The Transat

Start, Plymouth, 2.Mai 2016
www.thetransat.com - Übersicht -

Fotogalerie
27.04.2016
Arkema and Lalou Roucayrol fit and ready for the start of the Transat – bakerly Race

Following a night-time prologue between St Malo and the English coast, Lalou Roucayrol’s Multi 50 Arkema has been moored in the port of Plymouth, England, since Sunday morning. In 7 days’ time, the skipper from Aquitaine and his multihull will set off for the most legendary solo ocean race of all: the Transat bakerly between Plymouth and New York. This historic event, which made Lalou’s mind up to make sailing his profession, is also the most fearsome race. Setting off on a solo crossing of the North Atlantic requires optimum preparation, both for the boat and for the skipper.
Forced to retire after capsizing in 2000, and penalised by a ripped sail as he was leading the race in 2004, Lalou Roucayrol is looking forward to take on this incredible transatlantic race single-handedly once again. “I like this route and it’s a real pleasure to be involved again! My aim clearly is to win the race and I know that I have the ability to do it. The work on the boat last winter has paid off, I really have a good feeling about it.”

A skipper in great shape
Following intense sport preparation, racing solo or with a crew, training in fleet races off Quiberon…, the skipper from Aquitaine is fit and ready and in top form for this solo transatlantic race: “The Transat is the first sporting goal of the season, but also the most challenging”. You have to imagine being on your own on these trimarans, sailing across one of the toughest oceans in terms of route and conditions along the way. As the days go by, your body suffers from the cold, from tiredness, from damp conditions, but you can never let your guard down, you have to physically be able to handle the manoeuvres on deck. “As part of my sport preparation, I run, I work out in the gym, and I do cross-country mountain biking; this enables me to work deep muscles of course, but also my sight. You need to be able to look into the distance for your route but also keep an eye on the wheel to avoid the slightest pothole on the ground… in a way it’s the same type of exercise as in sailing.”

An optimised boat
For the past three years, the Multi 50 Arkema trimaran has undergone modifications on a regular basis, performance being the sole objective. For this 2016 season, a lot of work has gone into optimising the boat in terms of weight, as Etienne Carra (rigger and crew member) explains: “Every single identified tiny flaw has been put right. We have reinforced the central hull and the floats, and we have optimised the weight on board: on the batteries, the cables and the sails.”

A great deal of work was indeed initiated on the sails of the trimaran in 2015. Working closely with César Dohy, his co-skipper in the Transat Jacques Vabre race and master sailmaker at Incidence Sails, Lalou has been involved in developing a new set of sails made from a DFi filament membrane: “We had started to develop new sails before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre race, but weren‘t allowed to fit them on the boat because of gauge problems. These sails are made of a filament-based membrane, hence their greyish look. They are radically different as they are made of fibre and resin only, with no film applied on top. This results is major weight saving, of the order of some 40 kilos for Arkema, and significantly more stiffness. This makes the boat even faster!”

A stronger team
This 2016 season also sees the arrival of a new recruit to Team Arkema – Lalou Multi: Karine Fauconnier, a solo sailor whose father Yvon won the 1984 Transat… “Lalou and I have got to know each other well, in particular from the days of the ORMA trimarans, and I am delighted to be able to join his team for the 2016 season. I will be in charge of navigation in the Transat Quebec – St Malo race, and I will also be working closely with Eric Mas for the routing of Lalou in the Transat bakerly. The boat is a great machine, Lalou is in top form, and my role will be to direct him to the right spot!”
Start of the Transat bakerly race – 2.30pm Monday 2 May

Copyright : Vincent Olivaud / Team Arkema Lalou Multi