IMOCA at the Paris Boatshow - Le Nautic is already upon us and due to start tomorrow

IMOCA at the Paris Boatshow
Le Nautic is already upon us and due to start tomorrow

Whilst the Transat Jacques Vabre has just drawn to a close with the victory of Marc Guillemot(Safran) in association with Charles Caudrelier, IMOCA is already carving out a wake towards 2010-2011. The IMOCA Class will be present at the Nautic Paris Boatshow on the Barcelona World Race stand, proof if need be, of its desire to work in synergy with all those striving towards its development.

In this way, the Transat Jacques Vabre crowned Marc Guillemot the IMOCA Champion 2009. Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Britair) complete a podium which cuts quite a dash and testifies to the vitality of a class, which has chosen to structure its programme around the complementary nature of two great round the world races every four years and a programme alternating between transatlantic events and races with stopovers.
Indeed IMOCA is keen to be able to offer its members a coherent programme over four years, which is geared around two major round the world races, the Vendée Globe and the Barcelona World Race. As such it is entirely logical that the class has accepted an invitation from the organisers of the Barcelona to come and take up quarters on their stand.

A packed programme
The 2010 programme is synonymous with the class’ ambitions and is to include an Atlantic triangle at the start of the season, the Route du Rhum in November and the Barcelona World Race as the grand finale on the last day of 2010.
The Atlantic Triangle, organised by Royale, will set off from Brittany during mid May, venture around the Azores archipelago and then the Canaries, prior to returning to the port from which it originally departed. Such an introduction should enable the fleet to validate the refit work carried out over the winter, as well as compare the potential of the first of the new builds launched especially for the occasion.
Following on from this, the traditional Route du Rhum, organised by Pen Duick, will set sail from Saint Malo,with 12 to 14 days of solo racing in November. The candidates hoping to follow in the footsteps of previous race winner Roland Jourdain are legion and spectators are likely to witness an almighty battle for supremacy.

After this the Barcelona World Race, organised by the FNOB, will introduce a whole host of innovations by granting participants substantial incentives to take the start line. In this way, the IMOCA vessels having participated in the Route du Rhum will be delivered by cargo ship to Barcelona at the organisation’s expense. Prize money of 500,000€ will further boost the direct financial assistance of 120,000€ awarded to each team. On site, considerable logistical means will be offered to crews, not to mention substantial media investment. By applying these criteria, the Barcelona World Race is proving its commitment to the IMOCA class as well as increasing the value of competitor participation as best they can.

New projects, new rules
Further signs of the dynamism of the IMOCA class come with the realisation of new projects with a view to the Vendée Globe 2012. Already three sailors have officially begun construction of new boats: Vincent Riou and Jean-Pierre Dick have opted to put their trust in a VPLP-Verdier design, while Bernard Stamm will be joining forces with the Franco-Argentinean architect Juan Kouyoumdjian… Several other projects are also in the pipeline and set to see the light of day during the course of 2010. The boats will have to conform to the new IMOCA measurement rules, the principles of which were agreed to at the general meeting in Barcelona in April 2009, prior to being validated in October on their definitive drafting. With reinforced safety rules and particular emphasis placed on the integrity of the craft and the limitation of power, the new class rules also draw on lessons learnt during the 2008-2009 edition of the Vendée Globe, whilst leaving architects and racers free rein on their imagination.

With the consensus agreeing to the new rules as well as a coherent schedule, in the space of just a few years, the IMOCA class is certainly maturing nicely… All that remains is to convince a partner to join forces with them to further increase the notoriety of a class, which continuously asserts itself as a force to be reckoned with in the global yacht racing environment… Wanting to devote everything it can to its policy is perhaps the finest proof of all of the validity of the activities in which it is involved.

Reminder: the IMOCA class will be present on the Barcelona World Race stand, hall 1, stand K101.
In fact, a presentation of the Barcelona World Race will take place at 1100 hours on Monday 7th December, on this same stand.