Posts tagged La Trinite sur Mer

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.

22
Aug 17

Charlie Capelle – Acapella

La Trinité-sur-Mer, Morbihan, Brittany, France 47º26’50″N 03º11'52″W

Acapella (the sister ship of Mike Birch famous Olympus) built by Walter Green in 1980 and skippered by Charlie Capelle, preparing to take part in  "La Route du Rhum" 2018, La Trinite-sur-Mer, Brittany, France.Acapella, the sister ship of Mike Birch famous Olympus, built by Walter Green in 1980 and skippered by Charlie Capelle, preparing to take part in “La Route du Rhum” 2018.

http://www.acapellaocean.com/

09
May 15

Tour de Belle-Ile

Belle-Ile, Brittany, France 47º23’38″N 3º15’21″W

_MG_2218

Tour de Belle-Ile 2015 onboard the Beneteau First 31.7 “Errol Flynn”, we had such a great time!! Thank you @SuperArlequin .

01
Aug 14

SEARCH Magazine

Sweden

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24
Jul 14

“HAPPY” with loick Peyron

La Trinité-sur-Mer / Le Pouliguen, Brittany, France 47º16’50″N 02º36'46″W

‘Happy’ (the sister ship of Mike Birch’s famous Olympus) skippered by Loick Peyron preparing to take part in this 10th transatlantic race "La Route du Rhum", La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France.

Loick Peyron has launched his Walter Greene trimaran and headed out for his first sail preparing to take part in “La Route du Rhum”. ‘Happy’ is the sister ship of Mike Birch’s famous Olympus.

“First training session on “HAPPY”, nothing but happiness. Small is beautiful !
So far so good. and very impatient to start my 49th crossing of the Atlantic.”
Look at that : this is Happy in Christophe’s eyes !! ”

Loick vient de mettre a l’eau son plan Walter Greene “Happy”; sister-ship du célèbre trimaran de Mike Birch Olympus. Il s’est élancé pour sa première sortie en mer dans la cadre de sa préparation à “La Route du Rhum”.

“Première séance d’entraînement sur “HAPPY”, rien que du bonheur!
Pas besoin d’être grand pour être beau. Jusqu’ici tout va bien, je suis impatient de débuter ma 49eme traversée de l’Atlantique.
C’est simple comme ça le bonheur dans les yeux de Christophe Launay !!.”

Loick Peyron

Photo assignment for Loick Peyron.

‘Happy’ (the sister ship of Mike Birch’s famous Olympus) skippered by Loick Peyron preparing to take part in this 10th transatlantic race "La Route du Rhum", La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France.

 

24
Dec 12

Helly Hansen

Global

19
Jul 11

Safran

Brittany, France 47°20'21"N 3°26'31"W

Published in Yachting World January 2012 issue.

If you ever needed a graphic description of just why all modern Open 60s have the protective cocoons they do, here it is. this is a shot of the military hardware company-sponsored SAFRAN during training for the Transat Jacques Vabre 2011 with skipper Marc Guillemot co/skipper Yann Eliés, which starts at the end of October from Le Havre, Normandy. The doublehanded TJV is one of France’s major ocean races, with the cream of the IMOCA and Class 40 crop on the line for the jaunt from France to Costa Rica.
Words: Alan Block

07
May 11

Tour de Belle-Ile 2011

Brittany, France 47º23’97″N 3º15’84″W

Bucking his preference for being in the thick of the action, Christophe Launay finally gets up in a chopper like the lazy photogs and shows why his is one of the very best. This shot from the incredible nearly 500 boat fleet at the Tour De Belle-Ile. The 77-foot maxi tri Gitana 11 broke the record in 2 hours and 42 minutes with Seb Josse at the helm, but nearly was overtaken at the end by Lionel Lemanchois on the super-fast Irens Multi 50 trimaran Prince De Bretagne.
Words: Alan Block

29
Apr 11

Interior-JP 54

La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France 47º35’85″N 3º01’29″W

20
Apr 11

M34 groupama Onboard

La Trinité sur Mer, Brittany , France 47°33'85"N 3°00'73"W

The 2011 Tour de France a la Voile might be lightly populated and it might take us all a long time before we get over our nostalgic love for days of the huge Mumm 30 fleets, but the big guns are ready to play in the new M34 and Christophe Launay was with Frank Cammas and his Groupama’s Sailing Team for some light air training in preparation for the huge Breton gathering at Spi Ouest.
Words: Alan Block