Just over a year after the end of the last Vendée Globe, Vincent Riou is getting ready to launch the first new generation monohull to be built for the next Vendée Globe. Following a construction lasting several months, the winner of the 2004 race will be revealing his new racing machine on Thursday in the presence of the designers, VPLP – Verdier, Jean-Jacques Laurent, the CEO of the Vendée based company that sponsors him and his technical team. The 60-foot IMOCA monohull, the fifth to be decked out in the colours of PRB, will be lowered into the water in Port La Foret before undergoing her righting test immediately afterwards. The mast will then be stepped in the middle of the afternoon. Her first sail is planned for next week.

 The recent winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre alongside Marc Guillemot on board Safran, would like to start his own 60-foot IMOCA campaign. Charles Caudrelier has given himself until the end of May to find the budget, which would enable him to line up for the start of the next single-handed round the world race. If he manages to achieve this, Charles Caudrelier’s objective is to set out to tackle the Everest of the Seas aboard “an eco-friendly boat, offering a high standard of performance, while fulfilling sustainable development goals,” according to the start-up Quantis, which has just announced their support for this project named “Eco-Think-Vendée Globe 2012

 After arriving in New Zealand in early February, Jean-Yves Gau, who has been working on the deck hardware and electronics on Virbac-Paprec gave us his first impressions on the construction of the boat: "Virbac-Paprec 3 is a fine boat, which has been well designed and is certainly the most complete of Jean Pierre's IMOCA 60s, as she is very different from the others. Now that Virbac-Paprec 3 has been taken out of the mould, I am in charge of fitting the deck hardware, the electronics and the power system aboard her. I'm currently working on the new nav console. A container will shortly be arriving in New Zealand containing the sails, deck hardware and the electronic box of tricks designed in Lorient, the computer equipment, the safety gear, the batteries and the clothing."

 The deck of Jean-Pierre Dick’s new Virbac-Paprec 3 has just been adjusted to the nearest millimetre in Auckland, New Zealand. Following the advice given by Mick Cookson (the owner of the yard of the same name), Jean-Pierre Dick and Nicolas Abiven have decided to start fitting out the boat (ballast tanks, hydraulic system) before sealing up the “box” three weeks from now. This should enable workers to be more efficient offering a higher quality finish.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on the appendages, the daggerboards and rudders, while the manufacture of the keel began on 17th January. Jean-Pierre Dick : “We are just about to begin the final stage of the assembly process. The next stages will involve fitting the deck hardware and electronics, and fitting out the inside of the boat (chart table, computer system, hydraulic system), while the mast is baking in the oven. There is therefore still a lot of work to do, but I’m quite happy for the moment as we are keeping to schedule. The boat is due to be launched as planned in early spring.”

The French sailor Marc Emig today announced his plans to become the first sailor from Marseilles to line up at the start of the Vendée Globe. Marc Emig: “The idea of taking part in the Vendée Globe is not something that just occurred to me out of the blue, as it seems like a natural step in my career after sailing for more than 17 years...". The Figaro racer from the Mediterranean has decided to turn his epic voyage around the world into an opportunity to fly the colours of his home city of Marseilles.

After winning the 2006 Route du Rhum in his Class40, the British sailor Phil Sharp would like to repeat this achievement again next winter, but this time aboard an IMOCA 60. He believes 2010 is a key year in his career, as taking part in the Route du Rhum and the Barcelona Race are steps on the way to his major goal: the 2012 Vendée Globe. Phil Sharp: "It is my primary goal is to get to the start line of this incredible adventure in order to strive to be the first British, and also non-French sailor, to win this epic race. It stands at the pinnacle of competitive sailing, whilst remaining one of the most challenging adventures in the world today.”