Groupama 2

Groupama 2 was the last ORMA class trimaran to be built, and the most titled. Skippered by Franck Cammas, she won most of the Grand Prix from her launch in 2004 until the end of the ORMA circuit, as well as the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007.

© Groupama

The challenge was to leverage the emerging technologies of the time to optimize hull shapes and structures using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the finite element method. The aim was to build the first 60’ trimaran weighing less than six tonnes. Approximately 15% of the budget was earmarked for research and development.

After serving as Oracle Team USA’s training platform for the 33rd America’s Cup, Groupama 2 was sold to an American owner in 2014 who sailed this mighty machine under the name Mighty Merloe.

Launched

2004

Category

Orma

Architect

VPLP Design

Builder

CDK Technologies /
Décision (Suisse)

Materials

carbon

Length

18,28 m

Beam

18 m

Draft

5 m

Air Draft

30,48 m

Propulsion

sail

Sail Area

310 m² / 450 m²

Achievements

2006: 1st in the London–Nice (Franck Cammas)

2007: 1st in the Transat Jacques Vabre (Franck Cammas & Steve Ravussin)