New Raison design dominates Transat Jacques Vabre

Published on November 13th, 2019

(November 13, 2019; Day 18) – The focus of the 14th edition of the 4350nm Transat Jacques Vabre shifts from the Multi50s and IMOCA 60s to the Class40s as Ian Lipinski and Adrien Hardy (FRA) seek to complete their dominating performance in the biennial doublehanded race from Le Havre, France’s to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

Project leader Lipinski, who has been working non-stop for a year on it, seems to be enjoying the sweetness of the last few miles without the pressure of any pursuer: “We worked night and day and 7 days a week, using all of our physical and mental reserves. We launched on August 13 and we haven’t got the toolbox out for the whole crossing.

“After coming out of the Channel, we never touched the helm again and as we hoped, the boat becomes magical in more than 25 knots of wind. She flies on the water and rides the waves without slowing down.”

By choosing David Raison to design the new boat, Lipinski knew where he was going; a funny-looking scow with a spatulated bow but with tremendous power in all conditions. Crédit Mutuel has come out of the same mould as the 6.50m boat with which Lipinski won the Mini-Transat two years ago.

It has broken the mould and stranglehold of the Manuard-design boats, smashing the class speed record in the north-east tradewinds before the Doldrums was just part of the jigsaw. The talented duo have maintained their comfortable lead since exiting the Doldrums and should cross the line for victory in the small hours of the morning around 05:00 UTC

Race details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

RESULTS:

Multi50 (Top 3 of 3)

IMOCA 60 (Top 5 of 29)

First held in 1993, the biennial Transat Jacques Vabre has three fleets of doublehanded teams – Class40s, Multi50s, and IMOCA 60s – competing from Le Havre, France’s to Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. The 4350nm race started October 27.