New Brit Air

Former Figaro winner and trimaran skipper Armel Le Cléac’h reveals details of his new Open 60 project

The 2003 Solitaire du Figaro winner Armel Le Cléac’h and his sponsor Brit Air have chosen the Multiplast yard to build their new IMOCA 60 monohull for the 2008 Vendée Globe. Designed by the Groupe Finot, the boat will start to take shape in Vannes in early October 2006.

Brit Air will be the second IMOCA Open 60 monohull built by Multiplast for the sixth Vendée Globe, starting on November 9, 2008, a race where reliability and safety are key factors, alongside performance - factors that have always been at the heart of the yard’s philosophy, as its race record reveals.

Multiplast's Gilles Oll!ier comments: "We are very happy to build this boat for Armel Le Cléac’h. He is a talented skipper who counts among the rising stars of the very demanding IMOCA class. Furthermore, Brit Air is an airline, a field of activity for which accuracy, quality and performance are essential. We share these values and enjoy an excellent cooperation with them. And finally, the company is based in Brittany like ours, and shows a real attachment to its identity."

9 months in build

Yann Penfornis, Brit Air Project Manager for Multiplast said: "We will start working on the deck as early as the beginning of October. Then in December, we will tackle the hull. At the end of February 2007, we will start the deck-hull assembly process. Once this is over, we will begin the paint job, fit the deck hardware and install the engine in May. We will also handle the construction of the rudder blades. The launch is due to take place in June."

Like all the racing prototypes built by Multiplast, Brit Air will be made of a carbon sandwich using a Nomex core and oven cured. The build process will use female carbon fibre moulds.

A simple boat

Coming from the Figaro One-Design class, in which boats are easy to handle, Armel Le Cléac’h wanted a simple ocean racer.

Brit Air is an evolution of the IMOCA Groupe Finot 60, including the one currently being built by Multiplast for Yann Elies. Jean-Marie Finot comments: " Brit Air benefits from our past experiences. She will be a powerful and stable boat. She’s in the same spirit as Geodis, winner of the third Vendée Globe, yet has been designed taking into account the parameters of modern boat technology, including moveable appendages…'