Ocean Racing Magazine - #6 - December 2007 & January 2008 - (Page 50)

MULTIHULLS WHAT SORT OF TRIMARANS will there be tomorrow? While it takes nothing away from the victory of the Orma trimaran, Groupama sailed by Franck Cammas and Stève Ravussin in the Transat Jacques Vabre, this would appear to be the swansong for the sixty-foot open trimarans. With only five boats lining up at the start of the race, this is likely to be the case. The great adventure is almost over. We could spend hours talking about their faults, their relative fragility, their prohibitive cost, their failed attempt to interest the media (particularly the Grand Prix formula), it can nevertheless be said that these boats won everything during their reign, smashing all the records possible over the past decade. It’s just that now, it’s over. As nature does not like a vacuum, we need to take a look at the future of giant ocean racing monohulls. Stève Ravussin, who willingly admits: «monohulls don’t interest me. The day there are no more multis, I’ll stop sailing » may reassure: the present Orma multihulls will be replaced, and probably as early as 2009, but by what? There are currently two competing projects. Orma already has all the details about one-design 70-foot trimarans, which it is said interest Groupama and Banque Populaire. As for Crêpes Whaou!, partner to the 50-foot trimaran of the same name, which is sailed by FranckYves Escoffier from Saint-Malo, they wish to develop a circuit with sisterships of their fifteen metre multihull. Skippers like Victorien Erussard and Corentin Douguet The end of these fabulous machines, the 60-foot Orma multihulls, raises the question of what will replace them on the sailing scene. Fifty or seventy footers? That is the question for the two project leaders in this area for the Orma and Crêpes Whaou! Here’s what they have to say. are interested. Complementary or rival projects? Today each party is eyeing up the opposition, waiting for the other to make a move. In Le Havre, in the background to the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, there was the first stormy, yet polite exchange, between the two… before they were asked about their future. Here are their opinions, which clearly diverge. 70 foot boat Franck David (Orma) : The seventy-foot One Design planned by the ORMA for 2009 . ©D.R What has happened to the 70foot one-design project? The situation is clear. We have « 5 boats in said openly 2009, a cir- what we would like to do. A cuit with 12 reliable 70-foot by 2011» one-design trimaran, capable of ocean sailing and at a reasonable cost. These boats will sail more than the current 60-footers, via a European circuit, major, transatlantic races and the return voyage. Currently we are in a skipper and owner selection phase. By the first of November, we had five firm proposals from three different countries: France, Switzerland and England. The fleet will be limited to 12 boats. Our goal is to have five boats in 2009, 8 in 2010 and 12 in 2011. Three well-known yards have been contacted for the construction. We can’t yet give any details about them. 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