No change to IMOCA rule

More radical foils will be permitted in the six new IMOCA 60s currently under construction

A meeting of IMOCA's General Assembly took place at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Nantes yesterday to discuss the event programme for the class going forwards, the partnership with OSM and the possible re-writing of the design rules, following the input of the additional experts. After 23 years of evolution, the rules needed might need to be tightened and adapted to cope with the demands of the latest IMOCA 60s currently on the drawing board or in build.

This meeting above all confirmed the direction taken by the IMOCA Class concerning its design rule. So, for example, all new boats built will have to use a one design keel and mast. Two key objectives were cited for this decision, firstly to constrain the budgets for the new boats and, on the other, to increase the safety factor of the keels. The budgets for new builds has been estimated to have been lowered by around 10-15% as a result of this.

Clarification of the rules

With six new IMOCA 60s under construction, it was essential that the rules written last year remain in place, at least until the end of the 2016 Vendée Globe which marks the end of the four year cycle for the class. After discussing the option of a one design class, IMOCA reaffirmed its desire to remain 'open', albeit it with further restrictions placed upon the manufacture of masts and keels.

However the design research has also focused upon appendages and the possibility of using foils - or specifically realigning daggerboards so that they provide more vertical lift and righting moment, like Dynamic Stability System foils. At the meeting it was voted by a large majority that the rule should leave freedom to develop these appendages, both for the construction of new boats or by retrofitting them to existing boats.

Six new projects under way

Currently six new IMOCA 60s are under construction, with most due to hit the water by spring 2015. Destined to be on the start line of the Vendée Globe, the competitors will then be able to test their boats in three transatlantic races - the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2015, the Transat B to B (a singlehanded return race from the TJV finish) and The Transat in June 2016, all forming part of the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship.

Current new build projects :

- Safran (Morgan Lagravière), design by Verdier – VPLP, expected launch Jan-Feb 2015
- Banque Populaire (Armel le Cléac’h), design by Verdier – VPLP, expected launch march 2015
- Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse), design by Verdier – VPLP, expected launch 2015
- Hugo Boss (Alex Thomson), design by Verdier – VPLP, expected launch June 2015
- Saint-Michel Virbac (Jean-Pierre Dick), design by Verdier – VPLP, expected launch July 2015
- The Italian Andrea Mura has announced the intention to build a new boat for the next Vendée Globe (design by Verdier-VPLP)