Franck Cammas and crew have set off on their attempt to break their own transatlantic record under sail. It is well worth going to their site, if only to see the amazing video on the front page of the boat doing its thing in the ocean. This is another Monster Multihull, but designed to handle the rigours of crossing an ocean. Having done that myself (singelhanded on a 28 foot racing trimaran) I have some experience of what this is like.
These guys will have to sail at an average speed in excess of 33 knots to beat their own record! The current record is 4 days, 3 hours, 57 Minutes and 54 seconds – faster than most passenger ships.
Groupama 3 doing what she does best
A lot depends on the weather – one of the problems with a crossing at this speed is that you go faster than the weather fronts, so there is a lot of strategy finding the right conditions and staying in them as long as possible. According to Sylvain Mondon from Meteo France – their onshore router – “A line of stormy squalls from the SW hit New York during the course of the afternoon and produced a considerable wind increase on its way through. This enabled us to take the start a little earlier than we initially planned.”
To stand a chance of beating her own reference time set on 24th July 2007, Groupama 3 will have to cross the finish line off Lizard Point, the South-West tip of Britain, prior to Monday 3rd August at 00h 09′ 10” UTC.
We wish her all of the best!
It is hotting up in the “spend and ignore the recession” America’s Cup multihull build race. BMW Oracle have launched a new version of their 90 foot trimaran, and so far have not lodged the customs house papers so they can still change it further.
BMW Oracle Trimaran V2 sea trials off San Diego (Photo Gilles Martin-Raget)
Its hard to get an idea of just how big this beast is from that photo. The little glitches at the end of the boom are people! Take a look at the following pic for a better idea as to the scale …
How big is bog? BMW Oracle closer up during sea trials off San Diego (Photo Gilles Martin-Raget)
While all that goes on the Swiss are progressin as well, emplying the services of the biggest and most powerful helicopter in the world – the Mil Mi-26 – to carry the hull in to Lake Geneva.
Alinghi carried into Lake Geneva by Helicopter (Photo by Bruno Cocozza/Alinghi)
The Swiss are opting for a Cat instead of a Tri which would be faster particularly in light air, but poses significant build and design challenges (there is an issue with a huge mast pushing down on an area where there is no boat – in the middle).
There is also a bit of a mystery surrounding a huge V8 mounted on the back beam. I presume it is related to hydraulics – there are numerous tubes leading away from it. Not sure how all that works under the rules!
The mystery V8 on the rear of the Alinghi cat (Photo by Philippe Chapin)
A final pic of the boat just before lift off showing the sheer scale of it…
Alinghi on the tarmac before liftoff (Photo by Philippe Chapin)
Alinghi unveiled their base defender on the weekend. I say base because they may modify it extensively before it is final. For one thing the current soft sail configuration may be changed to a solid rig although I think that is unlikely given the engineering challenges involved. From the Alinghi website ….
“Alinghi, the Defender of the 33rd America’s Cup, unveiled its 90ft catamaran this weekend in Villeneuve, Switzerland. This multihull represents a culmination of Swiss multihull heritage and is the first step in Alinghi’s development process towards the 33rd America’s Cup in February 2010. The boat will be launched by helicopter next week on Lake Geneva before the process of ‘debugging’ begins and the boat goes sailing for the first time. “
Alinghi AL-5 construction. Villeneuve boatyard. Photo: © Carlo Borlenghi/Alinghi
I dont know how many of you have followed this saga of the Americas cup. It now looks like the race may take place in giant multihulls. Found this piccie on the web and I have to say it is just awesome – Larry Ellison’s BMW Oracle trimaran – 30 knots in 8 knots of breeze anyone? I wonder how it would perform in 25 knots though ….
BMW Oracle Trimaran
More pics available here at Yachts and Boating.
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