After the windless In-Port Race, a practice regatta was on the programme for the teams in the Ocean Race yesterday. The weather models did not promise much excitement for this one either. However, instead of an expected 160-degree turn from north-west to south-east, which would kill the breeze in the early afternoon, the wind stood at 14 to 16 knots, even 18 knots in gusts. It was going to be one of those days that burns itself indelibly into both sides of the brain.
The race committee sent the VO65 on a long up-and-down course at midday, a quarter of an hour before the Imoca 60. From the starting line in front of the harbour of Alicante, the course headed west-southwest to the Illa de Tabarca and back, about 20 nautical miles. Because the wind shifted slightly to the left, it was a kind of motorway trip: first at around 60 to 65 degrees to the wind to the island, then after rounding the buoys, back to the finish line on a beam reach of 120 to 130 degrees TWA.
Bright sunshine and mild temperatures of around 18 degrees provided the perfect setting for the regatta, which was not so much a real test of strength as a chance to give journalists and cameramen an impression of the work on board. The race organisers also used the trial run to test all of the competitors' means of communication, including satellite phones and e-mail.
We were on board Charlie Enright's "11th Hour Racing", the team with the longest preparation phase. It is the only team to have developed its Imoca specifically for The Ocean Race, i.e. for sailing with a crew and - not insignificantly - for a course via China that was originally planned differently.
This is why the Verdier design is more broad-based and less optimised for fast room sheet rides in the Southern Ocean. It is significantly longer in the waterline; the bow does not protrude nearly as far over the sea as on the more recent designs "Biotherm", "Holcim - PRB" and Boris Herrmann's "Malizia - Seaexplorer". The hull also has less of a keel, meaning a flatter underwater hull.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact this will have on the race, which now resembles the Vendée Globe route much more closely due to the cancellation of the stop in Asia. "It is what it is," says Amory Ross, the team's on-board reporter. "We'll make the best of it." Charlie Enright adds: "On all courses between 60 and 120 degrees TWA (the true angle of wind incidence, ed.) we feel very competitive." Only at lower prices were "a few percentage points of performance missing".
The team demonstrated its strength impressively right after the start. Although Enright was not the first to cross the line and started on the lee side of the field, it did not take long for "11th Hour Racing" to demonstrate its dominance - and that of the latest generation of foilers as a whole.
Initially travelling at a speed of 10 to 12 knots and between 15 and 18 degrees, a few moments later the boat, trimmed almost horizontally, was already racing across the water at 14 to 16, later 18 to 20 knots - and passing everyone, including the "Biotherm", which was initially sailing slightly to windward, sending a cloud of the finest swirling spray into the sun's rays.
The boat seemed to float - only now and then did the hull emit a gentle bump, caused by the waves, whose force is slightly dampened by the elasticity of the leefoil. It felt like being on a flying carpet, with the difference that the boat was only partially pushed out of the water. And that on "11th Hour" the high-frequency singing of foil, keel fin and rudder, familiar from other designs, was completely absent. A sublime moment in every sense of the word!
Sailing significantly faster than the wind on a deep upwind course, on boats built for all weathers - that's next-level offshore sailing
Amory Ross, who has already sailed around the world on a Volvo 70 and twice on a VO65, says: "We are perhaps five to ten per cent slower upwind than the previous classes, but 50 per cent faster when reaching." His crew colleague Simon "SciFi" Fisher, one of the most sought-after navigators and professional sailors, is therefore certain that records will be broken, at least the 24-hour record for the longest distance sailed. "We've already logged more than 560 nautical miles in training," he says, and also believes that 600-plus metres is feasible. That would be close to the absolute record currently held by the 100-foot supermaxi "Comanche"!
The immense potential of the Imoca 60 became apparent when the VO65 boats, initially sailing far on the horizon, came closer and closer just before the windward mark. A few more miles and Charlie Enright would have overtaken the last boats in the field. That's the difference the foils make - and that also explains the sailors' fascination with this class of Imocas, which was used for the first time in the Ocean Race.
The conditions yesterday were ideal: hardly any waves because it was blowing offshore and the wind was relatively constant. It's hard to imagine what it must be like on "11th Hour Racing" when the sea is blowing at 25 or 30 knots and the log oscillates between 25 and 35 knots of speed. An indication of this is given by the mooring lines, handles and the deck frames covered with 20 millimetre foam in the cockpit pulpit. Sailing must then resemble a 100 km/h ride on a potato field.
"Beyond a speed of 25 knots, these boats have a life of their own," says Amory Ross. "Our job as a crew is to get them into the area - after that, they basically do what they want." Ross is a seasoned professional, experienced, smart, safety-conscious, but also largely fearless. His skipper, Charlie Enright, says of himself that he is "pretty risk-tolerant". And yet, when they talk about their boat and its potential, there is a mixture of fascination and stunned awe. Ross puts it like this:
The line between safe and full throttle is very, very thin. To be honest, we don't know exactly what it is yet."
The "11th Hour" team trained a lot with other Imocas last season, including several battles against "Charal", but also the boats organised at Pole Finisterre, probably the most exclusive offshore training centre in the world. "We are quite confident," says Charlie Enright.
Simon Fisher believes that, unlike in previous editions of the Ocean Race, this time the teams will choose their own course according to the characteristics of their Imocas, that it will not be a procession-style flotilla race with a lead boat and the string of pearls of competitors lined up behind it.
Yesterday it became clear, at least on the two long reaches, that "11th Hour Racing" is in impressive form: not only the boat, but also the crew, which includes the two very experienced women Francesca Clapcich and Justine Mettraux. Kevin Escoffier's "Holcim - PRB" also sailed as strongly as expected. After a less than convincing performance in the in-port race, the team had something to make up for. It took a while for the Verdier design with the spoon bow to gain momentum on the wind, but it then closed the gap on "11th Hour Racing" just before the windward mark and disappeared downwind on the lee side, ultimately taking a meaningless but psychologically valuable victory in the training regatta. Escoffier once again underlined his status as one of the favourites.
The performance of "Malizia - Seaexplorer" was interesting. On the first leg of the course, Boris Herrmann's crew didn't quite get into the groove of the music, but chose the right line on the beam, sailed the gusts well and initially passed "11th Hour" quickly on the foils without being able to pull away.
The boat with the largest keel jump sat noticeably far aft in the trim, as if the crew were using the ballast tanks, and lifted the hull far out in front and over the water - a mode that apparently works well. The new foils certainly don't seem to be a major handicap; the team actually say that they work better in certain areas than the old ones, which sounds promising for racing.
"Biotherm" and "Guyot Environnement - Team Europe" were unable or unwilling to keep up with the pace of the leaders. Perhaps the Pro-Am regattas on Thursday and Friday will provide new impressions. Sponsors will be on board then, which is why the crews will be fighting for places and victories more seriously than yesterday. Charlie Enright has already briefed his team accordingly: "For the time being, it's not about the result; we're sailing cautiously. We'll be in full regatta mode from Friday."
