What does Michel Desjoyeaux think about the latest generation of IMOCA monohulls, which have been built for the next Vendée Globe? We asked the twice winner of the race that very question. Here’s what he told us.
Michel Desjoyeaux: There are two boats I know particularly well, of course. My old Foncia 2, now in the hands of Armel Le Cléac'h under the name of Banque Populaire and François Gabart’s new boat (Macif). For me, they’re more or less the same, with just a few minor differences. Personally I believe they are the boats that have made the most of the constraints imposed when the class rules were last modified, in particular concerning the maximum righting moment. Because we stuck with Farr rudders, they are very light at the helm. That means you don’t have to give the autopilots too much work and you consume less energy."
What about the new Virbac-Paprec 3?
MD: "Jean-Pierre Dick’s boat is part of the same family. We’re talking about the same generation of boat, with a hull design which is similar to what you find with Macif and the old Foncia. We’re looking at more or less the same type of appendage design. I think the performance of these three boats will be very close. After that, fortunately a lot of what happens in terms of performance is down to the sailor and the way he sails his boat.”
What about the brand new Kouyoumdjian designed Cheminées Poujoulat?
MD: “I can’t really say much about her, as I haven’t seen her sailing that much, but I’m not convinced by the idea of moving back the position of the cockpit in light conditions. She’s certainly going to be very demanding for her skipper (Bernard Stamm) and not that comfortable, as the big bow section does not cut through the water that easily.”
What are the differences between the new PRB and Safran ?
MD: "If we’re talking about Vincent Riou’s new PRB, it’s a bit different, as she is basically the 2009 IMOCA Class rules version of Marc Guillemot’s Safran, but with a 70 cm shorter mast and with outriggers, which means a difference in performance: in theory, PRB is likely to be less at ease in light conditions than Safran, but the advantage will be the other way around in stronger winds, as in these conditions, the new PRB will not have that extra bit of mast, which serves no purpose."
An example of the changes that have occurred with the most recent boats?
MD: "The angle that has been given to the axis of rotation for the keel. The front part is higher up, which means that the keel is angled and can be seen as a foil, which helps lift the boat up. On the Farr designed boats this angle was 2 degrees, but 5 on Safran and now we’re up to 7.5."
So in conclusion?
MD: "If we had to place the boats in order the newer projects would come out on top, but the sailors are good enough to cope with the difference between their boats. During the training sessions, those with good boats were able to do well and sail well all the time. Banque Populaire is very much at ease with Armel Le Cléac'h for example. François Gabart and Macif still have a bit of a way to go, but that’s only normal."
