The beginnings of foils
October 15, 2014, the IMOCA class validated the addition of foils on the 60-foot open boats and five new "new generation" euro VPLP euro Verdier boats were to be launched between February and July 2015. All of them were equipped with these famous load-bearing appendages. The skippers had the opportunity to debut their brand new "machines" in the Transat Jacques Vabre in the fall of 2015. However, the favorites were all non "foilers" like SMA, Quéguiner-Leucémie Espoir or PRB, winner of the double-handed race.
The race is being led by the "classics", even if the foilers on their Channel crossing are proving that they are extremely fast in light sea conditions and moderate crosswinds. Many foilers have even encountered damage, forcing them to retire, such as Edmond de Rothschild, Safran
Vinent Riou confident at his arrival in Brazil: "The new generation is in a learning phase, a discovery phase. We're not playing in the same category. We have an accomplished boat, which we control. They are in discovery mode. It's certain that foils are the future of sailing. We will all have them one day. We can't refuse progress. Today, it's a matter of timing, a delay in the development, we're hot, we have to analyze what happened."
The Transat New York euros Vendée in May 2016 did not allow to validate the benefits of the foil, the reason for the UFOs that decimated the fleet. The tiny gap between the winner Banque Populaire (foil) and PRB (without foil) did not help either, as the skipper of the orange boat announced that he had lost two headsails during the race, which would have allowed him to finish the race more easily upwind. But this race proved that foil boats are now reliable.
The Vendée Globe turning point
It will be necessary to wait for the Vendée Globe 2016 for the foils to finally reveal their full potential. And before that, the Azimuth Challenge in September with three foilers on the podium: Banque Populaire VIII, Safran and Maître Coq (older generation equipped with foils).
In November 2016, therefore, the IMOCA foils were the stars of the solo round-the-world race. Out of the 29 boats at the start, 7 are equipped with foils: 6 new "foilers" (St-Michel Virbac, Edmond de Rothschild, Safran, Banque Populaire VIII, Hugo Boss, No Way Back) and one old generation, modified (Maître Coq).
Even if the tests show a proven gain, the architects are waiting to verify, as explained to us VPLP shortly before the start of the race: "Today, we have seen significant enough gains to be able to continue this momentum. But we don't rule out returning to something more traditional if we see that it is too difficult to implement or if it doesn't bear fruit.
We already know that there will be a significant gain in speed; that the foils could save two days over a Vendée Globe. It is on the reaching that the differential will be the highest. Downwind, the boats should also gain in speed. Upwind, it will be more complicated, but upwind is only 10% of the time in a Vendée Globe."
Legitimized foil
The foiling monohulls have clearly demonstrated their potential on this round the world voyage. Four of the seven boats returned safely to port and three of them finished on the podium (Banque Populaire VIII, Hugo Boss and Maitre Coq).
The speed is also at the rendezvous Armel le Cléac'h took 74 days to complete his round the world, 4 days less than François Gabart in 2013. Alex Thomson euros second of the race euros also took advantage of this to achieve the record of 24 hours in monohull solo with 536.81 miles covered.
And it is finally after the round-the-world race that the architects started to work on the "3rd generation" of IMOCA boats, such as Charal , which was first seen in action at the Azimuth Challenge in September 2018. Unlike the first foiling IMOCAs, Charal (and others, such as the upcoming Hugo Boss are also under construction) was designed around the foils. The architecture firm VPLP has therefore developed a boat around these appendages by developing a hull and a specific hull.
The birth of the "foilers
The Azimuth Challenge, which took place from September 21 to 22, 2018, was an opportunity for a final dress rehearsal for the IMOCA boats, before the Route du Rhum (Editor's note: departure on November 4, 2018). The 15 skippers in the running were able to measure themselves against each other and compare the forces at work. And in particular the foils of each one, or the innovations of the moment, and particularly the very recent Charal, with its radical design and its huge foils.
" I think we have definitively buried the debate between foilers and non-foilers. The Challenge has confirmed that foils are the solution. From now on, we are entering a new debate between small foils and large foils. We have seen that PRB, with its large appendages, has interesting attitudes at all speeds. The choices made by Vincent Riou and his team seem very positive explains Antoine Mermod, president of the IMOCA class.
If Charal has withdrawn from the 24 hours of the Azimuth Challenge euros won by PRB recently equipped with foils euros because of electronic problems, the boat shows "an impressive potential, the base is extraordinary" says Antoine Mermod.
And it showed it on the "runs" between Groix and Lorient, where the crews had to achieve the best time on a 1.5 mile course on a reach, on port tack. Charal showed off its huge foils. With a time of 4 minutes and 52 seconds, Jérémie Beyou crushed the competition.
Today, there is no longer any question about the reliability of the foil, as explained by the president of the IMOCA class, or the architect Vincent Lauriot-Prévot "the foil, we can no longer do without it. "
However, this is only the beginning and many developments are still to come
