Azimut Challenge: two months before the Vendée Globe, Tripon lets go of the horses – Vendée Globe

A Lorient,

Less than two months before the start of the round the world (Sunday 8 November, 1:02 p.m.), the sailors of the Vendée Globe had an appointment in Lorient on Wednesday for the kick-off of the Défi Azimut 2020. The first of the five days of The tests consisted of making runs in the coureaux de Groix. Launched at full speed, the 18 Imoca chained the downwind edges to set the best time over 1.2 miles.

Quickest tripon

At this little game, in a wind of 12 to 15 knots, Armel Tripon and his crew were the fastest. At the helm of L’Occitane en Provence, the Nantes driver set the best time in 3’05 (average speed of 23.35 knots) on his 4^e and last attempt of the day, when the wind had gotten stronger. On board, the architect Sam Manuard could have a smile. Among the last boats launched for the Vendée Globe, her scow, a monohull with a rounded bow – a first in the Imoca class – was fueled, with a peak at 27 knots, leaving a nice impression of stability.

Arkéa-Paprec puts on a show

Thomas Rouillard took the 2^e place on LinkedOut (3’20, 21.60 knots) ahead of Sébastien Simon, who took off very high on his Arkéa-Paprec foils (3’23, 21.28 knots) for the pleasure of boaters. Covid-19 requires, skippers, crew and guests were all masked, with temperature measurement before boarding certain boats. Next meeting for the 18 competing sailors: 48 hours of solo sailing in the Atlantic (departure Thursday at 3.30 p.m.). The Défi Azimut will end with a crewed tour of Groix on Sunday.