- This Friday morning, in Nantes, the Imoca "L'Occitane" by Armel Tripon will be launched for the first time.
- Her monohull has been built in a Nantes yard for almost nine months.
- The Nantes skipper aims for the Vendée Globe with a boat that stands out from the rest, especially in the hull.
"I would have preferred green with yellow in good Nantais, but ..." The skipper Armel Tripon obviously jokes. His monohull "L'Occitane" (in yellow and black), he is extremely proud of it. "It is the first new boat in my life as a navigator," says the Nantais. A pure LU Imoca. Made in the city of the dukes and piloted by a skipper born 44 years ago on the banks of the Erdre.
Wednesday, two years after being thought of, the boat left the Black Pepper yard, Bas-Chantenay district in Nantes, where it had been under construction for almost nine months. This Friday morning, it will be launched for the first time. Finally, on Sunday, the public will be able to discover the Imoca, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from the Belem pontoon.
Next November, “L'Occitane” will be one of eight new boats out of thirty-four that will start the Vendée Globe at Les Sables d'Olonne. “It is an incredible chance for me to have been able to build my own Imoca, admits the one who will line up for the first time on the biggest sailing race in the world. There are not many sailors who have this opportunity. This monohull is "the fruit of a story of encounters" between a navigator (Armel Tripon), an architect (Samuel Manuard) and a builder (Michel de Franssu). Three men for a single passion, navigation, and above all for a bet, that of daring.
The scow hull, a daring bias
“We will be expected on the Vendée Globe, finally confessing the Nantes skipper, who already sets himself the objective of“ finishing ”. Because we have innovated on many things. The first and most striking is the choice of the hull of the boat. “Very round in front with volume behind like an ice cream cone, details Armel Tripon. With this type of hull, we see that in strong winds with bearing gaits, the boat, when it catches a wave, instead of charging, tends rather to surf on the back of it. There is thus clearly less jolts, clearly less stress, and one can hope for a more regular and higher constant speed. "
Michel de Franssu, the builder, adds: "The loss of speed due to the shortening of the waterline will be largely compensated by the fact that the boat will not have the decelerations that we risk encountering with a boat deeper at the level from the bow. This is called the scow hull. A new option on Imoca (60-foot monohull), but which has proven itself by winning races in Class 40 or Mini. A good omen for Armel Tripon?
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