Represented in three of the four classes by resolute and talented duos, VPLP designs had a field day in the 17th edition of the Transat Café L’Or, with victories for SVR Lazartigue and Viabilis Océans in the Ultim and Ocean Fifty classes, and a second place for 11th Hour Racingin the IMOCA class. Present at the finishing line in Fort-de-France, Antoine Lauriot Prévost and Xavier Guilbaud, partner naval architects at VPLP, talk us through the lessons learned.
Ultim: SVR Lazartigue’s perfect race
After two second places in the two preceding editions of the two-handed Atlantic race, SVR Lazartigue has finally achieved the win expected of her since her launch in 2021. “Tom [Laperche] and Franck [Cammas] were the favourites, but it’s still a transatlantic race on highly technical boats with all the associated contingencies, and that’s what we saw, in particular with the damage to Banque Populaire XI,” says Antoine Lauriot Prévost. “The delayed start of Armel [Le Cléac’h] and Seb [Sébastien Josse] in Lorient [due to a damaged rudder, eventually finishing fourth in Martinique] obviously felt like a missed chance because a duel with SVR Lazartiguewould have allowed us to really get the measure of Banque Populaire XI’s new foils,” adds Xavier Guilbaud.
Both architects agree that Tom Laperche and Franck Cammas ran “a perfect race”, taking control from the very start, and resisting the attacks from Sodebo Ultim 3, which, like all the other Ultims, has greatly improved – proof that the entire class is raising the bar. It was during the run south that SVR Lazartigue managed to capitalize on her advantage to windward, before showing herself to be very steady when reaching, which has been a bit of an Achilles heel up until now. “The crew have made great progress on this point of sail, notably thanks to the aborted attempts on the Jules Verne Trophy last winter, a saving grace of sorts,” says Xavier Guilbaud. “The debriefing in Fort-de-France suggested that Tom and Franck weren’t flat out, that they realized a controlled crossing, and the boat arrived in the West Indies in perfect condition.”
Reason enough to plan for the future with confidence, which for SVR Lazartigue includes new foils next season (manufactured by CDK Technologies) and a new pair of rudders for the floats. “In the initial brief SVR Lazartigue dialled up the performance on the wind and reaching, with foils whose keenness and aspect ratio provided considerable lift for minimal drag,” says Xavier Guilbaud. “Today, they are looking for more versatility. Starting out as a typical downwinder, Banque Populaire XI has since moved in the opposite direction. It’s striking to see how, when all’s said and done, the specifications of both teams are converging in preparation for next year’s Route du Rhum.” Which is all adding up to an even more exciting prospect!
IMOCA: competitive boats
and talented duos
Intensely physical and competitive, the IMOCA race also had a positive outcome for VPLP designs. 11th Hour Racing, crewed by Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris, took a very fine second place, while on the former Charal of 2018, now TeamWork-Team Snef, Justine Mettraux and Xavier Macaire finished fifth. Launched last July, Les P’tits Doudous crewed by Armel Tripon and Tanguy Leglatin, despite some understandable teething problems and a pit stop in Cascais, achieved her overriding mission, that of crossing the Atlantic, to finish 12th at Fort-de-France.
“In terms of accountability, it’s been a fine result for VPLP and on the human side of things, it’s wonderful,” says Antoine Lauriot Prévost, particularly satisfied with the second place of the former Malizia, launched in 2022. “We were aware of the boat’s potential and the talent of the crew, but Francesca only discovered the boat this year, so finishing ahead of Macif Santé Prévoyance was a very fine performance. The trade wind was very unstable and as soon as it started blowing more than 20 knots, Francesca and Will had the advantage. It’s a wind range where TeamWork-Team Snef found itself lacking compared to the 2022–2025 generation of designs.”
Designed, at the request of its previous skipper Boris Herrmann, to be sturdy and competitive on a broad reach in a breeze and a heavy sea, 11th Hour Racing proved on its passage through the Canaries that it was also very at ease in light winds. Antoine Lauriot Prévost concludes: “The difference in mass has evened out with the other IMOCAs which were notoriously reinforced after their launch in 2022. It’s been very encouraging, notably for Les P’tits Doudous which has the same hull for less displacement, a lower centre of gravity and next-generation foils, so more righting moment. It will be one of the competitors to watch during the next Route du Rhum.”
Ocean Fifty: some scares and a double
The Transat Café L’Or started badly for the Ocean Fiftys, which had left 24 hours before the rest of the fleet, with three capsizes in the first night: Lazare x Hellio, Koesio (both VPLP designs) and Inter Invest. Fortunately they suffered only material damage. “After the initial scare we were soon reassured by the efficient rescues. The boats are all now on their way to being repaired, which is good news for the skippers and the class,” ays Antoine Lauriot Prévost.
Lazare x Hellio’s flip having been caused by a broken float, probably the result of a collision, the focus fell upon the two other crews to explain in detail the circumstances of their capsizes. Antoine Lauriot Prévost gives his take: “Conditions in the Channel seem to have been very unstable both in force and direction, and this led to the two capsizing in very violent gusts. When you go from 20 knots on the bow to 35 knots on the beam, that changes everything on a multihull and the risk of capsizing is always very real.”
Wasn’t this amplified by the tarp fairings designed to reduce the boats’ aerodynamic drag? “Their role in this is very difficult to quantify,” replies Antoine Lauriot Prévost, who will be discussing these issues with the technical committee of the Ocean Fifty class in the coming weeks. “On light boats like these, they obviously reduce the critical angle where the vessel loses its ability to straighten up; however other Ocean Fiftys have capsized without tarp fairings. The moral of the story is to make sure you don’t find yourself at those angles of heel.”
Without a doubt the rest of the race was equally intense and exciting, with a compact group at the head of the fleet, and the first four crossed the line at Fort-de-France within 45 minutes of each other! It was hugely satisfying for VPLP, which bagged the first two places with Viabilis Océans (Baptiste Hulin & Thomas Rouxel, despite having made a pit stop in L’Aber Wrac’h at the start of the race) ahead of Wewise (Pierre Quiroga & Gaston Morvan), two trimarans launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively. “This is the great strength of this class, managing to maintain the competitiveness of these older boats. Compared to other classes, it’s a good signal and a just reward for Baptiste and Thomas who had bet their entire season on this race.” They were able to exploit the 4×4 character of this Ocean Fifty which confirmed its capacity to take a breeze and a rough sea in its stride.
