What do you think about recent decisions taken in the IMOCA class about changes to class rules?
First of all, as a designer, we can never be that pleased about rules limiting what we would like to explore. But having said that, we can fully understand what the IMOCA is trying to do by limiting the power of the boats… On the other hand, the further the technology advances the more the sailors are able to deal with larger sail surfaces. The debate concerning power and weight was a bit excessive in my opinion: for me designing a winning boat requires you to come up with a boat that is powerful and light at the same time!

That perfect compromise is something rather elusive though, isn’t it?
Let’s not forget either that the ideal boat needs to be powerful, light ... and solid. We should remember that the Vendée Globe, which remains the highlight of the racing circuit, is a non-stop single-handed round the world race without external assistance. It’s relatively easy to come up with a boat that is light and powerful. But one that is sturdy too is something else. In a sense we can say that the rules governing the Vendée Globe are the best we can imagine, as they force those involved to consider all of the parameters that make a boat a good performer and safe at the same time… The fact that this framework has been defined in a very simple way is one of the best things that could happen to ocean racing. Indeed, the general public understands that.

We still come away with the impression that with each Vendée Globe, certain designers are more in fashion than others?
That’s quite logical if you think about it. We work on projects costing several million euros, so we can understand why racers and their partners take very similar roads. It’s a way of being reassured and convincing your sponsor. But then, fashion changes quickly. In any case, when we look closely, the hulls look more and more similar to each other. There are no longer any extreme choices, as we saw back in the first Vendée Globe races… Over time, differences tend to disappear.

We can suppose that the relationship between the designer and the sailor is a vital element…
Building a boat is a technical adventure, but is also based on a psychological foundation. The human aspect of the adventure can be felt from the first choices. We have to know the sailor and understand how he sees this development stage… You can well imagine that we don’t work the same way with Jean Le Cam or Michel Desjoyeaux, who are both builders and racers, as we would with a sailor going for his first experience in an Open 60.

We’ve seen too that a lot of sailors go for the same hull moulds. Is this the first step towards a one-design boat?
No, because as we just said, the differences in hull design are smaller and smaller. What is going to count is the ease of handling the boat, the appendages (even if the new rules will limit us in this area, where there is still a lot to explore), the positioning of the ballast tanks… And let’s not forget that by using the same mould you can achieve substantial savings. To finish, we’ve already seen with Michel Desjoyeaux’s PRB, which was handed over to Vincent Riou, that with the same hull mould, we can come up with two significantly different boats. Some of the 2008 boats are likely to be perfect for 2012, particularly as the new rules impose a limit on the power allowed.

One final question. Will there be any new Finot-Conq designs lining up at the start of the next Vendée Globe?
It’s a bit early to say, but we have indeed been in contact with several potential competitors for 2012. First they will however need to get their budget together and that is quite a different game…