Pre-emptive strike

Like it or not, changes are afoot in the rules governing the Imoca 60 class. Higher levels of competition driven by returning, experienced skippers, more boats and increased funding have led to the design of the most powerful and complex Open 60s ever seen. From having had the highest righting moment boat in the last Vendée our own latest designs for 2008 are far from the most extreme in terms of power this time around (huge effort has, however, gone into reducing overall drag and increasing sailing efficiency).

Even so, the machines our clients will be competing aboard in November are very different from our first foray into the Open 60 as designers. Typically, across the fleet, boats designed for the 2008 Vendée Globe have righting moments 40-50 per cent higher than eight years ago, since many are either wider or carrying between five and six tonnes of water ballast. To put it into context the boats are measuring in 1,000kg lighter, while 500kg heavier on the bulb and the rigs are 10ft taller and flying all masthead sails. They are tough boats to sail and the more powerful they are the tougher it gets, especially alone.

While Imoca has been working hard at delivering more exposure for the sponsors, for some time there has been a fear that these increased costs and complexity are driving the class in the same direction as the now defunct Orma 60 trimarans. Having sat on Imoca’s technical committee for four years this has been the subject of numerous discussions, but the changes needed to reverse this process will always be hard to agree upon because of the many vested interests...

To read the remainder of this and many other articles, please purchase your copy of the October 2008 edition of Seahorse International Sailing available at selected newsstands or by calling: + 44 (0) 1590 671899 or by email at: subscriptions@seahorse.co.uk

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