About l'Occitane, skipper Armel Tripon and naval architect Samuel Manuard comments on the boat behaviour afetr the Defi Azimut in September (translated from their News) :
« For the skipper Armel Tripon and the naval architect Samuel Manuard, the Défi Azimut in September will have made it possible to validate that L'Occitane en Provence conforms to its concept: to have a moderated flight height in order to avoid sudden landings which would cause it to lose momentum and speed. The boat built by Black Pepper will thus have demonstrated over these days of race that it is capable of high average speeds! this finding is very encouraging and motivating for the Vendée Globe…
Armel Tripon : This Azimut Challenge was positive. These few days of confronting the other new IMOCAs under different sailing conditions and wind forces was a first, necessary to progress. This deliberate choice to fly lower than the others has demonstrated its effectiveness: less difference between our low and high speeds and a boat that is fairly easy to steer. This race allows us to get into a good dynamic before the Vendée Globe, if only to resume positioning reflexes, trajectories. It was a date not to be missed! Starting tomorrow, return to training to improve reliability, navigate the breeze and test the equipment.
Sam Manuard :What I saw of the behavior of our boat during this Azimut Challenge has me much more! Until now we had worked from our feelings about the behavior of the boat, as well as the digital analysis of the performances, but "it is super important to confront others in real life, on the water". In pure speed, we now know that we are really in the game and we have been in every exercise of the Défi Azimut. We obviously have to put all of this into perspective, because these were not the conditions for the Vendée Globe; however and compared to the competition it is really very encouraging! The idea of L’Occitane en Provence is to be efficient; it's about having low speeds that are always high and falling from our foils as little as possible. It's the same principle as on the highway by car: if you stop to buy sandwiches, it kills the average (laughs)! And we must not forget that big variations in speed are mechanical stress, but it is also mental stress for the skipper. The idea was to smooth out the speed, I think that was successful and that gives us comfort in our choices. The Vendée Globe will not be played on the small blows of mistoufle there was on this Défi Azimut. What I take away is that we are well in the game compared to the other new boats, and that is a real satisfaction! "
Source :
Enseignements positifs du Défi Azimut pour Armel Tripon et Sam Manuard | Armel Tripon https://www.armeltripon.com/09/enseignements-positifs-du-defi-azimut-pour-armel-tripon-et-sam-manuard/
