Multihull

Leaving Lorient shortly after 21:30 hours local time on Tuesday 24 November, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild launched onto an express delivery trip up to Ushant and the start line for their first Jules Verne Trophy attempt.

What a pleasure to rekindle the ties with the intensity of competition! The beaming smiles of the six sailors aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild said it all this Tuesday lunch time after crossing the finish line of the Drheam Cup 2020 offshore of La Trinité-sur-Mer in south-west Brittany. And to add to the magic of the moment, it was in full flight making over 35 knots that the 32-metre giant rounded off the 750-mile course that began at noon on Sunday in Cherbourg. What a show!

The four Ultim 32/23 Class trimarans took off on Tuesday 5th November at 11am on the "Brest Atlantiques" race, a new 14,000 mile double-handed race that will take them non-stop to Rio and then Cape Town, before heading back to Brest. After five hours of racing at an average speed of 30 knots, the Trimaran Macif (François Gabart/Gwénolé Gahinet) and the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Franck Cammas/Charles Caudrelier) are in the lead.

After ten days in Brest, the four maxi-trimarans of the Ultim Class 32/23 are all set for the start of the double handed Brest Atlantiques race, leaving tomorrow at 11am. The 14,000-mile non-stop loop, or the equivalent of sailing halfway around the globe, will see the trimarans round an island off Rio de Janeiro and then Cape Town before returning to Brest.

The IDEC SPORT maxi trimaran arrived back in her home port of La Trinité-sur-Mer yesterday morning after a quick journey to the Mediterranean and back. Francis Joyon has been carrying out public relations work in Cagliari (Sardinia), showing off his maxi-trimaran, which won the Route du Rhum and the Jules Verne Trophy.

Two points separated the four top teams going into the third and final day of the 2019 M32 European Series’ second stopover in Medemblik, Holland. A forecast for an easterly breeze of more than 10 knots had the crews sailing five up licking their lips such as Aston Harald boss Håkan Svensson’s Valhalla Cape Crow Vikings and Zurich-based Brit Richard Davies on Section 16.

Within the Gitana racing stable, the winter refit is on the final straight. In fact, in a little less than a month, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will leave her shed in Lorient and head over to the pontoons that make up the Base. Once there, she will be equipped with a brand new starboard bow and, most significantly, we’ll get the chance to discover her new skipper.

Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie combined to hand New Zealand their second Red Bull Foiling Generation World Final win in perfect Miami conditions.

The Offshore Racing Congress (ORC) and the Offshore Multihull Association (OMA) are pleased to announce their partnership to develop a new handicap rule system called ORCmultihull, or ORCmh. This new system is intended to provide measurement, VPP rating and scoring tools for large performance multihulls, a new and exciting sector in offshore racing.

This winter’s European M32 racing was rounded off in a fashion which the Valencia fleet have become accustomed to as the championship result was clinched on the final beat, of the final race, on the final day, sending the Dutch contingent of Sailing Team NL, skippered by Pieter-Jan Postma, to Series Victory.