imoca 60 foiling yachts

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The New-Generation IMOCA 60s

• By Ed Gorman
• September 20, 2022

New boats in the IMOCA class are coming out of the sheds thick and fast on the Atlantic coast of France, many of them at the old German World War II U-boat base at Lorient in Brittany. These days, in the fleet made famous by the solo nonstop Vendée Globe round-the-world race, there’s a lot of pizzazz on these occasions. Boats no longer appear and then get quietly lowered into the water. In a class in which millions of euros are being spent on new designs, promotions and messaging, first launches are now previewed by the release of sophisticated video treatments, and the reveals take place with theatrical precision.

It is an astonishing fact in a world teetering on the edge of recession that no less than 14 new IMOCA yachts are hitting the water in the summer of 2022 and into the early months of next year as the arms race in solo offshore sailing gets underway in the buildup to the next Vendée Globe starting in November 2024.

The sorts of ­commercial partners that are paying for these vessels and their skippers range from French banks to alcohol retailers, meat-products ­suppliers, chocolate manufacturers, insurance companies and companies organizing behind charitable causes. International sponsors include software businesses, watchmakers, hotel chains and global-­logistics ­multinationals. Unlike the America’s Cup, there’s not a ­billionaire in sight.

Some of these projects are being done on the cheap, using existing designs, hull molds and other shortcuts. But the top-end packages are now consuming initial budgets in excess of 7 million euros, with average annual operating costs coming in at more than 3 million euros. It’s not for nothing that many observers believe we may now be at “peak IMOCA.”

The class is chock full of interesting personalities, and not all of them are French, in line with the IMOCA policy of trying to broaden its appeal internationally. If you look at the skippers page on the class website, you will see that 19 of the 47 sailors listed are not ­flying the red, white and blue.

While many of the top performers are based on home soil—stars like Charlie Dalin ( Apivia ), Jérémie Beyou ( Charal 2 ), Kevin Escoffier ( PRB ) and Thomas Ruyant ( LinkedOut )—the growing echelon of foreign skippers includes some serious customers, like Germany’s Boris Herrmann, Britain’s veteran soloist Samantha Davies and the American yachtsman Charlie Enright.

The presence of the latter, the skipper of 11th Hour Racing based out of Newport, Rhode Island, reminds us that IMOCA is expanding on two fronts. Forty sailors will take on the Vendée Globe and many of the solo and doublehanded races in the annual IMOCA Globe Series that lead up to it. But there are up to six boats, 11th Hour Racing among them, that will compete for the first time in the Ocean Race starting next January.

Again, this diversification into fully crewed racing has been led by the class organizers who believe the growing family of commercial partners backing IMOCA sailors will come to see the Ocean Race as a viable option alongside the Vendée Globe in each four-year cycle. The word on the dockside in Lorient is that the class will have taken over the Ocean Race entirely by the next competition by one edition.

So, what’s the secret of all this expansion and growth? One observation would be that IMOCA is prospering at the head of an entire supporting ecosystem of mainly French shorthanded offshore racing. It starts with the Solitaire du Figaro and Mini classes and continues with Class 40s; taken together, they provide a thriving breeding ground for up-and-coming young IMOCA skippers.

Antoine Mermod, the IMOCA class president, says shorthanded offshore sailing is doing well in any case and cites the big growth in doublehanded offshore racing in Europe as evidence for that. But he says IMOCA is also surfing a wave that started during lockdown, when the class hit a sweet spot. Just as the world stopped with the COVID-19 epidemic, its boats were getting ready to take on the Vendée Globe, and they had a captive audience, with up to 20 million people in France alone following the 2020-21 race from home.

“We managed to tell a very nice story, and we saw more people than ever before following the race, so our partners were very happy, and now they are continuing their involvement, and more are arriving to make the class even stronger,” Mermod says. He believes the return on investment for sponsors underwriting IMOCA projects is currently very attractive, and the class is benefitting from its growing international reach.

Top-end packages are now consuming initial budgets in excess of 7 million euros, with average annual operating costs coming in at more than 3 million euros. It’s not for nothing that many observers believe we may now be at “peak IMOCA.”

“We have worked on three different aspects of our communications,” he explains. “One for the public and fans who follow the race. Second is our hospitality program, where we organize events in which people can sail on our boats and live the reality of the sport. And the last aspect is about values. I think our values—sustainability, resilience and ­teamworking—are very appealing in the corporate world of today and for people generally.”

Mermod is delighted to see America-based partners coming into the class—like 11th Hour and the California company Medallia, which backs the British sailor Pip Hare—but he would like to see more. “Within the next two years, we will be at Newport for the stopover of the Ocean Race and then at New York for the prologue of the Vendée Globe in 2024,” he says. “The US is very important to us as we look forward.”

IMOCAs are governed by a class rule that standardizes some elements, like masts and keels, to keep costs down while allowing development in other areas, like hull shapes and foils. In this latest generation of boats, the emphasis has been on trying to improve downwind performance in big weather, a critical aspect of Vendée Globe racing on the Southern Ocean.

“They have all concentrated on the bows, with various solutions to try to stop the boats ploughing into the back of the wave in front,” explains former LinkedOut team manager Marcus Hutchinson. “When they do that, the old ones can decelerate from 30 knots to 12 to 15 knots in a few seconds, requiring the sailors to retrim and relaunch the thing every time.”

The scow bow favored by French naval architect Sam Manuard, designer of Jérémie Beyou’s Charal 2 and Bureau Vallée (the former L’Occitane En Provence skippered by Louis Burton) is one solution. “The ones with scow bows, or missing bows, are trying to organize it so that the bow knuckle and everything below half-height of the bow isn’t held back by ploughing into the next wave and slowing the boat down,” Hutchinson adds.

The bottom line is that the top speeds of these wild machines, which can hit 35 knots, are not going to change, but average speeds should be significantly higher. The upshot being that, all other things being equal, including the weather and each boat’s reliability, the 74-day record for the Vendée Globe set by Banque Populaire in 2017 should be ­broken next time round.

The newest boats also ­continue the trend of trying to protect the sailors, often incorporating enclosed cockpits to help them exist on super-light and super-powerful platforms that become violent, noisy and wet in full-on weather offshore.

The class is always in flux as new boats come in and the older ones get handed down, producing races within races and different divisions. But it has never been more congested at the top end, with the most aggressive and competitive sailors set to fight it out for supremacy over the next couple of years.

The 38-year-old Frenchman Charlie Dalin, skipper of Apivia , is currently top dog after taking line honors in the last Vendée Globe and winning a series of shorter offshore races, where he showed his consummate skill as both a soloist and fleet racer. But the battle to get ahead of him is going to be fascinating. Dalin will have a new Guillaume Verdier-designed boat of his own to bring up to speed next year, but so will his main rivals—among them Beyou and Kevin Escoffier, a hugely experienced, technically minded offshore racer. Also in the mix will be the winner of the last Vendée Globe on corrected time, Yannick Bestaven, on a new Maître Coq .

But there will be plenty of others to keep an eye on, not least Frenchman Maxime Sorel, a former winner in Class 40s, who has a stunning-looking new V and B-Monbana-Mayenne , and Sam Davies in her new Initiatives-Coeur , another Manuard design.

The coming big race is the solo Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe from St. Malo to the Caribbean, starting in early November. This will see many of the latest boats make their debut on the transatlantic course. It’s going to be an interesting watch as the newest foilers are tested in the heat of battle for the first time. Past experience suggests some of them will complete the course, but some may well encounter early teething troubles as they begin their long march to the Vendée Globe starting line.

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July 1, 2023 - 4 PM CET

Genoa In-Port race starts in

IMOCA 60 MĀLAMA

State of the art foiling 60-foot race boat.

We launched the first-ever foiling IMOCA designed specifically for The Ocean Race 2022-23 in August 2021.

IMOCA: A Development class

A 60-foot boat, traditionally designed for single- or double-handed sailing, IMOCA is an open class offering the freedom to design boats to be as light as possible to favor speed, while also being solid enough to withstand the worst possible ocean conditions. With the introduction of foils in 2015, the Class saw a dramatic leap in performance and speed. The foils enable the boat to skim over the surface of the water, reducing resistance and enabling quick acceleration.

For the first time in The Ocean Race’s history, the 2022-23 edition of the round-the-world race saw IMOCAs on the start line, allowing team entries with four sailors and one onboard reporter. After competing in two editions of The Ocean Race on the one-design VO65s, 11th Hour Racing Team co-founders, Charlie Enright and Mark Towill embraced the challenge and built the very first IMOCA specifically commissioned for this fully crewed configuration for the next edition of the race. Mālama, which means ‘to care for and protect’ in Hawaiian, was launched in August of 2021.

SUSTAINABLE Design & Build REPORT

As a part of the design and build process of our new IMOCA 60 racing yacht, Mālama, our Team meticulously tracked and measured the environmental footprints to identify key hotspots and developed recommendations for future builds.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

features / specs

Boat length, carbon footprint, design & build, height of mast, weight of keel, length of rigging onboard, number of sails, number of foils, the making of mālama.

DOWNLOAD THE MĀLAMA DESIGN INFOGRAPHIC   DOWNLOAD THE MĀLAMA FOILING INFOGRAPHIC

The first IMOCA of its kind, Mālama’s onboard systems, cockpit layout and below-deck configuration have all been designed for crewed sailing in The Ocean Race.

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December 15, 2023

WHEN THE DUST SETTLES – By Mark Towill and Charlie Enright

Privacy overview.

The new IMOCA 60s integrate the very first standardised elements

• Initial applications of the new measurement rule
• Since April 2013, the masts and keels of the new boats have been standardised
• High Tech precision and equity.

The decision to standardise the masts and keels of its new boats was a compromise between an open measurement and a one-design boat. Two years on, with several new craft in build, the first standardised elements have been integrated into the boats. Their design and manufacture has been entrusted to approved suppliers, who are all specialists in their field and fully acquainted with the requirements of the IMOCA 60, to the extent that they are already recognised as references on the subject. For both the masts and the keels, there is a pool of technical partners, each of which is developing a range of special skills from the design through to the manufacture of the standardised parts.

High Tech equity

IMOCA is breaking new ground by introducing standardised elements to prototype competition boats. After consulting with the technicians, skippers, naval architects and, of course, approved suppliers, the decision-makers have been able to draw up exacting specifications:

• To remain at the highest level of technology, as standardisation is not about looking back;
• To be capable of supplying identical parts to guarantee total equity between competitors;
• To validate the approach through strict monitoring of manufacturing procedures and appropriate controls.

LORIMA in Lorient, south-west Brittany, is the company responsible for manufacturing the masts and delivering them to the teams. The first spar is about to be delivered to Team Safran for Morgan Lagravière’s new monohull.

For the Lorient-based company, it’s a major challenge that awaits them: “ We really need to guarantee total equity between the teams by supplying identical masts to everyone. To achieve this, we’ve put in place some stringent control procedures. In the lay-up, we’re capable of providing original samples of all the materials used. Following that we carry out ultrasound tests and stiffness tests, in the knowledge that all the masts have to weigh the same…” explains Vincent Marsaudon, Director of Lorima. This tough specification was outlined in partnership with the IMOCA Class’ technical committee, which initially worked in collaboration with Denis Gléhen, who is in charge of the mast design. A special quality record has been recreated and it forms the information base, which will enable the IMOCA Conformity Agreement for the Mast to be issued. “ The final control checks are done in the presence of the class’ Chief Measurer, who validates the work carried out. Furthermore, we have an electronic chip which will effectively become the mast’s memory .” The first baptism of fire, in just a few days’ time, kicks off with the new mast for Safran .

Every detail counts

These are the same principles of cooperation that guided IMOCA in the designation of suppliers for the standardised keels. AMPM is not a novice in this regard since the Vendée-based company has already manufactured numerous fabricated keels as well as the first keel fin machined from a solid billet of steel for Vincent Riou and PRB in 2006.

As with the masts, the work is the fruit of a close relationship between Sébastien Guého of HDS (Hervé Devaux Structures), who designed the keel model and the company AMPM, which is providing its industrial expertise. It is notable here that we find the same rigour of execution and the same desire to ensure all the teams are on an equal footing. “ Basically, we start out from the same block of material. We check the mechanical quality of the material and we carry out extensive chemical analysis to guarantee this first point. After that, all the parts are machined exactly according to the model, which was supplied to us by HDS. After the machining, we recheck all the part’s quoted values, we weigh it – the differentials are less than 3 kilos on a part that weighs in at around 950kg – and we move it to the bench with a bending test of 3.1t at its top end (the maximum weight of the bulb).” At that point the keel’s trailing edge is fitted, scrupulously checking that all the trailing edges are identical. As with the masts, the IMOCA class’ Chief Measurer checks all the production elements, certified moreover by a quality record, which the company is responsible for completing. As such, through its expertise, AMPM is particularly well placed to understand the importance of a reliable keel with a view to completing a solo round the world race.

The canting system of this keel is also standardised. This particular job was entrusted to the Hydroem company based near La Rochelle, it too having collaborated with IMOCA for a number of years. A familiar name on race podiums around the world, Hydroem has brought all its experience to the fore to design and manufacture a reliable and high performance system.

In this way, IMOCA is now entering into the practical application of the new measurement rule, which will remain unchanged through until the end of the Vendée Globe 2016-2017. New standards, new constraints for the teams and architects and time to adapt are bound to be necessary so that everyone can integrate the new rules as smoothly as possible. However, the precision of the specifications and the desire by all those involved to comply with the stringent quality standards are the best guarantee of success in the switch to standardisation for two particularly sensitive areas in the construction of IMOCA monohulls.

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

The fastest I have ever sailed: 20.5 knots at the helm of a foiling IMOCA 60

• Katy Stickland
• June 13, 2022

Most cruising boats reach average speeds of around 5 knots, with tops speeds of 7-9 knots. Pip Hare's IMOCA 60 Medallia reached 20.5 knots with ease, as Katy Stickland found out

Nervous, excited..slightly terrified. I felt all of these emotions when I stepped on board Pip Hare’s IMOCA 60, Medallia in Poole Harbour.

The most I had ever coaxed out of a yacht was 8.2 knots..and that was on a day of perfect wind aboard our S&S 34, Rebel .

Medallia was a completely different beast and unlike any boat I’d ever sailed before.

Pip Hare has been sailing the foiling 2016 Verdier/VPLP IMOCA 60 since August last year, and her excitement at owning a new boat bubbles to the surface continually.

A smile spreads across her face as soon as she is onboard, getting ever wider once we leave the confines of Poole Harbour and sail into the Solent towards the Isle of Wight, where the IMOCA 60 can show off her potential in 16-18 knot southwesterlies.

Pip’s enthusiasm is infectious, and I am reminded of why she won legions of fans during the 2020-21 Vendée Globe . It is almost like she can’t quite believe that she has been given this boat to race; she radiates joy at being given the opportunities most sailors would give their right arm for.

Helming the foiling IMOCA 60 Medallia at 20.5 knots. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Luckily for me, she loves to share the experience too, and it is not long before a smile is plastered across my face.

I was more than happy to be asked to help manoeuvre the IMOCA 60 out of her berth at Poole Quay. The engine is controlled by three bits of string – a white string for the throttle which can be taken out into the cockpit and then a red and a green line for forwards and reverse.

Pip was on the tiller and the throttle, while I responded to her clear instruction of forwards or reverse; we cleared the quay without incident.

Once out of Poole Harbour and into the Solent, the real fun began.

The main was raised and then the J3 and we were off..quite literally.

In quick time we were hitting speeds of 13-15 knots..and faster.

The autopilot for the IMOCA 60 is controlled remotely. The control is always on Pip’s arm. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Most of the time, the autopilot steers Medallia . The pilot drives her ‘aggressively and efficiently’ so Pip often takes the tiller to feel the balance of the boat and to make sure sail trim and configuration are at their optimum.

Today she was happy to hand the tiller to me.

I am 5ft 8in but with Medallia heeling, I had to stand on tiptoes to be able to see fully over the sliding coachroof, as Pip gave me pointers to keep the IMOCA 60 on course towards the Isle of Wight.

The speed was increasing…18.4 knots….18.9 knots.

The ride was surprisingly smooth, and it felt like the boat would keep going faster and faster.

Later this year, the IMOCA 60 Medallia will be fitted with bigger foils, which will increase her speed by up to 6 knots. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

This will sound strange, but it actually didn’t feel as though we were sailing as fast as we were; my brain only registered the speed when I turned around to see the white water in our wake.

Some of Pip’s crew gathered around the cockpit display, shouting out the boat’s speed. 19.7 knots…20knots…and then 20.5 knots.

I quietly punched the air. I had helmed the fastest speed of the day so far, although was swiftly beaten by a fellow sailing journalist just five minutes later. Glory is often short lived.

Nonetheless I was pumped to have held the record, even if it was for such a short time (although as Pip Hare points out, as a regular Yachting World journalist, she has reached speeds of over 29 knots so ultimately holds the record. Who am I to argue?)

With the tiller in the safe hands of one of Pip’s crew, we went down below where there was no escape from the sound of the sea hitting the hull; it is a constant noise.

Pip is always smiling onboard her IMOCA 60 Medallia ! Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

The last time I was on Medallia was at her official naming ceremony in London, just after Pip had bought the IMOCA 60 from Louis Burton, who raced her as Bureau Vallée II in the 2020-21 Vendée Globe , coming third.

‘I absolutely feel at one with Medallia now,’ Pip told me.

‘Last year, we didn’t push the boat super hard because we had only had a light refit when I bought her from Louis and it was still feeling a little bit raggedly after the Vendée. This year, we spent three months in a proper refit. We have new sails , and we have made some modifications and I feel like this is our boat now. It doesn’t feel like we are sailing someone else’s boat. I love it, I feel at home and I love being onboard. Every time I walk around the dock I just smile. It is amazing.’

Medallia ‘s throttle is controlled by a long piece of white string which can be led from down below out into the cockpit. Credit: Katy Stickland

Modifications include a new engine, moving the battery banks from under the companionway to an area starboard of the engine (‘Sometimes we do get water in the cockpit that spills over [into the companionway] and we felt that was an unnecessary risk so we moved the batteries’) and upgrades to the instruments including new B&G displays and a exocet pilot overlay, a PC progamme which manages the B&G pilot to refine the way it steers. The water maker has also been moved forwards from the back of the boat.

‘We really thought about what we wanted to do with the boat because it has an incredible pedigree. It got a first [by Armel Le Cléac’h as Banque Populaire in 2016-17] and third in two Vendées so there is not that much wrong with the boat, and I think you would be a fool to get onboard and start changing stuff without understanding why it is the way it is.  Our objective for this year was to put the boat back into a condition where it could be as fast as possible in this configuration. We are racing the boat with the small foils in this configuration and then come out of the year with a whole heap of things that we want to modify going forwards, which will also roll into a big foil programme,’ explained Pip.

Continues below…

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Her team is working with naval architect Guillaume Verdier and collaborating with Kevin Escoffier on PRB before Medallia will go to Carrington Boats at Hythe to have larger foils fitted as well as a 2-6m bow modification.

During the recent Guyader Bermudes 1000, Pip was thrown across the cabin, injuring her back. At the time Medallia was racing at 26 knots when the bow dug into a wave, causing the IMOCA 60 to decelerate too quickly.

‘The bow modification will stop the bow digging in. That is why I had a fall in the Bermudes 1000 because the boat was up at 26 knots and then it ploughed into the wave in front and didn’t lift over the wave, causing the boat to decelerate quite quickly. The new bow shape should allow us to climb up over the waves as you overtake them which means you get a steadier, more consistent speed without the sudden slow down as you hit waves ,’ explained Pip.

Medallia has the IMOCA 1 rotating mast, and three reefs in her mainsail. Credit: Katy Stickland

The new foils will be double the size of the existing foils on Medallia , and will add an extra 5-6 knots to the IMOCA 60’s speed.

Pip is still getting the feel of Medallia’s risk-reward line, learning how far she can push the boat.

The 1,200 mile Guyader Bermudes 1000, which starts and finishes in Brest via the Fastnet Rock and the Gallimard waypoint positioned 340 miles northwest of Cape Finisterre, was a ‘massive learning curve’.

What was suppose to be ‘an easy start to the season’ was in fact a ‘really tough race’ with no wind at the start and then 26 knots reaching up the Irish Sea.

‘50% of the course was upwind, so basically the Atlantic threw everything at us that it could and, for me, it was a massive learning curve . I started off really disappointed as I didn’t have a great start; it took me a while to get into the racing mindset. I am always better on longer races, and always joke that it takes the Atlantic for me to warm up and you can’t do that on a 1,200 mile course. It took me 12 hours to get myself into a proper racing mode. For the next race, I need to build a strategy where I am in the right frame of mind when I cross the start line,’ she explained.

The pedestal drives Medallia ‘s four winches. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Pip, who has until recently always managed her own racing campaigns, now has a team. She admits the transition between working with others and then sailing solo was ‘quite brutal’.

‘I finished the Bermudes 1000 tired and emotionally and physically battered. I had a wipe out and I did hurt myself. That was really about learning what the boat feels like when it starts going over the risk-reward line. I now know what that feels like so I can go up to the line but not over it in the future,’ said Pip, who came 17th in the race

The Vendée Arctique started on 12 June, where skippers have to round Iceland by crossing the Arctic Circle.

Pip prefers races with longer legs. She will also be thinking more about her technique. Every tack of Medallia requires the moving of the unused sails, which are usually stacked and strapped to the back of the boat when racing, a process which takes half an hour. Each weigh 80kg, 100kg when wet.

With Medallia heeled, I had to stand on tiptoes to be able to see over the IMOCA 60’s sliding coachroof. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

‘What came out of the Bermudes 1000 was that I unnecessarily used a lot of energy making my manoeuvres absolutely perfect and moving every tiny bit of weight, even though I knew I had to tack back in 4 hours. On the face of it that is how you do it, but if you are on your own and you have only slept for 2 hours [on a bean bag] in the last 12 hours, sacrificing half a knot of boat speed for four hours to maintain your energy reserves is probably a better balance,’ she added.

Pip is surprised that her regular postings during her races attract so many followers, and that they continued to stay with her ‘story’ even after the 2020-21 Vendée Globe. She also feels guilty when she doesn’t race as well as she should.

‘I hate to think that I have wasted an opportunity and I have this great opportunity, I really do and I am so privileged and I don’t want to waste it; I don’t want to miss out on doing well because I have not prepared well enough so I feel this obligation to really do my best, not only for me but for everyone who is supporting me. It is a double edged sword. I feel guilty when I let them down,’ she said.

Medallia has had new B&G screens throughout. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

There is little doubt that she will attract even more fans as momentum builds towards the 2024 Vendée Globe, a race Pip considers very much ‘her thing’.

‘The Vendée is my race, I love it. It is 3 months of racing which is just perfect for me. I am looking forward to it but I flipping well wish the world would stop turning so fast as we have so much to achieve and I have got so much I want to achieve, that I want to develop and I want to work on; I would just like some more time please!’

Pip Hare’s racing journey is one of determination, spirit and hard work. It is a story that doesn’t disappoint and will certainly keep me gripped for the foreseeable future.

What is an IMOCA 60?

The International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA) was founded in 1991, and manages the IMOCA 60 class.

The first IMOCA 60s were used in the 1986 BOC Challenge, a round the world yacht race, completed in stages rather than non-stop like the Vendée Globe.

By 1998, canting keels to improve righting were common, along with wider sterns, improved performance upwind and better protected cockpits.

Each IMOCA 60 is allowed a maximum of 8 sails. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

Foils were also introduced, allowing the boats to lift out of the water, increasing their speed.

Each IMOCA 60 is built out of composite material to make them as light as possible, but tough enough to be able to cope with open ocean racing.

Under class rules each IMOCA 60 must be able to right itself from 180° of heel when the keel is canted. The foils also have to be retractable.

Hull Length: 18.28m/60ft LOA: 20.12m/66ft Draught: 4.5m No more than 8 sails Bright and highly visible colour on rudders and keel Stainless steel one design keel fin One design outrigger Must have 2 rudders, 1 keel and 2 foils Air draft can’t exceed 29m Wing mast must rake between 2° and 4°

Who is Pip Hare?

Pip Hare, 48, is a British professional sailor, and has been for 25 years.

She grew up sailing with family on the River Deben and then further afield to Northern Europe in her parents Moody 33.

At 16, she completed an RYA Young Skipper scheme and was bitten by the sailing bug.

She began teaching sailing, working for Sunsail before cruising the UK, North and South Atlantic onboard her Oyster Lightwave3 395, The Shed .

She competed in her first solo race – the OSTAR – in 2009.

Pip Hare came 19th in the 2020-21 Vendée Globe on a non-foiling IMOCA 60, and was the first British skipper to finish that edition of the race. Credit: Richard Langdon/Ocean Images

She was the overall winner in the Two Handed Round Britain and Ireland Race in 2010 before going on to race in numerous events including the 2011 and 2013 Mini Transats and the 2015 Transat Jacques Vabre.

She has project-managed and fundraised her own racing campaigns.

The 2020-21 Vendée Globe was her first solo nonstop round the world yacht race, and she was placed 19th with a time of 95d 11h 37m 30s.

She raced in a 20-year-old non-foiling IMOCA 60.

Following continued sponsorship from customer management company, Medallia, Pip Hare bought Bureau Vallée II.

The IMOCA 60 was raced by Louis Burton to 3rd overall in the 2020-21 Vendée Globe.

The yacht also won the 2016-17 event, raced by Armel Le Cléac’h as Banque Populaire , and set the current course record of 74d 3h 35m.

Enjoyed reading The fastest I have ever sailed: 20.5 knots at the helm of a foiling IMOCA 60?

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Why do the Ocean Race sailboats look so different? What to know about IMOCA vessels

The Ocean Race features two fleets of high-performance racing yachts, both capable of speeds high enough to travel 600 nautical miles or more in 24 hours under the right conditions.

For the first time in the history of The Ocean Race, the teams are racing 60-foot IMOCA class vessels in pursuit of the Ocean Race Trophy, crewed by teams of four sailors and one onboard reporter.

The 65-foot VO65 Class is racing for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup over three legs: Leg 1 from Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde, Leg 6 from Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague in the Netherlands, and Leg 7 from The Hague to Genova, Italy.

Aboard an IMOCA: Newport Daily News reporter takes the helm of 11th Hour Racing's boat Malāma

How are IMOCA 60 boats sailed?

The IMOCA Class uses a “development design” rule which allows the designers to experiment with hull and sail shapes within set parameters. However, masts, booms and standing rigging are one-design.

Since 2015, the class rules have also allowed the use of retractable underwater foils which further boost performance by lifting the boat partially out of the water, at times allowing the boat to move faster than the recorded wind speed.

While some teams are using pre-existing vessels for the race, Newport-based 11 th Hour Racing took advantage of the development design condition to build a custom IMOCA designed specifically for a crew of four – a huge departure from rigging and control configurations geared towards solo racers, and one that allows the team to maximize performance and speed.

Their custom-built boat Malama features 22-foot retractable underwater foils, a three-ton canting keel, a 95-foot mast and has eight sails on board. So far, it has reached a top speed of 38 knots, or about 43 miles per hour.

The other four teams crewing IMOCAs are Team Malizia, GUYOT environnement-Team Europe, Biotherm Racing and Holcim PRB.

What it 11th Hour?: How a Google co-founder is tied to the Newport organization leading The Ocean Race

VO65s are racing over three legs for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup

The V065 fleet is built to a strict one-design rule, meaning the boats are identical in every way and evenly matched in terms of performance capability.

These boats are single-hull carbon construction yachts, raced by mixed-sex crews with a minimum of seven sailors, and are capable of racing up to 600 miles in a single day.

VO65 teams participating in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup are competing in the VO65 class in the in-port races scheduled in each city in addition to three stages of offshore racing from point to point:  Alicante, Spain to Cabo Verde; Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague, the Netherlands; and The Hague to Genova, Italy.

The Ocean Race is back: How busy will Newport be and what does that mean

The teams competing in the VO65 Sprint Cup are Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, Ambersail 2, Team JAJO, WindWhisper Racing Team, Viva Mexico and Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova.

Published on August 9th, 2021 | by Editor

11th Hour Racing unveils IMOCA 60

Published on August 9th, 2021 by Editor -->

After 24 months of research, development, and construction, 11th Hour Racing Team has unveiled its new IMOCA 60, the first of a new era of boats designed to compete in fully crewed, short-handed and solo offshore sailboat races.

With the U.S. sponsored program focused on The Ocean Race 2022-23, the team sees this as a new era for the 60-foot class which previously had been designed specifically for shorthanded sailing.

A product of Guillaume Verdier’s design studio and built at CDK Technologies in the home of offshore yacht racing in Brittany, France, the new IMOCA 60 blends sporting performance with sustainable construction practices, and state-of-the-art boat building technology.

Where IMOCA 60s are traditionally designed for the typical downwind course of the solo Vendée Globe, the 11th Hour Racing Team boat has been optimized for the broader range of conditions expected in The Ocean Race which will cross the equator four times.

The first impression is of a hull with a super-slick aero treatment with a scow-type profile to its bow, a pronounced chine, and with a large and almost completely enclosed cockpit with minimal side decks.

The closed cockpit design will allow up to five sailors to live and work under the protection of its cover for the majority of time spent offshore with near-360 degree visibility. The boat is further enhanced via a refined auto-pilot, navigation system, cameras, and marine mammal deterrence system.

The cockpit layout and the layout down below has been designed to allow a full crew to work together during maneuvers with enough space to do so efficiently. Verdier says the boat, which features more winches than recent IMOCAs, feels far more spacious than all other boats in the class.

“It is not hugely different,” he said. “But there is a little more functionality. There are more winches and a bit more room – you will be surprised how spacious it is. It looks like a big boat when you are inside and it feels like a much bigger boat than the other IMOCAs.” Skipper Charlie Enright was excited about the launch: “We’ve designed a version of the IMOCA 60 that no one has ever built before. Our boat should be able to withstand the toughest conditions in the most remote corners of the world, but is also able to compete in various shorthanded configurations.

“Hopefully the hull shape is an evolution of the good work Guillaume has already done. I think we will see a foil package that is pretty radical and different to a lot of other boats out there today.

Enright said the foil package included the ability to draw the foils in when not required so that, when the hull is upright, they are clear of the water. “There are some boats that are still dragging part of their foils in the water when fully retracted at zero degrees of heel. It was important to us that this was not the case, but we can’t get rid of the whole things.

“I hope we’ve got the big things right – hull shape, foils, aero package – all that. The detail, as it relates to the fully crewed stuff, are pretty unproven. The cockpit volume, the cockpit layout, the crew mechanics and ergonomics certainly played a big part in it.”

The bow profile is all about trying to keep the boat clear of the water. “We are trying to keep the bow up and out of the water while we are VMG running, but trying not to lose the power in the waterline length and the reaching ability that has made Guillaume so successful in the past,” explained Enright.

The goal was to produce an IMOCA that can be competitive in a range of conditions. “We were not designing the boat for the Vendée Globe, so we have tried to make it an all-round boat basically,” continued Enright. “You only have to start and finish the Vendée once each race, whereas throughout the course of an Ocean Race you have 10 starts and 10 finishes.”

Another area where the boat is different is in the stacking system, something Enright remarked on. The design seems to have thought-through ways to make moving dead weight around easier. “We have also emphasized the stacking system,” he said, “the ability to move weight, not only left and right but fore and aft.”

Verdier also emphasizes the versatility of this boat. “I hope there will be more (like it),” he said. “It’s a smart way to go. I hope it will open the door to the Ocean Race. It’s smart because if you use it single-handed, you just remove a winch or two, some hydraulics or whatever and you remove a bit of weight and on you go…you’ve got nearly as strong a boat and you’ve got more space.”

Talking to both Enright and Verdier, you sense a huge amount of work has gone into this project. Take, for example, the sail wardrobe, where the team has carried out detailed work on sail crossovers, sail weight and sail structures. The net effect, they hope, is a boat that proves hard to match, whether raced fully-crewed or short-handed.

The boat’s race schedule includes the upcoming Défi Azimut (raced double-handed with a non-sailing onboard media crew member), the Transat Jacques Vabre (double-handed), and The Ocean Race 2022-23 (four sailors and one sailing onboard media crew member).

Leading up to the new boat’s naming ceremony scheduled for September 13, 11th Hour Racing Team will release a series of content features, including videos and photos, giving detailed insight into the new IMOCA 60’s unique design, artwork, and innovation processes.

Source: 11th Hour Racing Team, IMOCA

Event details – Route – Teams – Facebook

Here was the plan prior to the 2022-23 postponement: The Ocean Race 2021-22 (formerly The Volvo Ocean Race) will be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race. Entries in the IMOCA 60 class will compete for The Ocean Race trophy, while those racing the VO65s will chase the Ocean Challenge Trophy.

Ten Stopovers for 14th Edition: • Alicante, Spain : This historic Mediterranean port will host the start for the fifth consecutive edition in the autumn of 2021.

• Cabo Verde : More accustomed to having offshore teams sail by, or stop for repair, this archipelago of ten volcanic islands in the central Atlantic Ocean will become just the second African venue the race has ever visited and the first West African nation to host the event. Details .

• Cape Town, South Africa : Located on the shore of Table Bay, Cape Town, as the oldest urban area in South Africa, was developed by the United East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa, India, and the Far East. Located at latitude 33.55° S, it’s approximately the same as Sydney and Buenos Aires and equivalent to Casablanca and Los Angeles in the northern hemisphere. Details .

• Shenzhen, China : Located in the southeast, the city is a modern metropolis that links Hong Kong to China’s mainland. It’s known for its shopping destinations and features contemporary buildings, such as the 600m-tall skyscraper Ping An International Finance Centre, and a number of amusement parks. The city is a leading global technology hub and was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world in the 1990s and the 2000s. Details .

• Auckland, New Zealand : European, Polynesian, Asian, and strong Maori heritages give Auckland its distinctive culture. Located in the North Island of New Zealand, it is the most populous urban area in the country with an urban population of around 1,570,100. Details .

• Itajaí, Brazil : To the south of Rio de Janeiro, Itajaí was founded in the mid-19th century by German and Italian colonists, and is now the commercial centre and Atlantic port for an agricultural region drained by the Itajaí River and its tributaries. Details .

• Newport, USA : Located on Aquidneck Island, Newport is 74 miles south of Boston and 180 miles northeast of New York City. It is known as a New England summer resort and is famous for its historic mansions and its rich sailing history. It was the location of every challenge to the America’s Cup between 1930 and 1983. It is also the home of Naval Station Newport, which houses the United States Naval War College, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and an important Navy training center. This is the third consecutive edition of the race to stop in Newport. Details .

• Aarhus, Denmark : The course comes to the east coast of the Jutland peninsula during the spring of 2022, following a popular ‘Fly-By’ of the city during the final leg of the 2017-18 edition of the Race. Details .

• The Hague, Netherlands : This city along the North Sea coast will welcome the race for a third consecutive time, first coming as a ‘pitstop’ on the final leg of the 2014-15 edition and as the final finish port for the 2017-18 race. Details .

• Genoa, Italy : As the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, this first-time race host is Italy’s largest sea port yet remains full of grandeur as the gateway to the Riviera while offering weighty architectural heritage. Details .

Tags: 11th Hour Racing Team , The Ocean Race

Related Posts

England to host The Ocean Race Europe →

Steps toward The Ocean Race 2027-28 →

Jack Bouttell: Repairing a boat mid-ocean →

Pirates in the Indian Ocean →

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Design № 826

IMOCA OPEN 60

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DESIGN 826: NEXT GENERATION IMOCA OPEN 60

Farr Yacht Design presents Design 826, a revolutionary new IMOCA 60 design that has been developed from a clean sheet of paper for the next era of offshore sailing.  This design builds upon our extensive experience in IMOCA 60 design and leverages much of our ongoing Vendee Globe IMOCA 2020 concept developments.  The boat is envisioned to be easily adaptable for singlehanded, doublehanded or crewed sailing with specific consideration for the Volvo Ocean Race courses and the implications of sailing with 5 crew and an onboard reporter.

Unlike the existing IMOCA fleet, this design has been optimized from the outset to leverage the full power of hydrofoils. The forces generated by the foils increase the speed potential but also alter how the hydrodynamic forces are shared by the hull and the different appendages. Compared to conventional IMOCA designs, this results in significant changes in the optimal design parameters, hull form shape and dimensions, foil design, keel placement and incline angles as well as having significant sail design and aerodynamic considerations.

Design 826 features a highly efficient, refined hull form optimized for the dynamics of ocean sailing at high speed while maintaining low drag in light air.  It is the product of extensive computational optimization including a significant investment in the simulation of the boats dynamic response to waves. The design development has made extensive use of FYD’s proprietary Integrated Design-space Exploration and Optimization System – IDEOS to explore a diverse design space of 1000’s of candidate designs that are evaluated against a series of design and performance metrics.

The advanced foil designs leverage FYD multi-year investment in the development of foil assisted designs, including our development of the world’s largest foil assisted monohull due to launch in Spring 2019.  The higher speeds and increased impact loadings for foil assisted boats, coupled with the rule drivers to the minimum possible structural weight require a next generation of structural concept, one that minimizes weight without sacrificing strength or reliability and robustness. As with all FYD designs, the structural approach is always carefully considered in view of buildability and cost in order to insure the resulting product meets all of the team’s objectives.

The boat must be able to operate at peak efficiency, able to maintain high average speeds for the solo sailor while being robust enough to be pushed to the limit by a full crew.  On a performance basis this emphasizes the need for a boat that is easily driven and as sea kindly as possible; able to achieve excellent speeds even when in non-optimal configurations. The deck and interior arrangements, rigging and deck hardware systems are ergonomically optimized with this in mind.  As displayed, this design incorporates a deck and interior layout that has been developed to support crewed sailing with an emphasis on human helming, gear stacking, guest space and media inclusion.  A design only focused on solo or doublehanded racing would likely result in a different cockpit, deck layout and interior.

Contact [email protected] in order to receive a detailed information package. Sign up for our email list to get the latest information about this design, other upcoming projects and news.

Design 826: IMOCA 60

Description

Displacement:

Cant Angle:

18.28 m / 60.0 ft

5.XX m / 18.X ft

4.5 m / 14.7 ft

7,XXX kg / 15,XXX lbs

Hydrofoil Assisted

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• Top 12: Stylish Surfers from the 60s

Surfboard Labels from the 60s and 70s

• Surf Film Filmography
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This is a list of american surfboard labels that appeared until 1979. Obviously this is not a definitive census. Corrections and additions will be very helpful.

– ACME: Fake sounding california label. Worked for the first half of the 60s. Harbor City.

– (custom) ACUFF (surfboards): Early 60s.

– AIPA: Ben Aipa’s label. Hawaiian surfer and shaper. Pioneerer the design known as stinger. Mark Richards surfed his designs for years.

– A.J. (surfboards): Obscure California label from the early 60s. They offered balsa and foam shaping as an option. Prior to 1964.

– ALLEN (custom surfboards): From Long Beach (California). Another small label that appeared in 1962 aprox.

– (surfboards by) AQUA DIVERS: Lomita (California). Obscure label. Actually this was a scuba diver shop with some aquatic sports equipment, among them surfboards. Early 60s.

– AQUAJET: Shortboard transition label. At least they released a model called “Honeycomb”.

– ATLANTIC (surfboards): Despite the name it could be an west coast label. First half of the 60s.

– ATLANTIS GUNS: Early 70s. California label.

– (custom surfboards) AUSTIN-BAIRD: From  Surfside (California). First half of the 60s.

– BAHNE (surfboards): Without being one of the big names of the industry, this firm enjoyed quite a following. In late 60s they introduced a Dick Brewer inspired model called “Crystal Ship”. La Jolla, California.

– BANZAI (surfboards): San Francisco, pre-1965.

– BENRAY: Pop out. Middle 60s.

– BENTON (custom surfboards): Early 60s.

– BERGESON: From the middle 60s.

– BILL: The company “Pacific Fiberglass”, directed by Bill May shaped boards at least since 1963. From Newport Beach (California).

– BILL WETZEL (surf forms): From San Clemente, California. 70s decade.

– BING (surfboards): One of the big names of the surfboard industry. Manhattan Beach local Herbert (Bing) Copeland was the barin behind this label. He learned how to shape from Dale Velzy. He was in close competition with Greg Noll Surfboards. He produced from the 60s decade until the early 70s. Very good quality boards. In the mid 60s he released two of the most popular boards ever made: the David Nuuhiwa noserider and the Pipeliner designed by Dick Brewer (Surfboards Hawaii’s exshaper). Under the Bing name other models were released like the Donald Takayama model, a V-bottom model, the Karma model, the Pintail, the Foil, the Lotus… Not like other big labels, Bing could adapt the change of times until the early 70s. Anyway, after the commercial release of the Campbell brothers design called Bonzer, Copeland got into the commercial fishing business.

– (surfboards) BING & RICK: Before they split and starting their own workshops, Bing Copeland and Rick Stoner were partners in the balsa wood era.

– BLAKER (surfboards): First half of the 60s.

– BLUE CHEER (surfboards): From Santa Monica (California). Jay Stone founded this label. In 1970 it was working. California shaper Michel Junod worked for this firm.

– BOHEMIAN (surfboards): Classic example of an early 60s pop out label. The boards were made with a mold using cheap materials and then were laminated. Shaping was not involved in the process. This kind of board was made for the big market, addressed to an unexperienced customer. The stuff was sold in big department stores and generic sports shops. The shapes were kind of odd and the finishes were rough.

– (custom surfboards) BRAD: Manhattan Beach, California. Mid 60s.

– (surfboards by) BRAGG: Bill Bragg was the shaper. Early 60s. Located in Gardena (California).

– (custom) BUD GARDNER (surfboards): They released the “Gidget” model. From California, 1960s.

– BUNGER (surfboards): One of the pioneer labels from the east coast. At least they worked from 1963. New York.

– CALIFORNIA (surfboards): Steve Bernard was the shaper from this southern California label. They worked until the mid 60s. There was a company with the same name who made foam blanks, but I’m not sure if they are the same

– CAMPBELL: This is the label the Campbell brothers started to sell their bonzer design in early 70s.

– CANBERRA (surfboards): Paul Banasky shaped his boards in the mid 60s in Downey, California.

– CARBONELL (surfboards): From Long Beach, this label with a name of catalan origin was popular in the area. They got their “47” model. They lasted through all the 60s decade.

– (surfboards by) CASTER: From the 60s. I’m almost sure this had to be the label of Billy Caster, a shaper from San Diego county.

– CHALLENGER (surfboards): From Pacific Beach. This firm was owned by Bill Bahne and Frank McCleary. Shaper Carl West was another partner too. Early 60s. In 1965, West went to the east coast and started Challenger Surfboards East.

– CHANNIN (surfboards): After splitting with “Diff”, Tony Channin started his own operation in 1970. His glass jobs were the best in the industry.

– CHANNIN/DIFFENDERFER (surfboards): Tony Chanin and Mike Diffenderfer worked together since 1965. In 1967 produced chambered balsa boards. The factory was located in Del Mar, California. The professional partnership lasted until 1970.

– CHAPMAN (surfboards): Dave Chapman started a surf shop in the same location that Don Hansen left when he went to Encinitas in the mid 60s. Just in front of Cardiff reef. Dave Chapman and Bob Turner were the shapers. Tony Chanin was the glasser.

– CHEETAH (surfboards): Label stablished by the same guys who did Matador-Collier Surfboards for satisfying the east coast demand in the midst of the 60s.

– CHOATE (surfboards): Dennis Choate shaped his own boards in Imperial Beach. From California, 60s decade.

– CHUCK DENT (surfboards): A popular brand from the 60s. From Huntington Beach. Operated since 1963 through 1970. The riders were Barry K., Mark Martinson and Billy Hamilton.

– (surfboards by) CHRISTENSON: First half of the 60s. San Diego.

– CLARK (foam products): Gordon Clark stop his partnership with Hobie Alter in the late 50s to concetrate in his foam blowing operation. He produced foams for the best brands of the industry, although he shared room with other foam producers as Walker, Foss and Greg Noll. From Laguna Beach.

– CLIFFORD-GEORGE (surfboards): Another California name. Fred Clifford was one of the brains behind this firm. Located in Santa Barbara. Early 60s.

– COLLIER (surfboards): Frank Collier was a wood craftsman who got in touch with the furutre founder of Matador Surfboards. Early 60s, California.

– CON (surfboards): Con Colburn began with his own operation in 1959. He opened a shop in Pico Boulevard, in the heart of Santa Monica. His boards were quite popular in southern California. The label’s most innovative design was “the Ugly” noserider, ridden by Bob Purvey in several contests.

– CONTINENTAL (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– (custom surfboards by) COPELAND’S: Located in Corpus Christi, Texas. Early 60s.

– COSMO: Seems like a California name from the 70s.

– COUNTRY (surfboards): Hawaiian brand from the 70s.

– COUNTRY HAWK (surfboards): From Leucadia, California. Early 70s.

– CRESCENT: Surfboards sold in the surf shop of the same name. California, early 60s.

– CRESTWOOD: 60s decade. Maybe from the east coast.

– CROW (surf board): From Surfside (California). Early 60s.

– CURCIO (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– CUTLASS (surfboards): Pre-1965.

– (surfboards by) DALE: After having tax problems and lost the rights of his own name, Dale Velzy started a new label with different name in the early 60s. Never got the same popularity as in the 50s. It’s quite possible they released pop out boards under this name.

– DALE B. WOODISARD (surfboards): From Cardiff, California. Early 60s.

– DAVE SWEET (surfboards): Started shaping in 1948 and opened a shop in 1956. His efforts as a polyurethane foam blower pioneer were hidden in the surf media for years. He started messing with foam in 1952. The first foam boards were sold commercially in the late 50s, but weren’t as populars as the Hobie ones. Dave never wanted to go big so his production feed just the area of Santa Monica. Miki Dora got boards from Sweet as a team rider. Some Hollywood celebrities like Peter Lawford, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Lemmon and  Clark Gable were usual customers. The shortboard revolution marked the end of this name.

– DAVID NUUHIWA (surfboards): Label that worked since early 70s in Huntington Beach. Fishes and other standard designs of the era were shaped.

– DC (del cannon surfboards): Del Cannon was a consistent surfer from La Jolla. In the mid 60s he shaped for Wardy. Years later he tried luck with his own operation. At least he worked until 1968.

– DELBY WOODWORTH: Actually this guy was a boat builder. During three or four years he made some surfboards. From Solana Beach, California. Mid 60s.

– DEMOTT (surfboards): From the 60s decade.

– (surfboards by) DEWEY WEBER: One of the big ones. Weber, after leaving his job as manager of the Velzy surf shop in Venice Beach opened his own operation in 1960. He was a great businessman, with a sophisticated merchandising. For a while, he got lots of benefits from the east coast market. Dewey was not just a great shaper, he was a comitted surfer (some say he was the first hotdogger). The “Performer” model released in 1965 was one of the best sellers surfboard models from the sixties. 10.000 units were produced. He adapted to the new times, and in 1968 he signed Nat Young as a team rider. Also in the late 60s introduced the advanced design called the “Ski”. With the shaping anarchism of the early 70s, Dewey got a new job as a commercial fisher. Anyway he was crucial in reintroducing the board over nine feet in the early 80s.

– DEXTRA (surfboards): Maybe the most known pop out label of the era. This California name started in 1963 and lasted until 1969 as far as I know.

– DIVE’N’SURF: Maybe the first company to research in the wetsuit field. In 1960 they sold beaver tail type jackets. In 1965 the shortie with no sleeves was introduced. Located in Redondo Beach, California. The label evolved and eventually became Bodyglove in 1968.

– DIVER’S DEN: A wetsuit workshop for scuba diving. They sold jackets for surfers too. First half of the 60s, California.

– DIWAIN (surfboard co.): From Huntington Park, California.

– (surfboards by) DONALD TAKAYAMA: Surfer and shaper of great prestige. In the late 60s started his solo shaping career after working for the great names of the era.

– DOOLITTLE (surfboards): Located in Santa Clara (California). 60s decade.

– (surfboards by) DOUG ROTH: From Goleta (California). Early 60s.

– (surfboards by) DOYLE & MAJEK: Mid 60s. I ignore if the name Doyle is refering to Mike Doyle.

– DUCKS (custom surfboards): One of the pioneer east coast labels.

– DUKE DANA: From San Diego, and of course from the 60s.

– DUKE KAHANAMOUKU: First half of the 60s decade. Someone wanted to take advantage of the Duke’s name. Fred Hemmings, Butch Van Artsdalen, Joey Cabell and Paul Strauch endorsed this label. Not so sure if these boards got something to do with the Greg Noll factory. There was so much product under the Duke’s name (skateboards, sneakers, clothes…) I think they produced some pop out surfboards too.

– (surfboards by) DUSTY RHODES: From Manhattan Beach (California), Mid to late 60s.

– DYNO: Early 70s. The fish concept was his trademark.

– (surfboards) EAST: As you might expect this is an east coast firm from the mid 60s.

– ENCINITAS (surfboards): Established by John Kies in 1975 in Encinitas, California.

– EKSTROM: A local surfer from La Jolla, in San Diego county who founded his own label. His most original concept was the assimetrical board for surfing left or right point breaks.

– (surfboards by) ERNIE TANAKA: Shaper who operated in California during the early 60s.

– FLAHERTY (surfboards): Tom Flaherty and Richard Massey sold their boards in a shop located in Canoga Park (California). Early 60s.

– FLYNG DUTCHMAN: Early 60s.

– FOSS (foam): The third foam producer in importance in the 60s. From Costa Mesa, California.

– FRED PIKE (Custom Built Surfboards): Early 60s.

– (surfboards by) FREEMAN: Early 60s and possibly from the east coast.

– GALT (custom): Early 60s.

– GEORGE DOWNING: Pioneer hawaiian big wave rider. Starting in the early 60s, standard boards and big wave guns were produced.

– GEMINI SURFBOARDS: Hawaiian label from the late 60s or early 70s.

– GOMES FIBERGLASSING: Allan Gomes worked as laminator and glasser for other firms from the late 50s. Workshop situated in Venice Beach (California).

– GORDIE (surfboards): Gordon Duane got his headquarters in Huntington Beach, starting in the surfboard business in the late 50s. He enjoyed a good following in the area. One of his famous models was the “Lizard” of 1967. Very good craftsmanship and advanced designs for its time.

– GORDON & SMITH (surfboards): Very popular name in the San Diego area first and the whole California coast after. Larry Gordon and Floyd Smith shaped boards in the balsa era and then switched to foam. They got the most talented men in the workshop and in the waves: Mike Hynson (of the red fin model fame), Barry K., the controversial Butch Van Artsdalen, Skip Frye (with his own model in 1967), even the aussie stylish Midget Farrelly was among the G&S team for a while. Some models: the “Hot Curl” from 1967, the 1962 “Quarter Speed”… G&S got an australian franchise in the mid 60s. They say they were the firsts to take advantage of the surf t-shirt concept.

– (custom surfboards by the) GREEK: Bob Bolen (of greek origins) started surfing in 1958, and the shaping thing came a little bit later. In the middle of the model surfboard craze he released lots of different designs: “Concave” (1965), “Eliminator” (1966), “Liquidator” (1967), “Maui” (1967) and the “MacIntosh Apple” in 1968. Bob came along with the “Turbotunnel” fin concept in the late 90s.

– GREG NOLL (surfboards): A renaissance surf man. A real waterman: hot dogger, big wave rider, long distance paddler, editor, lifeguard, fisherman, surf film maker and a shaper of course. He shaped balsa boards at the very beginning of the 50s decade. In 1953 his boards were sold in a serious way. He became one of the main characters of the south bay surf industry. He even started to blow his own foam in the Hermosa Beach factory. He specialised in curved stringer boards. In 1965 he opened the biggest surfboard factory in the industry. In 1966 the Miki Dora’s own model was released: the famous “Da Cat”. For the east coast surf fever a Gary Propper model was produced. Although Noll introduced several interpretations of the shortboard concept –with the Johnny Fain model or the Seeker- at the beginning of the 70s he closed his factory to became a commercial fisher.

– (surfboards by) HACK: Early 60s.

– HALEY (surfboards): From Seal Beach, California. Early to mid 60s.

– HANG FIVE: From Huntington Beach. Early 1960s.

– HANNON (surfboards): In 1962 already existed this firm and it lasted until the 70s. From Florida.

– HANSEN (surfboards): Doug Hansen began with his label in 1961 in Cardiff, California. Among his riders and shapers he got the great Mike Doyle with several surfboard models with his name. Other models were the “Competitor”, the “50/50”, the “Master”, the “Hustler” or the “Super Lite” in 1968.  L.J. Richards also rode for Hansen as long as Encinitas local Rusty Miller and Linda Benson. Hansen was one of the big names in the industry, being a clever businessman.

– HARBOUR (surfboards): Rich E. Harbour started as an amateur shaper in the late 50s. In 1962 his professional career began. His most famous models were the “Banana”, the “Cheater”, the “Trestle Special” or the “Rapier” from 1968. From Seal Beach, California. Among his team riders were one of the first Pipeline masters: Jock Sutherland and not to forget Steve Bigler.

– HAUT (surfboards): Doug Haut was in charge of this label from Santa Cruz. 60s decade.

– (surfboards) HAWAII: A very popular hawaiian brand from the early 60s. John Price was the manager of the operation. They produced boards both in the islands as long as in Encinitas, California. A good choice for continent surfers looking for the right equipment for the North Shore. Buzzy Trent, Ricky Grigg, Billy Hamilton, Fred Van Dyke and Butch Van Artsdalen were common riders of this boards. The most celebrated shaper was Dick Brewer, but in 1966 left the label to go to Bing. Some models: the model “A” and the “Stylist”.

– HAWAIIAN: Roughly made surfboards from the first half of the 60s.

– HAWAIIAN VIBRATIONS (by Mark Foo): Late 70s. Some shapes were done by Mike Diffenderfer.

– (surfboards by) HAWK: Early 60s. East coast. Nothing to do with the Velzy nickname. In 1960 they produced boards.

– HEALTHWAYS: California label from the mid 60s.

– HERMOSA (surfboard): From Hermosa Beach, Cali. Sold exclusively at the The Outrigger shop.

– HOBIE (surfboards): Hobart “Hobie” Alter shaped his first board in 1950 in his garage of Laguna Beach. In 1954 opened a small shop in Dana Point. Hobie was who really made popular the polyurethane foam core surfboards since 1958 (known as easter eggs for its pastel color decoration). Many surfboard producers followed the steps of Hobie. He was the first to sell a signature model, with the Phil Edwards one. Pioneer in selling skateboards too, in 1962. In the mid 60s a clothing line was released and at the end of the decade researched and released a catamaran concept known today as Hobie Cat. The east coast sales in the mid sixties overtook the California sales. Lots of big names worked for the Hobie name like Corky Carroll, he was one of the first “pro-surfers” in the second half of the 60s (his board model was a best seller). Mickey Muñoz also worked for him. Alter was one of the members of the “Dana Point Mafia”, a group of surf industry moguls who controlled the market. If Velzy was the pillar of the surf industry in the 50s, Alter along with Noll, Jacobs, Weber and Copeland did the same in the 60s.

– HOLDEN: William G. Holden produced boards in Costa Mesa. Since 1959 aprox.

– HOLMESY (surfboards): From Juno Beach, Florida. In 1967 worked at full gear.

– HOMETOWN (surfboards): Created by californian John Kies at the beginning of the 70s. Fifty boards were produced aprox.

– HYDRO: John Kelly designed a sophisticated hydrodynamic gun sold in a small scale operation. From Hawaii, 1963.

– HYNSON: In the 70s, Mike Hynson got their own surfboard operation working. He shaped guns and shortboards with psychedelic decorations.

– IKE (surfboards): Before Reynolds Yater was the most respected shaper in the Santa Barbara area, John E. Eichert ruled. Balsa baords from the late 50s. He later went with the foam change. His early cutaway fins were out of its time.

– INLAND (surfboards): 70s decade.   

– INTER-ISLAND (surfboards): Mike Diffenderfer and Dick Brewer among others shaped for this brand. Reno Abellira, Kimo Hollinger, Conrad Cahna and other hawaiian stylish surfed these boards. The operation lasted all the 60s decade. From Hawaii.

– INTERNATIONAL (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– ISLANDER (surfboards): 60s decade.

– JACK’S: Started in 1957. From Anaheim, California.

– JACOBS: After spliting with Dale Velzy, Hap Jacobs started his own workshop at the beginning of the 60s. The best of the best worked for him in the workshop or in the water. His most famous riders were Miki Dora and Lance Carson. The Jacobs boards from the early 60s were almost bullet proof, with double 10 oz lamination in deck and bottom. An early stinger design was introduced in 1965 with the “422” model. Jacobs like many others got lost in the psychedelic days of weird shapes and became a commercial fisherman like other industry fellows.

– JEFF HO (surfboards & zephyr productions): Santa Mónica, 70s decade. Innovative designs and transgressor decorations. From Dogtown, of the Z-boys fame.

– (surfboards by) JEFFREY DALE: From Santa Ana, California. Started in 1963 aprox.

– JET BOARD: From the mid 60s. A jet propelled board with disatrous results in the water.

– JOE QUIGG: One of the fathers of the modern board. With Bob Simmons and Matt Kivlin did a lot of experimenting during the fities. At the end of the fifties he opened a workshop in Newport Beach. Later Quigg went to Hawaii and focused on catamaran building. In 1962, still worked in the surfboard industry.

– JOEY CABELL (custom surfboards): The talented hawaiian surfer got his own label. From mid to late 60s.

– KEOKI: Early 60s.

– KOAST (surfboards): California brand from the early 70s. John Kies was the shaper. From Leucadia. They closed in 1975.

– LANCE CARSON (surfboards): Carson shaped his old Jacobs noseriding model during the 70s.

– LANIKAI: Early 60s. Maybe pop out boards.

– LARI JAI: California, mid 60s.

– (surfboards by) LARRY FELKER: Felker built boards in his shop in Woodland Hills (Cali.), but for a time he was located in Hermosa Beach.

– LEE’S (surf boards): Early 60s.

– LEEDY: Early 60s. Costa Mesa, California.

– LIGHTNIN’ BOLT: The most famous logo of the 70s. Created by the Pipeline master himself, Gerry Lopez in 1972. These boards were the standard equipment for the North Shore. Everybody sighted for a Lightnin’ bolt.

– LISARDI (surfboards): Produced in Los Angeles in 1964, and later in 1966 in Hermosa Beach. They lasted until the transition days.

– LOE: In 1967 they were active.

– LYMAN (surfboards): Redondo Beach. From 1961 aprox.

– (surfboards) MAKAHA: From Honolulu. In 1965 they produced a good amount of boards.

– MAKO: Maybe a pop out. Pre 1964.

– MALIBU: Pop Out label. Early 60s. The shop was located in the Pacific Coast Highway.

– MANATEE (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– MARLIN (surfboards): Early 60s.

– MATADOR (surfboards): Shaped from 1962 to 1968. From California.

– MAUI SURF SHOP: Hawaiian. Mid to late 60s.

– MICHEL JUNOD (customs): While Junod shaped for other hawaiian names, he got his own label too. Worked under this name from 1974 to 1978. Located in the South Shore of Oahu.

– (custom surfboards by) MILLER: From Daytona Beach, Florida.

– MILLIKEN (surfboards): From the L.A. suburb Whittier. Early 60s.

– MOONSHINE: From 70s decade.

– MOREY-POPE: Tom Morey and Karl Pope were ahead of their time. Their product was original and well done using new technologies and unusual concepts. The bearded Bob Cooper rode for them with his signature model called “Blue Machine”. John Peck got his “Penetrator” model and even the aussie guru shaper Bob McTavish got his “Tracker” model. They produced a susbtitue for surfboard wax called Slipcheck in 1968, and other surfboard gadgets. From Ventura, California. They close up the company at the entry of the 70s.

– MOREY TRISECT: Tom Morey produced in 1965 a board that could be mounted from three separate parts. The concept was good but not so efficient technically.

– (surfboards by) MOSELLE: Maybe one of those surfboards labels just made to endorse a surf shop. From Culver City (California). From 1959 to 1963.

– MT (surfboards): East coast surf star Mike Tabeling own label. 70s decade.

– M.T.B. (surfboards): Late 60s to early 70s. From California. The shaper was Donald Takayama.

– OAHU: Another label to endorse the surf shop of the same name. 60s decade.

– OCEANSIDE: From Florida. Late 60s. In 1967 they released the “Spoiler” model.

– OLE (custom surfboards): From Seal Beach, California. Property of Bob Olson who started shaping in 1958. Mickey Muñoz was involved with the firm as well. It lasted until the shortboard days.

– OLIN : Early 60s.

– OLYMPIC: From San Diego. Early 60s.

– O’NEILL: During the early part of the 60s decade, O’Neill produced his own boards as well as wetsuits. He released the “Intruder” model. He got rid of the surfboard thing when he focused in the wetsuit industry. Located in Santa Cruz, California.

– OWL: From Santa Barbara. Started in 1962 and ended production in the following decade. During the 70s, Phil Becker used to shape boards over the 9’ range. In 1980 Becker started his own company.

– PACIFIC: 1963 aprox. Del Mar, California.

– PACIFIC SYSTEM HOMES: Actually this was a carpentry company focused in wooden houses production. During the 30s they manufactured solid wood boards. This was the first commercial company to build surfboards. The most popular model was the “Swastika”, the name was changed in the late 30s for obvious reasons. It was renamed “Waikiki”. They end production in the 40s.

– PAT CURREN (custom surfboards): One of the kings of Waimea and Makaha. Along with Bev Morgan (ex-business partner of Hap Jacobs) the great Pat Curren designed and shaped balsa guns. The most streamlined and gorgeous boards made for catching big hawaiian waves.

– PAUL HUNT: From southern California. His boards were sold in a couple of surf shops.

– PECKS BEACH (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– PETRILLO (surfboards): Late 60s.

– (surfboards by) PHIL: Low quality boards from Downey, suburb from Los Angeles. Phil Sauers got his Hollywood contacts, so there’s lots of beach party movies from 1963 to 1966 you can see Phil’s surfboards. Even in the 1964 movie “Ride the wild surf”, the name got an important cameo.

– (surfboards by) PHIL EDWARDS: Around 1967, Edwards left Hobie to shape his own idea of functional board fro high performance surfing. Good quality boards with knife like rails, and sophisticated fins. Lasted until the end of the decade. Located in Honolulu.

– PHILLIPS: Jim Phillips started his own label in 1965 in the east coast. Some years later he went to stay in California.

– PISMO BEACH SURF SHOP: This surf shop sold boards under hits own name. Mid 60s.

– PLASTIC FANTASTIC (surfboards): Early 70s. Jock Sutherland was a team rider for a while. Huntington Beach, California.

– POMEROY: From California, early 60s.

– PROGRESSIVE EXPRESIONS: Hawaiian label born in 1970. The originator was glasser/shaper Joe Kuala, after working for Inter-island and Surboards Makaha.

– QUIET FLIGHT: 70s decade.

– RAINBOW: Early 70s. Mike Hynson was involved. Known for their psychedelic decorations.

– RAMSEY JAY: Newport Beach, California. Middle 60s.

– (surfboards shaped by) RANDY RARICK: This surfer started to shine in the late 60s, later started to shape boards in Sunset Beach, Hawaii.

– RICHMARK: California. 70s decade.

– RICK: A popular name of the 60s. Rick Stoner was the Bing Copeland ex-partner. His most famous model was the “UFO”. Other models were the “Barry K. Pintail” and the “Dru Harrison Improvisor”.

– ROBERT AUGUST: He was shaping in an independent way through all the 70s decade.

– ROBERT SHEPPARD: Big wave rider who shaped some balsa boards around 1957.

– ROBERTS: Robert F. Millner, opened a surf shop in Playa del Rey (California). Early 60s.

– ROBERTSON – SWEET: The most bizarre association from a surfboard firm. They tried to build foam core surfboard out of a mold with no shaping involved in 1960, when foam boards were in their origins. The co-star of “Gidget” (the movie responsible of the surf massification) Cliff Robertson decided to invest in this operation in a way to catch in the surf boom. Dave Sweet’s Brother was the other partner. The boards never went so good and the label eventually died. Joe Quigg worked for them as a technician consultant.

– (custom) ROD (laguna): Maybe from Laguna Beach (California). Early 60s.

– ROSSER: Southern California, early 60s.

– ROYAL HAWAIIAN: Pre 1965.

– SAFARI (surfboards): Boards sold at the “Pacific Craft Products” shop in Santa Fe Springs, California. Mid 60s.

– SCHUCK (custom surfboards): From Trenton, New Jersey. Early 60s.

– SCOFIELD (surfboards): Label from Santa Cruz, California. Early 60s.

– SEA CROSS (surfboards): From Burbank, California. Pre-1965.

– SEA SUITS: Pioneered the making of wetsuits. Middle of the 60s.

– SHANG: Shannon McCrary was the shaper. From Coronado, California. Early 60s.

– SHARK: The same factory who produced the “Ten Toes” and “Tiki” surfboards, also made this mediocre boards.

– SHOALL (surfboards): From Harbor City and Hermosa Beach (California). Mid 60s.

– SHULER: 70s decade.

– SINCOR: Early 60s. From Venice Beach, California.

– SKAG: Early 60s. From Hermosa Beach, California.

– SKIP FRYE: He shaped freelance from time to time. Shaped boards over the 9 feet range with streamlined pin tailed shapes and later his name was related to the fish concept.

– SOUTH COAST (surfboards): Southern California. Pat Curren shaped on accasion for them. The noserider model named “Tip Rider” was introduced in 1966.

– SPORTFLITE: Maybe a Pop-Out label. From California. Mid 60s.

– STEVE WALDEN: 70s decade.

– STING RAY: California, pre-1965.

– SUNSHINE (surfboards): Late 60s. They released a Claude Codgen model.

– SURF BOARD HOUSE: More sixties product.

– SURF LINE (surfboards): From Honolulu. Gerry Lopez got employed in this company.

– SURF RESEARCH: Main surf wax manufacturer from California. Mid 60s.

– SURF WAX: From Redondo Beach, California. Produced surf wax in the late 60s.

– SURFCO: Maybe they were pop out boards, so they were sold in a scuba diving shop in San Diego, and in the company central located in L.A.. The owner was Hoppy Swarts, one of the surf pioneers of California. 1963 aprox.

– SURFING’S NEW IMAGE: 70s decade.

– SOUTH BAY (by Titan): From Los Angeles area. Pop out boards. Early 60s.

– SWEENY: Early 60s.

– TAMARACK BOARDS: California label wich operated from the mid sixties until the late part of the decade.

– TEN TOES: Pop out boards. Produced by the company “Pacific Plastics” in Ventura. 1963 aprox.

– TIKI: The “Pacific Plastics” company another time doing the pop out thing.

– TILTON-SULTZEN (surfboards): From Santa Cruz (California). Second half of the 60s.

– TRAVIS: Travis Ashbrock was the shaper. Workshop located at the Pacific Coast Highway. California, 1963.

– TUCKER: Balboa Island, California. Early 60s.

– VAGABOND (custom surfboards): California. Early 60s.

– VARDEMAN (surfboards): The workshop was situated in Long Beach, but the surf shop was in Hermosa Beach. A medium size surfboard label. Sonny Vardeman, was a surfer who started in the balsa era as a shaper.

– (surfboards by) VELZY : Legendary name. The origin of the surf industry can be related to this name. Another waterman and colorful character: surfer, shaper, cowboy, hot rodder, biker, sailor… Dale Velzy began shaping in the late 40s and became “the biggest surfboard builder in the world” like the ads said. He teamed up with Hap Jacobs. First one to have team riders. ALL the big surfing names passed through the Velzy shops doors. Dewey Weber was one of his pupils. Velzy didn’t declare nothing. He always got a stack of dollar bills in his pocket, but the government realised of that and they took everything Velzy got. In the late 50s he was ruined.

– VELZY (surf board): Pop out boards under the Dale Velzy name in order to make a quick buck.

– (surf boards by) VELZY & JACOBS: Dale Velzy and Hap Jacobs were partners for a number of years. They got their “pig” design working and got popular among the south bay surfers.

– (custom surfboards by) VENTURA SURF SHOP: From Ventura, 1963.

– WALKER: After Clark Foam, Walker was the other big foam producer. The factory was situated in San Clemente.

– WARDY (surfboards): Frederick Wardy was the shaper. From Laguna Beach, 60s decade.

– WAVEMASTER (surfboards): Label created by the Matador-Collier Surfboards people to satisfy the east coast demand.

– WAYNE: California label. Mid 60s.

– (surfboards by) WESTCOAST: From Ocenaside, California. Early 60s.

– WEST WINDS (surfboards): Michel Junod’s first try to shape alone. Santa Cruz, early 70s until 1974.

– WILDERNESS (surfboards): Started in 1964. The shaper was Michael Cundith, who adopted the kneeboard designs of genius George Greenough for stand up surf. Santa Bárbara, California.

– WILKEN (surfboards): From Santa Monica. Miki Dora sued the label to get some profit after a magazine ad in wich appear his name with no permission. Late 60s.

– WILLIAM DENNIS: Late 60s. Bob Cooper made some design for them.

– WINDANSEA (surfboards): From Newport Beach, California. Mid to late 60s.

– WISE (surfboards): From San Francisco. Mid 60s.

– (surfboards by) YATER: Another great California shaper. From Santa Barbara. At the beginning, the boards wore the label “Santa Barbara Surf Shop”, but after some time came the most popular “surfboards by Yater”. His shapes used to get working in the breaks of Rincon Point. He came with the “spoon” concept later used in the stepdeck craze.

– (surfboards by) YOUNT: From Santa Cruz (California). Early 60s.

– ZUMA JAY (surfboards): From Malibu. Founded in 1976.

Written by Didac Piquer Puigdemont. ©Copyright de Didac Piquer Puigdemont

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Pacific Fencing Club

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• Special Events

Welcome to Pacific Fencing Club

Established in 1984, Pacific Fencing Club is one of the oldest fencing clubs in the Bay Area. Placing its emphasis on education and enjoyment of the sport as well as serious competitive training, Pacific Fencing Club offers one of the most thorough introductory courses in fencing available anywhere. Our graduates have gone on to varsity fencing teams at such colleges as Stanford, Columbia, NYU, UC San Diego, and Ohio State. Hundreds more have been given access to this enjoyable sport that is also one of the most highly developed disciplines of world civilization, still thriving and developing in the 21st Century. It’s the real deal!

The director of Pacific Fencing Club, Harold Hayes , M.A., is a Fencing Master (Maître d’Armes) certified by the International Academy of Arms and the United States Fencing Coaches Association.

Get started today!

The Bay Area is a great locale for the sport of fencing, and a leading fencing center in the U.S.  Historically, the standard of fencing in the Bay Area has been made very high by the presence of some of the world’s greatest fencers and coaches who came here from Europe during and after World War II, the Hungarian Revolution, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Numerous Bay Area fencing clubs carry on and augment this rich tradition, each with its own distinct mission and character. Be sure to visit the West Coast Fencing Archive to appreciate this interesting history.

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Extraordinary Boats: the new 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60

• Rupert Holmes
• January 21, 2022

The 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60, Malãma, is the first to be launched with fully crewed racing in mind. Rupert Holmes takes a look at the boat to see how she differs from the rest of the IMOCA fleet

For decades the whole point of designing an IMOCA 60 has been to win the Vendée Globe solo round the world race. However, the adoption of the class by The Ocean Race has added an entirely new dimension. Malãma, the new 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60 is the first IMOCA designed from the outset to be raced by a full crew.

Yet extra internal accommodation is not what fundamentally sets this boat apart from other IMOCAs. A more important factor is that the boat is not primarily optimised for downwind speed in strong winds. Granted, the optimisation leans towards downwind VMG, but above all this boat is definitely intended as a more all-round performer.

In addition, Malãma is set up to be pushed much harder than is possible when racing solo or two-handed and the boat’s structure has been beefed up compared to typical IMOCAs to reflect this.

harlie Enright and Pascal Bidégorry aboard Malãma en route to the start of the TJV at Le Havre. Photo: Thierry Martinez/11th Hour Racing

Naval architect Guillaume Verdier worked with François Gabart ’s MerConcept, which was responsible for performance analysis. The result is a radical hull shape, with the bow showing an interesting combination of chine, knuckle and the broad ‘spatula’ profile, although it’s not a scow bow. The way in which these elements interact and help keep the bow out of the water is important, yet this is by no means the most radical element of the design.

While the new boat from 11th Hour Racing has the potential to be extremely fast in heavy winds, performance in light airs is also critical, when the drag of the foils also has to be overcome. This means minimising wetted surface area is vital – as a result the static waterline beam is surprisingly narrow. The hull is dramatically flared above the waterline, with a complex convex shape between the waterline and the chine.

The result is an extremely different hull to that of the Sam Manuard-designed scow bow boats, including Armel Tripon’s L’Occitane en Provence in the 2020 Vendée Globe (now Louis Burton’s Bureau Vallée 3 ) and Sam Davies’ new Initiatives Coeur that’s currently being built from the same mould.

It’s a daring, but ingenious, way to manage the imperatives of minimising drag in light airs, while ensuring form stability builds as fast as possible to extract maximum power in stronger winds.

‘Skim mode’ on the 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60

When the boat heels the chine quickly digs in, shifting the centre of buoyancy rapidly outboard, but the boat is designed to be sailed as flat as possible. As boat speeds increase the foils start to generate additional stability, which helps in minimising heel.

The foils are not intended to lift the boat high out of the water. Verdier’s intention is that the hull should skim just above the surface. While they might look impressive, photos of Malãma flying high are therefore not actually showing the boat in an optimal mode.

Limiting flight height is key to achieving fast average speeds, without excessive peaks and troughs. This is what leads to impressive daily runs, whereas high peak speeds are invariably followed by a significant drop in pace. When that’s associated with falling off the foils there’s also a risk of damage to the boat or to her crew.

The foils of new IMOCAs have to be smaller than those of older boats that have been grandfathered. As a result, Verdier devoted a lot of time to developing the most efficient shape. Those fitted for this year’s Transat Jacques Vabre are optimised for downwind VMG – the profile has a lot of camber, which generates as much lift as a larger foil, but at the expense of a little more drag at high speeds.

Reducing drag across the deck was a key focus, with jib tacks set below deck. This view also shows the cockpit pod ‘lookout bubbles’ set far outboard. Photo: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing

The foils have a very smooth curve, with none of the sharp corners of some IMOCA designs. As the foils are moved out from the hull they also project further downwards, which increases the scope for different settings to suit different conditions.

Before the start of the TJV the team’s Amory Ross told me they were still in the earlier stages of gathering data on optimal foil settings for different conditions. Full extension gives a very flat angle relative to the hull, but is rarely the best, while half extended gives “a very forgiving V-shape”. The foils could be changed to optimise the boat for different conditions, although that would be an expensive process.

Instead of an ordinary clew outhaul, a hydraulic ram moves the whole boom back and forth. A ‘skirt’ at the mast base improves aerodynamics. Photo: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing

Aero package

Above the waterline a lot of effort has gone into improving aerodynamics on the 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60 – given the high apparent wind speeds of these boats this area is now recognised as one in which important gains can be made. All furler drums and furling lines are under the deck. Even the tack of the J2 jib is just below deck level, which maximises the endplate effect and eliminates as much air as possible escaping under the foot of the sail.

In the same vein, the base of the rig has a textile fairing that cleans up the area around the lines and blocks, while still allowing the mast to rotate. “That took a lot of work to optimise,” says Ross.

The mast is the standard one-design spar for the class, however, the boom is by Southern Spars. To further minimise drag from all the paraphernalia that’s normally at the end of the boom, the clew is in a fixed position. This necessitated a different approach to adjusting foot tension: instead of a conventional clew outhaul, a hydraulic ram at the gooseneck moves the whole boom back and forth.

Foils have a smooth curve, but the cross section is partially convex, which helps to generate as much lift as the larger foils of older IMOCAs. Photo: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing

Equally, different solutions were needed for the reefing lines at the leech of the mainsail. These are on halyard locks built into the boom: the reefing pennants are an exact length and Ross says the lock engages easily, with a clunk that’s loud enough to be sure it has engaged properly.

When the boat was launched the rig was originally set up with 6° of rake. However that figure has been reduced to the class average for the boat’s first big race, the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre, as the team didn’t yet have sufficient data to be confident in extracting maximum performance in that configuration. But this is not a trivial operation, as the ultra-low foot of both main and headsails means the clew location has to change when the mast rake changes, so sails have to be recut.

Malãma ’s sail shapes are also different to other IMOCAs. Sails for solo and short-handed sailing tend to be cut to give a wide groove when sailing upwind. This makes it easier for pilots, or a tired sailor, to steer an efficient course. However, this boat has flatter sails that are designed to be trimmed with less twist. Skipper Charlie Enright says sail trim will hence be “more critical than some of the other IMOCAs – our set-up is not as forgiving and you have to work harder to get the top performance out of the boat.”

Hard choices

Similar thinking can also be seen in the rudders. These have a higher aspect than is usually seen on these boats and are therefore more sensitive, but generate less drag.

Inside the cockpit pod, looking athwartships towards the port side. There’s provision to add a second grinder pedestal when fully crewed. Photo: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing

At the other end of the boat, the bowsprit is a more robust affair with a flat top surface, having more in common with Volvo 70 and Volvo 65 sprits than a typical IMOCA bowsprit – it’s stronger and allows for easier crew work.

In a world in which increasing numbers of cruising boats have floating headsail sheet leads, the curved transverse tracks for jib sheets look initially like a step backwards, but the idea is they allow more precise control of sail shape upwind.

Visibility can be a challenge at the best of times for foiling IMOCAs. As they’re not allowed T-foils on the rudders, it’s often not easy to avoid a bows-up attitude that makes it next to impossible to see forward, while deck-sweeping headsails, low-clewed spinnakers and the very low boom combine to restrict visibility to leeward.

As with other IMOCAs, this boat is therefore set up with a number of cameras. The pair mounted on the top of the aft stanchions have full pan, tilt and zoom capability, allowing them to be used for both look out purposes and for sail trimming. There’s also a fixed camera (with digital zoom) under the mast-mounted radar. This shows the water ahead, even when the bows are angled upwards. There’s also a masthead OSCAR unit (for collision avoidance), which includes both visible spectrum and thermal cameras.

The front bulkhead of the enclosed cockpit pod has three large screens showing camera, OSCAR and AIS data. Ross says this combination works really well, “helping you see more [potential problems] every time you scan the displays.”

Powerful cameras with panning, tilt and zoom capacity are built into the top of each of the aft stanchions for views of boat and sails. Photo: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing

The lookout bubbles at the side of the cockpit pod are much further outboard than for other IMOCAs. This helps to provide a better view, especially to leeward, where it’s possible to see past the usual blind spots around headsails and under spinnakers. However, the view from the windward side can be compromised by the stack of sails on deck.

Placing the lookout bubbles further outboard also creates more space inside the cockpit pod – an important factor when sailing fully crewed. For the TJV only a single grinder pedestal was fitted, but there’s provision for a second to facilitate quick manoeuvres in crewed mode.

Solar panels on the cockpit pod roof can generate enough power to run all daytime electrical loads. Photo: Amory Ross/The Ocean Race Europe

Material gains

Sustainability is another key theme throughout the build of the boat. Although at the moment there appears to be no viable alternative to carbon for the structural elements at this level of racing, the team has worked with German company Greenboats to use flax fibres and bio-resins for components such as hatches and non-structural interior and deck panels.

The 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60 project started with a full lifecycle sustainability assessment and the lessons learned from this boat will help inform the IMOCA class sustainability rules.

11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60 specifications:

Hull length: 18.28m – 60ft 0in LWL: 17.50m – 57ft 5in Beam: 5.50m – 18ft 0in Draught: 4.50m – 14ft 9in Displacement (sailing trim): 10,000kg – 22,000lb Upwind sail area: 280m2 – 3,010ft2 Downwind sail area: 600m2 – 6,450m2 Air draught: 29.00m – 95ft 0in Mast length: 27.30m – 89ft 6in Approx weight of each foil: 300kg – 660lb

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