Posts tagged France

20
Sep 19

Onboard the IMOCA 60 Groupe Apicil

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º29’02″N 05º17'02″W

Onboard the IMOCA 60 Groupe Apicil with skippers: Damien Seguin and Yoann Richomme during the 48 hours race Le Défi Azimut. Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France.Onboard the IMOCA 60 Groupe Apicil, skippers: Damien Seguin and Yoann Richomme during the 48 hours race Defi Azimut.
The Défi Azimut is an atypical event in the offshore race world. It’s the meeting between the IMOCA class which gathers together the skippers of the Vendée Globe and the Lorient-based company Azimut. It also aims to combine performance, innovation and strategy. It combines the best level of sailing competition with a lot of friendliness.

With just over a month to go to the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, the event was a test for many of the boats, whether they were old or new, foilers or not. There was a lot to see at every level and the weather conditions were ideal.

Out of the twenty boats ranked at the finish, there were 12 foilers and 8 non-foilers, three of which made it to the top ten.

Rankings for the 48-hour race
1. Charal (Beyou-Pratt): 1d 18h 43 mins 46s (foils)
2. PRB (Escoffier-Lunven): 1d 20h 08 mins 52s (foils)
3. 11th Hour (Enright-Bidegorry): 1d 20h 45 mins 47s (foils)
4. Maitre CoQ IV (Bestaven-Jourdain): 1d 21h 19 mins 08s (foils)
5. Groupe Apicil (Seguin-Richomme): 1d 22h 11 mins 26s (daggerboards)
6. Banque Populaire X (Cremer-Le Cleac’h): 1d 22h 16 mins 51s (daggerboards)
7. Initiatives Cœur (Davies-Meilhat): 1d 22h 18 mins 31s (foils)
8. MACSF (Joschke-Lagraviere): 1d 23h 42 mins 27s (foils)
9. V&B Mayenne (Sorel-Le Brec): 2d 00h 14 mins 48s (daggerboards)
10. Bureau Vallee 2 (Burton-Beaudart): 2d 00h 20 mins 54s (foils)

Photo assignment for the Groupe APICIL

https://www.groupe-apicil.com/nos-engagements/sponsoring-voile/
Onboard the IMOCA 60 Groupe Apicil with skippers: Damien Seguin and Yoann Richomme during the 48 hours race Le Défi Azimut. Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France.

18
Mar 19

Loïck Peyron & Amélie Grassi

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º40’30″N 03º23'45″W

Training Session with Loïck Peyron and Amélie Grassi onboard a Figaro Beneteau 3, preparing for the Sardinha Cup and for La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro.Training Session with Loïck Peyron and Amélie Grassi onboard a Figaro Beneteau 3, preparing for the Sardinha Cup and for La Solitaire Urgo Le Figaro.

Photo assignment for Loïck Peyron.

12
Mar 19

LOÏCK PEYRON & ACTION ENFANCE – FIGARO BENETEAU 3

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º39’54″N 03º29'33″W

Training Session with Loïck Peyron onboard a Figaro Beneteau 3.Training Session with Loïck Peyron onboard a Figaro Beneteau 3 Action Enfance.
The Figaro Beneteau 3 is the first production foiling one-design monohull ever to be designed. A distillation of technology and innovation, it results from a collaboration between group Beneteau’s best experts and the Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost (VPLP) office.

Photo assignment for Loïck Peyron.Training Session with Loïck Peyron onboard a Figaro Beneteau 3.

12
Oct 18

Yoann Richomme and the Black Mamba

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º32’42″N 03º18'48″W

The Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) Black Mamba for the skipper Yoann Richomme training for the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe 2018.Last opportunities for Yoann Richomme to test single-handed set-up in race mode his Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) “Black Mamba” – “Veedol” ahead of November’s solo transatlantic Route du Rhum race from St Malo to Guadeloupe.
The Lift 40 was built at Gepeto Composite and designed by Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group, Lorient Keroman Submarine Base, Brittany, France.

Photo assignment for Yoann Richomme.

http://www.yoannrichomme.fr
Onboard The Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) Black Mamba-Veedol with the skipper Yoann Richomme training for the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe 2018.

17
Jul 18

Francis Joyon IDEC Sport

La Trinité-sur-Mer, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º26’54″N 02º59'28″W

Onboard the trimaran IDEC SPORT skippered by Francis Joyon, preparing to take part in "La Route du Rhum", La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France.Onboard the trimaran IDEC SPORT skippered by Francis Joyon, preparing to take part in “La Route du Rhum” destination Guadeloupe.

FRANCIS JOYON LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD ROUTE DU RHUM

It was a busy, fruitful spring for Francis Joyon and his team, who are preparing for the big event of the year, the Route du Rhum, destination Guadeloupe, the fortieth edition of which starts from St. Malo on 4th November. The skipper of IDEC SPORT told us he has “filled his notebook with pages and pages of observations,” about the thousands of little improvements that can be made to his boat, which already holds the Jules Verne Trophy, but which will help make her ideally prepared for solo sailing.

Francis will be doing a lot of sailing this summer with daily trips, aimed at finding the right settings and fully understanding the new foils, in particular in stronger winds than those they encountered in the Mediterranean. It will then be time for more advanced solo sailing. Since his successful, yet brief Atlantic crossing record in July 2017, Francis Joyon has felt perfectly at ease aboard his impressive boat. In Nice he was given the go ahead by the French Sailing Federation to use the famous bicycle out on the deck, which works the winches using leg power.

Comfort and ease

While the main part of the work that is being done to prepare the boat for the Route du Rhum involves getting to grips with the new foils added last winter to the IDEC SPORT boat, which already performed exceptionally well and safely, there is now a long list of minor improvements that Francis Joyon would like to see to offer more comfort and ease when sailing his boat single-handedly. “Over the past few weeks we learnt a lot about how to make the most of the foils,” explained Francis Joyon, “understanding the angle to apply depending on wind conditions. We still need to see what happens in stronger winds. There are a lot of tiny details to work on with the crew during the summer before I set off alone.”
Pleased with the enhanced performance of the boat that has come with the new shape of foil and the T-shaped rudders, Francis is looking ahead to getting the boat in solo mode for the Route du Rhum and preparing her for stronger winds. “I need to sail in winds of twenty knots or more to identify the angles and settings for those conditions. The extra work on the autopilots will be done alongside these studies.”

Simple and smooth

Joyon and his team are also aiming to make the manoeuvres as simple as possible. “All of the lines come back to the cockpit and the manoeuvres have to be smooth,” he added. “I’m trying to reduce the friction and the risk of wear and tear by using small blocks and thinner lines. Everything that makes the sailor’s job easier is a help when sailing solo. During my solo record attempt last year, the boat seemed to be particularly difficult to work alone. But after that first solo transatlantic crossing on her, I was starting to get to grips with her and today, manoeuvres seem to go much more smoothly. We have done a lot of work on the headsail furling systems and there too, there have been huge gains in time and performance.”

The bicycle gets the go ahead

Among the most visible modifications apart from the aforementioned foils, IDEC SPORT will be getting a new gennaker. “Our set of sails has already clocked up more than 60,000 miles, if you add together the two Jules Verne Trophy attempts and the two transatlantic crossings. It’s time for a new gennaker,” stressed Francis. The famous bicycle installed by Franck Cammas in 2007 when the VPLP designed boat was in the colours of Groupama, is back. Just like Cammas before him and Loïck Peyron in their winning Route du Rhum races, Joyon, who enjoys cycling, will also be using leg power to trim the headsails and mainsail when taking in a reef. “The bicycle doesn’t make it faster to set a gennaker, as this still takes a quarter of an hour. It does however offer greater comfort and makes it easier. I like cycling and I’m pleased that the French Sailing Federation has approved this change.”

Francis Joyon is quietly preparing for his seventh Route du Rhum in Southern Brittany. He has never won this sailing classic, but did finish second in 2010. Facing ever stronger competition with more advanced machines, the holder of the Jules Verne Trophy surprises everyone by remaining relaxed and enthusiastic. “I’ll be doing my utmost to have a great race between St. Malo and Pointe à Pitre. For my seventh attempt, it would be nice to succeed for once…”

https://www.idecsport-sailing.com/
Onboard the trimaran IDEC SPORT skippered by Francis Joyon, preparing to take part in "La Route du Rhum", La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France.

26
Jun 18

Yoann Richomme Class 40 Launch

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º43’39″N 03º22'10″W

Launch of the Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) "Black Mamba" for the skipper Yoann Richomme before the Route du Rhum 2018 built at Gepeto Composite and designed by Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group, Lorient Keroman Submarine Base, Brittany, France.Launch of the Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) “Black Mamba” for the skipper Yoann Richomme before the Route du Rhum 2018 built at Gepeto Composite and designed by Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group.

Photo assignment for Yoann Richomme
http://www.yoannrichomme.fr/

08
May 18

Gepeto Composite – Class 40

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º43’44″N 03º22'03″W

Preparation of the Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) for the skipper Yoann Richomme before the Route du Rhum 2018 at Gepeto Composite.<br />
Gepeto Composites is based in Lorient Keroman Submarine Base, Brittany, France.Construction is now well underway at Gepeto Composite for the Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) designed by naval architect Marc Lombard Yacht Design Group for the skipper Yoann Richomme and due for launch in June. The ultimate goal for the boat is the 2018 Route du Rhum, starting on the 4 of November.

https://gepetocomposite.com/
Preparation of the Lift 40 ( Class 40 ) for the skipper Yoann Richomme before the Route du Rhum 2018 at Gepeto Composite.<br />
Gepeto Composites is based in Lorient Keroman Submarine Base, Brittany, France.

17
Dec 17

Onboard the Maxi Trimaran MACIF

Atlantic Ocean, 46º52’28″N 05º40'54″W

24 hours with French sailor François Gabart onboard  his 100ft trimaran MACIFdesigned by the VPLP design team, this 30-metre wide, 21 metre wide boat has been designed for solo sailing. A light boat (14.5 tonnes) with very fine hulls.
Francois Gabart breaks Solo Round the World Record.
Departure Sat Nov 4, 2017
Arrival Sun Dec 17, 2017

Solo Round the World Tour 42D 16h 40min 35s
Max Speed 47 knots
Average Speed 27,2 Knots
Max Average in 24hs 35,2 Knots
Max dist traveled 24hs 851 NM
Actual dist traveled 27859,7 NM

Reference Time Records:

Max advance vs Coville’s Record 2799,8 NM
Ouessant / Good Hope 11D 20h 10min
Ouessant / Cape Agulhas 11D 22h 20min
Ouessant / Cape Leeuwin 19D 14h 10min
Ouessant / Cape Horn 29D 03h 15min
Ouessant / Equator turn around 36D 01h 30min
Ocean Pacific Crossing 7D 15h 15min
Cape Horn / Equator 6D 22h 15min
Equator/Equator 30D 4h 45min

Photo assignment for GQ Magazine.

http://www.gqmagazine.fr/tudor/danslapeaude/francoisgabart24 hours with French sailor François Gabart onboard  his 100ft trimaran MACIFdesigned by the VPLP design team, this 30-metre wide, 21 metre wide boat has been designed for solo sailing. A light boat (14.5 tonnes) with very fine hulls.

12
Nov 17

SEAir Mini 747

Lorient, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º43’39″N 03º22'09″W

The 6,50m long monohull, ground-breaking Magnum 747 prototype, designed and built by David Raison, was transformed into a flight demonstrator.SEAir Mini 747<br />
The 6,50m long monohull, ground-breaking Magnum 747 prototype, designed and built by David Raison.

18
Sep 17

YVES PARLIER

La Teste de Buch, Gironde, France 44º36'56″N 01º08'53″W

Arcachon Bay (in French, the Bassin d'Arcachon, and known locally simply as "le Bassin") is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of FranceYves Parlier is a French sailor. He is very well known in the offshore sailing world and generally in France, where he was elected France’s top sports personality in 2002. Nicknamed “The extra-terrestrial” for his amazing exploits and capabilities.Yves Parlier is in the same mould as Eric Tabarly, a visionary skipper who plays an active role in the development of top level sailing. He is behind many new and effective solutions in fields as varied as naval architecture, the use of composite materials or the perfecting of systems to aid navigation. In 2014 he launched Beyond the Sea to develop ways of using very large kites for marine propulsion. The aim, of course, is to save energy.

http://www.beyond-the-sea.com