Fewer boats more modifications

The first event for the ORMA 60ft trimaran this weekend sees the fleet smaller but more competitive

For the ORMA multihull class, the 2005 season begins with an offshore race between Lorient and Nice, and is to be followed by a series of Grand Prix events in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and English Channel.

Each new season has its share of changes, and this year will be the first since the creation of the ORMA championships in 1996, that the 60ft multihull championships will include five Grand Prix events, each with the same coefficient (x1), the IB-Group Challenge race counting for x3, the Giraglia for x0.5 and the Transat Jacques Vabre transatlantic for x4. The total coefficient is therefore 12.5, with five counting for the Grand Prixs, each comprising nine races over three days.

Fewer boats than we have seen for many years will be lining up at the start of the championships, just seven are entered in the two Mediterranean Grand prix events in Calvi and Marseilles as well as the new Grand Prix in Vigo, Spain.

The latter part of the season is set to be better attended and will include Yvan Bourgnon who has just acquired Karine Fauconnier's Nigel Irens-design Sergio Tacchini.

Thomas Coville will also return after a year spent with Sodebo attempting singlehanded records such as the Route of Discovery from Cadiz to San Salvador. Finally, it is likely that Stève Ravussin will be back in September after spending the summer competing in the Oops Cup, as will Antoine Koch, who has returned to the helm of Sopra Group this year.

For the teams the winter has been spent overhauling the trimarans in an attempt to close the performance gap with Groupama 2, the current scratch boat in the ORMA fleet. Franck Cammas's green trimaran has a new and slightly lighter wingmast for this season, which was engineered by Franck de Rivoyre and built by Lorima. Groupama 2 also has a new daggerboard with trim tab and central ballast tanks to increase the inertia of the boat upwind.

Pascal Bidegorry is the current skipper of the new Banque Populaire 4, the Irens design that was formerly Bayer CropScience. The boat has undergone a major overhaul in Lorient: the forestay chainplates have been modified to take a hydraulic ram that will be used to cant the mast fore and aft while the rams attached to shrouds have been moved from the floats to the trailing edge of the aft beam. The foil casings have been changed to accommodate new curved foils, like those used on Groupama 2. A new daggerboard angled slightly backwards and with a trim tab has also been fitted. In addition to this the retractible rudders in the floats have been replaced by fixed versions, although the rudder in the main hull can still be lifted. Meanwhile the cockpit has been completely overhauled with an extra coffee grinder added which can drive a new rotary pump to drive the extra hydraulics. A new suit of sails is also ready for this season.

Two years after her launch, Michel Desjoyeaux has been busy carrying out major surgery on Geant. Although this boat in the 2000 Vendee Globe winner's hands won the 2002 Route du Rhum and last year's The Transat the trimaran was not performing adequately in Grand Prix. To rectify this Desjoyeaux has had the bottom of the main hull replaced with one with a rounder section. Meanwhile the daggerboard case has been removed and the bulkheads modified to allow a new keel to be fitted with more volume. A new wingmast has been made at Lorima and finished off by CDK Technologies. All the paintwork on Geant has been replaced saving almost 350kg in weight... Aside from the new daggerboard, with trim tab, a new heavyweight rudder on the centrehull is to be used for offshore races while a finer rudder will be fitted for Grand Prix.

On Gitana X, the engine was replaced and all of the electric circuitry and electronics are brand new. The helm stations have been lightened, the steering system simplified and one grinder pedestal removed. The weight saving represents at least 250kg. Moreover, the rudders in the floats have been moved forward by 3m in an attempt to prevent them working loose when the boat slams into waves. The main rudder is still using Geant's T-foil system (a la International 14) but has a new hydraulic system to alter its pitch. Her wingmast has also been replaced by one with a smaller chord section of 600 mm with a winch now fitted on the mast for the mainsail, gennaker and staysail halyards.

On Gitana 11, the former Belgacom, a new mast with a larger chord has been made by Lorima on Herve Deveaux' engineering and is believed to have a greater propelling surface, and improved aerodynamic properties. Her symmetrical daggerboard has been replaced by a finer daggerboard with a trim tab to improve her windward ability. The rudders in her floats are now enclosed in a watertight compartment, while the central rudder has a kick-up mechanism to prevent damage in a collision. To save weight, the whole hydraulic system has been overhauled with titanium joints and the electrics have been simplified. There is also a new set of sails and the main shrouds chainplates have been moved aft by more than a metre, enabling the area of the gennaker to be increased by 20sqm. The steering transmission system is now more direct with external tubes on the aft crossbeam. Finally, she has been fitted with a new boom saving a further 40kg in weight.

With her new skipper, Solitaire du Figaro winner Armel Le Cléac'h, Foncia has also been completely reworked over the winter. Like Geant her central hull has been heavily modified with a new bottom with more volume and a more rounded section. The hydraulic rams and chainplate for the shrouds have now been moved behind the aft crossbeam. The cockpit has been moved forward to centralise weight and the whole deck layout has been modified to allow the crew to make faster manoeuvres. A new daggerboard has been fitted complete with trim tab and fins have been added to the tips of the foils in line with the other boat. Overall the modifications have made for a weight saving of over 250kg and her trim has been changed to enable faster manoeuvring and to improve performance in calm weather. Her sail plan has also been increased, especially downwind.

The events:

The trimarans will once again head for Calvi for the Corsica Grand Prix in early June which will begin with a race around this French island, a distance of 250 miles starting and finishing in Calvi on the western side of the island, a race that is expected to take around 20 hours and include one night at sea and a waymark to round in the Gulf of Ajaccio.

On Saturday and Sunday there will be round the buoys racing in the dramatic Bay of Calvi - a natural theatre, comprising a 6km wide beach-lined cove surrounded by mountains.

Following Calvi is the Marseilles Métropole Grand Prix. This Grand Prix is expected to offer its usual variations in weather, from flat calm to the Mistral, as well as the ability of the public to see the boats from the heart of the city in the old Harbour in Marseilles just a few steps from the Town Hall.

2005 Orma Grand Prix Calendar:
10 -12 June: Calvi Grand Prix
24-26 June: Marseilles-Métropole Grand Prix
15-17 July: Vigo Grand Prix
9-11 September: Fécamp Harbour Grand Prix
30 September-2 October: Lorient region Grand Prix

The trimarans expected for the five Grand Prix events:
Banque Populaire 4 - Pascal Bidegorry
Foncia - Armel Le Cléac'h
Géant - Michel Desjoyeaux
Gitana X - Thierry Duprey
Gitana 11 - Frédéric Le Peutrec
Groupama 2 - Franck Cammas
TIM-Projeto Italia - Giovanni Soldini

The trimarans expected for the end-of-season Grand Prix events:
Sodebo - Thomas Coville
Ex-Sergio Tacchini - Yvan Bourgnon
Sopra Group - Antoine Koch
Ex-Covefi - Stève Ravussin