (Riou) that I wanted to work with Farr and we got together to make two similar boats in terms of their hulls. Bruce Farr was very busy with the America’s Cup in 2007, but continued to take an interest in the project. He was behind the first Virbac-Paprec in 2004, but four seasons on, there are already quite a few differences between the two designs from the same pen!" That makes a lot of new boats (fifteen), including six Farr designs! "Overall boat design tends to converge towards the same characteristics: there is the funnel effect, with larger beams and therefore more power. There are a few that are a bit different, but not as much as you might imagine reading about them! I did not contribute anything to discussions concerning the hull, as I don’t believe it’s my job, but for the deck layout, the cockpit, ease of handling, Mer Agitée was really involved in what went on. In the end, Foncia is 300 kilograms lighter than planned by the designer with a keel weigh slightly greater than initially plan- ned… We made weight savings everywhere, where we could. The boats from the latest generation are between 5.80 m and 6.00 m wide, with a displacement of between 8 and 8.5 tonnes, and a mast height of around 28-30 m. Let’s say that the two extremes are VM Matériaux (lightweight trend) and Pindar (super powerful trend)." What then are Foncia’s strong points? "Adaptability! She is a boat that is fast in all points of sailing and all wind strengths, but not necessarily the fastest in one particular condition. Foncia is more at ease downwind thanks to her light weight. Physically, these boats are very demanding, but not as much as a multihull, which is more than twice as powerful. The difference lies in the number of sails, which require more manoeuvres and more movement around the boat… The mainsail measures 175 m2, which is the same surface as my last trimaran, but in 22 knots of real wind, Géant sailed under full mainsail and solent, while Foncia sails with one reef and the staysail. However, we need a lot of canvas to get through the buffer zones, while the rest of the time, we sail quickly with a reef taken in." The difference lies in the number of sails What do you think about the decisions taken by IMOCA concerning the race calendar 2008-2012? "While the Transat Jacques Vabre is no longer to be counted in the championship, it remains in the programme, for those, who want to take part in it. This is a pointless argument getting us nowhere, between various people and the repercussions are light years away from a simple difference in opinion. I’m not on the IMOCA committee, as I have only Ocean Racing - december 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008

Cover
Edito
Contents
What they said
News
Portfolio - The news in the picture
Transat Jacques Vabre - Monohulls in power
In the words of the skipper - Michel Desjoyaux, A little bit more
Barcelona World Race - A couple sailing around the world
Imoca - Growth crisis in the Imoca class
Transat 6.5 - A whole series of records
Mini Class - Anatomy of a winner
Multihulls - What sort of trimarans tomorrow ?
Volvo Ocean Race - Second generation
Trials - Mach 45 : an unusual IRC
Match Racing - King Richard
Tactics - A good start
Portrait - Jacques Caraës
Lab - Tubular or wing mast ?
Forty years ago - Chichester, the lonely sea and the sky
Equipment - Shop window
New products - From the drawing board to the boatyard
Opinion - The mirage of worshipping technology

Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008