It was in 2017 that Charal began its partnership with Jérémie Beyou, launching the construction of the IMOCA Charal, the first latest generation foiler. This collaboration has allowed both the brand and the skipper to gain notoriety - one in three French people know the duo - and given the desire to continue this commitment.
A renewed partnership
Thus, Charal renews its commitment to Jérémie Beyou until 2026.
"We are very happy with the partnership with Jérémie and his team and we will extend it beyond 2022, until the end of 2026. The continuation of this partnership will allow us to continue the adventure with our motivated skipper, inclined to surpass himself. By extending its partnership for 4 years, Charal is committed to the long term on the IMOCA circuit, culminating in the 2024 Vendée Globe. Competitive sailing is a high-level sport with strong values and undeniable benefits. It conveys a spirit of adventure and performance. The IMOCA boats are exceptional, innovation is central, in perfect adequacy with the values of Charal" explains Mathieu Bigard, Director of the Bigard Group.
A new IMOCA Charal 2
But for this new sponsorship campaign, Jérémie Beyou will be sailing a new IMOCA, a more versatile boat, to sail in all seas, in all weather. The budget for this new boat remains the same as for the first one, between 5 and 6 million euros.
"Charal 1 was a very demanding and innovative boat, with clear architectural choices. This Vendée Globe was a real laboratory for experience and performance, with data collected on all the elements of the boat, which enabled us to refine our expectations in terms of design, navigation and stability. We are in phase with Jérémie and we are going to accompany him in his new ambitions, to continue the discovery of new technologies with the construction of Charal 2" continues Mathieu Bigard.
"With the Charal Sailing Team, we are in continuous improvement. We have made a lot of progress on Charal 1 over the last three years, in terms of hull, appendages and aerodynamics. We estimated before the start of the Vendée Globe that we would expect a ceiling of optimization on Charal 1. To face the potential competition, we decided to have a new boat built, which is already under construction" adds Jérémie Beyou.
A new architect in the air of time
To choose the boat's architect, the team called on four leading architects in the IMOCA world, asking each of them for their vision, their concept, their idea of the IMOCA of 2024. In the end, Sam Manuard, designer of Occitane en Provence, who had been much talked about, was chosen.
"Sam and his team are very professional. He's got that cutting edge. What makes the difference is that he is also a talented sailor. We speak the same language. He builds a boat for a sailor. L'Occitane is a daring boat, which has attracted all eyes, including mine. All of Sam's boats are innovative explains Jérémie Beyou.
A bolder architecture
If Charal 1 presented a classic architecture with a grazing bow, as was the trend at the launch of these latest generation IMOCAs, Charal 2 should have a spatula bow, as Sam Manuard explains.
"The bow of the IMOCA boats has evolved a lot in the last few years. Until now, we thought that the waterline length was a very important parameter in the performance. So we made low-angle bows to extend the waterline length. But in the end it's not that important. We have seen this in the Mini 6.50 class or in the Class 40, with truncated and spatulated bows.
On Charal 1, the grazing bow proved to be a disadvantage. Closer to the water, it bumps against the sea. It generates small braking strokes and sprays the deck with water. This is not optimal for speed. Spatulation consists of truncating the bow, flattening it and raising it."
Ergonomics and comfort are also real performance issues and the spatulated bows allow the boat's movements to be filtered, a favourable point for the sailor's well-being.
"We are looking to increase the power of the boats, but they must remain usable by single-handed sailors in very tough conditions. We have to find the balance between finesse and power adds the architect.
It will be necessary to find the "balance" between a very broad hull like scow or a hull with thinner water entries. But the team did not prefer to say more for the moment. The same goes for the foils, which will have to be limited in size according to the new IMOCA class rules, i.e. not exceeding the size of those on Charal or Hugo Boss. Here again, the team is still working on the shape of the future appendages, preferring for the moment to concentrate on the structure of the boat.
Launching in June 2022
The shapes were handed in at the beginning of April, the molds are currently under construction and will be delivered on July 7, 2021. The design of the foils will be completed by the end of October 2021, the boat will be decked in March before a launch in June 2022. Charal 2 will be built by CDK Technologies in Lorient.
While waiting for his new boat, Jérémie will continue to sail on Charal 1 - whose bow has been modified during a winter refit. The boat will then be sold during the second half of 2022.
