That’s why these are (and will be) the queen boats of ocean sailing
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
In four years the IMOCAs (an acronym for International Monohull Open Class Association) have changed their skin, becoming the queen boats of ocean racing: here is what has happened in such a short time…
The one who emerges victorious from the last Transat Jacques Vabre is him: the IMOCA 60 foil (hull length 18.28 m, overall length 20.12) . The class with which the Vendée Globe (solo round-the-world race) is run has demonstrated its potential in terms of speed and reliability, becoming in effect the true queen of ocean racing.
Not coincidentally, in 2021, the round-the-world crewed race (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race) will also have IMOCAs among its protagonists, who will compete for The Ocean Race Trophy. We were struck by a remark by ocean sailor Gaetano Mura: “The new flying machines go two knots faster than their sisters with first-generation foils, which in turn go two knots faster than their ‘distant relatives’ with traditional dinghies. So four knots of difference between the first and the last. Such a difference in the same category I think you don’t see in any sport.”
A reflection reflected in the numbers: the winners of the 2015 edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre were Vincent Riou and Sebastien Col, who took 17 days and 22 minutes on PRB (a traditional IMOCA without foil). In 2019 Apivia by Charlie Dalin and Yann Eliès (pictured above) took 13 days, 12 hours and 8 minutes. Roughly speaking, 3 1/2 days less!
In just four years, we have gone from hulls ‘anchored’ to the water to foil-equipped flying bolides that are becoming more and more sophisticated and, above all, reliable: remember how many breakages at the 2017 Jacques Vabre? This time, with the exception of “boss” Alex Thomson hitting an unidentified object head-on, there were no breaks and failures related to the appendages. We believe that the IMOCA revolution is only just beginning. How about you?
Ghego Saggini
(photo by Maxime Horlaville/Disobey/Apivia)
NAVIGATE INFORMED!
To stay up-to-date on all the news from the world of sailing, selected by our editorial staff, sign up for the Sailing Newspaper newsletter! It is semplicissimo, just enter your email below, accept the Privacy Policy and click the “Sign me up” button. You will then receive on your email, twice a week, the best sailing news! It’s free and you can unsubscribe at any time, no obligation!
Share:
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
Comuzzi C-32 (9.70 m), weekender plus cruise version also in the water
One boat, three declinations, the C-32 designed by Alessandro Comuzzi is now a reality, and the Weekender version of the small sports yacht being built by the Zuanelli shipyard in Padenghe sul Garda has also seen the water. The Weekender
USED CLASSIC BOAT | 5 little bolides for the racer in you (6.5 – 9.5 m)
The landscape relating to Classic Boats-that is, production boats over twenty-five years old and launched since 1967-is a vast and ever-expanding one, made up of hulls of all shapes and sizes and, perhaps, not as easily “navigable” as one would
VIDEO – Wally Rocket 51 (15.5 m): the super racer to win between buoys and offshore
Seeing two words like Wally and Rocket joined on the same line would make any sailing and racing enthusiast jump in his chair. Wally, a world leader in yachting innovation and two-time winner of the ADI Compasso d’Oro, wanted to
USED Classic Boat. 5 cult boats, masters of elegance (8-15 meters)
The landscape relating to Classic Bo ats-that is, production boats over twenty-five years old and launched since 1967-is a vast and ever-expanding one, made up of hulls of all shapes and sizes and, perhaps, not as easily “navigable” as one