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10:46 AM Thu 9 Apr 2009 GMT
On April 20, the General Assembly of IMOCA (International Monohull Open Class Association) will meet to discuss the future of the Vend?e Globe boats and some of the key issues experienced in the recent round the world race.
The World Yacht Racing Forum (WYRF) catch up with Vendee Globe yacht designers Simon Rogers (designer of the Open 60 Artemis) and Marc Lombard (Designer of Veolia Environnement and VM Materiaux), to ask their views on the future of IMOCA and the Vend?e Globe.
* WYRF: What are the main lessons learnt during the last Vend?e Globe from a yacht designers perspective?
Simon Rogers:'With regards to Artemis, more time on the water would have made the biggest difference. We did not have any structural failures other than hitting a whale at 15 knots and damaging the dagger board, so a bit hard to comment. Generally for the fleet, keels must be more reliable and this includes the complete system (hangers and hydraulics).
Rigs are failing regularly and this I feel is largely due to there being no restriction in the rule for minimum mass or centre of gravity. This encourages teams to push the reserve factors so low that failure at some stage is almost certain. Rig mass has the biggest effect on the 60's and controls bulb weight and AVS criterion.'
Marc Lombard:'The lack of reliability on long races such as the Vend?e Globe is nothing new. Everything leads to it: the duration, unpredictable risks (sea mammals, collisions.), an exceptional wearing of the gear and - more than anything - a measurement rule that allows many innovations and the possibility for sailors to handle more and more sail area. A boat with a bigger sail size will be faster (providing the additional weight is well controlled). But the increase of one parameter such as the sail size will almost certainly create problems elsewhere.
On most 'reasonable boats', failures are usually due to a technical fault on one of the traditionally sensitive areas such as the rig, rudders, electrical network. The winning teams are those who can match the technological development with their economical reality.
'Professor' Desjoyeaux's lesson is interesting from a designer's perspective: the boat is not extreme with regards to pure VPP; however the optimization is perfect and the sailor's efficiency is optimal. This is the key!'
* Will the next generation of boats look different?
Simon Rogers:'The class is going through a major review and my points above and many other issues are in the mix to be voted on at the next AGM in April.'
Marc Lombard:'Only the evolution of the IMOCA measurement rule will provide an answer to this question, if the sailors want it. Remember that they are both the deciders and the actors in this competition. All the designers can do is try to slow the tendency to abuse the concept of 'what is not forbidden is allowed' associated with this rule. Everyone's future is at stake.'
* What do you think will be the main changes?
Simon Rogers:'Best to speak to IMOCA about this! It really depends on what gets voted on and this is always a very difficult process in any class.
Marc Lombard:'If the maximum power remains identical, I guess most designers will not opt for this extreme, because the technical problems seem to increase at an exponential rate. The efficiency of the boats on the water remains the key in a regatta such as the Vend?e Globe.
I guess however that the average power of the boats will increase again, but reasonably, partly because the Vend?e Globe is not the only regatta on the IMOCA calendar.
You need approximately four years to 'digest' an increase of power of 4-5 %. Some very powerful boats will only show their real potential in a while. On the other hand, if the power gets limited, we should also restrict some very costly equipment or building material, otherwise the escalation of costs will have no end.
It is necessary - particularly during the current economic crisis - to increase the ratio of costs to return-on-investment otherwise the sponsors will go elsewhere.'
Visit the www.worldyachtracingforum.comwebsite for more information
by Bernard Schopfer
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