The third leg is not yet over for "Biotherm" and "11th Hour Racing". Battered by the recent tough conditions in the South Atlantic and already severely tested beforehand, they still have a long cross to Itajaí ahead of them over the next two days. Due to their handicaps and the delay caused by the multiple repairs, they were no longer able to pose a real threat to "Malizia" and "Holcim" off Cape Horn. A repair marathon awaits their technicians, which we will report on shortly.
Meanwhile, we spoke to Antoine Mermod, President of the Imoca class, about his provisional interim assessment after the Queen's stage through the Southern Ocean.
Mr Mermod, after the first week in the Southern Ocean, each of the five teams had to make repairs. In the meantime, the list of problems has grown considerably. Are the boats too fragile?
That certainly depends on your point of view. If you compare the Imocas in this race with the VO65s in the last two Ocean Races, it may seem that way. That was a one-size-fits-all class with extremely high safety margins. And yet Dongfeng suffered mast breakage off Cape Horn in 2015 and several other crews had to fix problems.
Even if you can't call it a "demolition derby": Don't you think that a lot was broken on the royal stage?
To be honest, the outcome is not that bad. Apart from the foil breakage on "Biotherm", which was caused by a collision with a floating object, only "Guyot" suffered structural damage. Its hull is built differently to today's Imocas, with a core made of Nomex honeycomb. The class rule no longer allows this.
If you compare the problems so far with the first Ocean Race of the Volvo 70, in which there were rows of damage to the keels, rig and hull, then we are in a much better position!
But the leg is not over yet, and the boats and crews have been put through their paces once again. I hope that everyone makes it to Itajaí in one piece. And then we'll take a close look at the condition of the rigs and hull structures.
We do this from the classroom because we want to see where there may be weaknesses. We hope to gain important insights from this. Imocas have never been exposed to such constant stress before, because the crews are pushing much harder than ever before.
Won't your checks reduce the advantage that the teams hope to gain for the Vendée by taking part in The Ocean Race?
We will only share information in class that is structurally relevant. It is in everyone's interest to make the boats safer and more stable. Everything else is up to the teams. I am sure that they will all gain extremely important experience that will increase their competitiveness. Just think of the settings of the foils and the tilt keel, but also the use of the autopilot and the trim of the sails. Sailing with a crew allows you to reach the optimum much faster.
We can already see how much the performance of the boats has equalised. Take "Biotherm": in the second leg in the South Atlantic, they were never quite able to keep up with the pace of "Malizia", "Holcim - PRB" and "11th Hour". In the meantime, they seem to have found a mode that brings them to an almost comparable level, even in heavier weather.
The organisers were quick to hold out the prospect of new records. However, the current record for the best time was only set in the deep south of the Indian Ocean. How do you rate the 595.26 nautical miles of "Holcim - PRB"?
It's a fantastic achievement, especially compared to the previous Imoca record held by Alex Thomson(536.81 nm, set at the Vendée Globe 2017 in the North Atlantic, the ed.). This impressively emphasises the potential of the new boats.
But we shouldn't just look at the one best time: All four participants in the third stage were travelling at similar speeds. And what fascinates me even more:
Between 10 and 13 March, the boats covered around 2,200 nautical miles, an average speed of more than 22 knots over four days.
For me, this is the real gain in performance. It allows the teams to stay in the best possible conditions long before a low point. They can position themselves exactly where they want. This was previously only possible in this form for the large cats and trimarans.
However, some fans are still unfamiliar with the generation of foilers. Why?
Perhaps we and the organisers of the Ocean Race need to do a better job of communicating what makes this race so unique. There is undoubtedly more that can be done. The special thing about a construction class is that it's not just about the sporting, sailing part; of course that comes first. But there is also a competition for the most innovative design ideas and the best technical preparation.
We have Boris Herrmann, for example, who has optimised his "Malizia" for the south, for heavy weather. And we have Paul Meilhat with "Biotherm", which is lighter, flatter and more delicate. Who will be ahead in the end? Nobody knows yet. That's what makes the Ocean Race so interesting, but also challenging.
In the storm depression off Cape Horn, but also afterwards in the two fronts in the South Atlantic, even the leading boats- Boris Herrmann's "Malizia" and Kevin Escoffier's "Holcim"- never realise their full potential. More would probably have been possible with the VO65.
It's hard to say. If you look at the fact that the boats sailed well over 500 nautical miles along the ice edge for several days in a row, then I think that's a clear indication of the teams' ambitions.
Let's not forget one thing: The crew on board, including food and equipment, means an extra tonne of weight compared to the Vendée Globe, which is sailed single-handed. That means a 15 per cent higher load - a huge difference! That's why it will always be a question of striking the right balance between speed and reliability, especially towards the end.
As with the Vendée 2020/21, damage to the sails is once again accumulating. Why?
The headsails in particular suffer disproportionately when the boats get stuck in the waves ahead and are slowed down massively. This changes the apparent angle of wind incidence and the trim is no longer correct - with the result that the sail starts to flap wildly. This is difficult to solve constructively.
Why then the limitation to only eleven sails plus storm jib for the entire Ocean Race?
We wanted to persuade the sailmakers to produce more durable designs. Let's see if that works out in the end. If not, the team that has taken the best care of its sails up to the finish in Genoa will probably win the overall classification.
Editor's note: You can find an earlier version of this interview in YACHT 7-2023, which we updated for YACHT online yesterday to reflect the latest developments following another interview with Antoine Mermod in Itajaí
