There are of course the 5 Ultims, the 6 Multi50s, the 24 Imocas (!), the 50 Class 40s (!) and the 17 Rhum Class monohulls, each with their own beautiful story and often a collective one, and hopefully allowing everyone to realize their dream. But I take my hat off to all the multihulls taking part. The extravagant Ultims (obviously) with their demonic power, grace, agility and exclusivity; The Multi50s who have abandoned their older brothers who aren’t equipped with newly-allowed one-design foils and are trying to conquer the space left vacant by the dazzling and dangerous Ormas. These beautiful 50 footers are machines that deserve developing to the height of their potential. They are almost financially attainable and do not require an entire racing team to accompany them, yet they generate strong emotions for both their crews and race spectators ashore. On the occasion of this 40th anniversary edition, we must salute the 20 multihulls in the Rhum Multi class, especially the 8 Golden Oldies over 25 years of age... and throw your caps in the air in honor of the 5 venerable craft which competed in editions of the 1980s, namely: Sterec-Aile Bleue with Christophe Bogrand, which took part in 1982 under the name of CGA-Gigi by Yves Gallot Lavallée (a Newick Creative 42 built by Le Jelloux); the A Capella Bilfot (formerly Phil Stegall’s Friends and Lovers belonging to Jean Paul Froc, built by Greene / Stegall) who will celebrate her 4th start in the Route du Rhum in the hands of Thierry Duprey du Vorsent; Acapella-Soreal by Charlie Capelle is raising the bar with a 5th participation (ex-Telegram of Brest, built by Walter and Joan Greene); Happy will start with Loïck Peyron on board (winner of the 2014 edition) in her second participation in the event. She is the former A Capella of W.Greene built after the loss of Olympus, the legendary winner of the ‘98 Rhum! Three sisterships in original collectors’ condition out of the four survivors of this event (Humdinger is in the USA)! Pir2, one of the first foiling trimarans (Sylvestre Langevin ex-Lessive St Marc by Denis Gliksman) will be there too, counting the same number of participations as Acapella, including two with Étienne Hochedé, (1990-1994-1998-2014-2018). Olmix (formerly Crêpes Whaou 1) will start with Pierre Antoine: this is a star boat among the Multi 50s which won everything before the appearance of 2nd generation prototypes and has just entered the category Golden Oldies (over 25 years old). Resadia-M'Pulse (Cabon / Capelle) will cross the line for the second time in a row in the hands of Pierrick Tollemer, his challenge being to improve on his 2014 time while preserving this beautiful epoxy wood composite boat (sandwich hulls). Franck Sainte Marie will sail Roger Langevin's Branec IV (ex Dupon Duran II in this seemingly endless list). But be careful, this is one of the three Seatec Formula boats built by Mike Birch’s team on Irens plans - solid, seaworthy and fast in all weathers!
The other multihulls in the Rhum Multi Class
With Bo Carré, Gildas Breton is entering the ex-Cotonella from Franco Manzoli (Ostar 2005 winner in his class), a big rival for Gilles Buekenhout's superb find: the foiler Jess designed by Martin Fisher and Benoît Cabaret who despite her reduced size of 40' is probably the fastest on flat water. Fabrice Payen is entering with the former Laiterie Malo of Victorien Erussard, a 60' Orma survivor from this class, risking everything and transforming into an M50 in 2006. It’s a remarkable machine, capable of real performance. Jean François Lilti racing with his Avocet 50: this pretty catamaran was struggling a bit with the prototype trimarans of the M50, but she has potential. Rayon Vert could create a surprise with Alain Delhumeau. Their trimaran, a Pulsar 50 by Erik Lerouge, is fast, powerful and solid: she went around the world in the hands of her builders (Sylvette and Henri Oligni) before entering the M50 circuit. As for catamarans, Christian Guyader is readying his TS 42 - but watch out, this very habitable small boat can give big performance in medium airs! Yann Marilley is entering No Limit, his Outremer 5X Custom, and no doubt he will be keen to demonstrate the potential of the boat against Pampero (a TS 52) with Bertrand de Broc. David Ducosson is participating with Cazeneuve Maxi Catamaran. And then there is also the Outremer 49 Liladhoc being sailed by Eric Gamin who, after a family Atlantic circuit, wants to feel the wind beneath his wings. And all the others who dream maybe not of a podium finish, but at least to race to the finish line in the dream of a lifetime.
The game of predictions
One of the Ultims will undoubtedly beat Loick Peyron’s time and the race will be tight between the five most recent Multi50 trimarans. It's the race of the pros that we’ll be following most passionately.
Erwan Tiboumery might also manage a podium place in the Rhum Multi class with Victorinox (M.Mai 50') if he manages to reach his budget and finish his preparations on time after having been dismasted in May. The two big catamarans belonging to Yann Mariley (an Outremer 5X) and Bertrand de Broc (a TS52) are likely to give us some amazing performance, as cruising boats go, if the weather systems are not too brutal. Bertrand’s experience could give him the edge with this boat whose sistership Joyon regularly led beyond 400 miles a day! Modern catamarans in the 40-45 foot range will be demonstrating their potential. Especially since there hasn’t been one in the Rhum since Didier Le Villain with his Outremer 45 (a first generation model) back in 2002 (he abandoned).
Next come the "venerable" boats which can’t fairly be compared to any others! They have shown the way; their silhouettes form part of the history of ocean racing, and their performances, although outdated by new-generation boats, still surprise us! It would also be inappropriate to rush such historical craft that are sailed with respect and skill and which are keeping the history of the Route du Rhum alive.
And just out of the limelight, the "amateur" competitors contribute significantly to the legend of this epic Atlantic race: for the 2018 edition, we’ve chosen to follow one of them, Jean Pierre Balmes, and hope that he manages to live the Rhum of his dreams.
We met up with Jean Pierre Balmes on the water
We met again in early April for 2 days of discovery and development of the Outremer 4X Rhum version; it was gray and chilly on the Baie d’Aigues Mortes in the South of France - a day of light to medium airs followed by an afternoon of more breeze, which permitted us to better discover man and boat.
He sure is determined!
Jean Pierre has the stature of a Canadian lumberjack, but his physique belies his true age. He loves a challenge and admits this without prompting: for him, the pleasure of sailing is obvious and unbreakable.
An Outremer 4X plus X
Jean Pierre knows the 45 and the 4X like the back of his hand, as he uses them almost daily in tests. The boat he has chosen comes straight off the production line and does not include any off-list components not available to the public. However, everyone knows that there is no such thing as a “production” boat, only a series of units! Jean Pierre has been working with the design team, collaborators, and all the manufacturing players to optimize what could be optimized, and carry out a radical hunt for superfluous weight. There’s a Chinese proverb which goes, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step", and with this in mind, looking to reduce weight requires much patience! To trim 500 kg off the platform, you have to put in a lot of energy and attention. Little by little, small amounts can cleverly be achieved with the client/buyer, the naval architect and the yard’s reputation! Target reached!
A smart sailplan
To gain significant performance on a production catamaran that has undergone a sports evolution, there is little room for maneuver! Apart from the extended rudders, everything else is in line with the standard 4X, which is already a fairly “turbo-charged” cruising multihull. The most encouraging area where we have been hunting for weight has been the rig: here, the Axxon carbon rotating mast is standard, as is the fiber rigging. The Hydranet radial mainsail is superb, but does not draw on sophisticated solutions, and so it remained to rationalize/optimize the headsails with the partner sailmaker Delta Voiles. The usual genoa furler has been removed in favor of an all-or-nothing carbon genoa with composite snap-shackles, on a stainless steel stay (which is good up to around 21 knots true upwind, but imagine the difference with almost 80 kg less at the pitching moment and the windage of this setup when you go down to staysail or solent? It’s huge!). Then a staysail on removable fiber stay takes over. The turning block for the tacklines of the spinnakers and code sails is on the outboard end of, and integrated into, the compression beam. Some beautiful blocks, creative seamanship, carefully-studied fibers, and here we are aboard a high-powered machine, although one which is fully equipped with all the standard amenities.
What’s it like on the water?
An afternoon in medium airs gives us a chance to get the first sensations, to discover the sails and to see that apart from slightly sticky rudder blades at low speed and being a little fiery with the genoa-staysail configuration, everything is fine. The boat is alive at all speeds, responsive, stiff and sensitive and above all it gives the feeling of having a lot of power to hand. The next day we aimed for a particular range to judge the catamaran in the big test: upwind in sustained medium airs! The local forecast was suggesting 15-18 knots NW, perfect for the full genoa and single-reefed main combination. Immediately the beast reveals its personality and we can feel the boat smiling. At the helm, you can feel the windward hull get lighter, but this is still a very safe boat. I monitor the NKE instruments and the speed stabilizes at 14.7 at 48° to the true wind of 18 knots, and the crew consider this as a nice reward and the promise of great things ahead!
Multihulls World: Jean Pierre, can you introduce yourself briefly to the readers of Multihulls World?
I am 59 years old. I live in La Grande Motte in the South of France and am married to an entomologist. I have a daughter from my first marriage. I am Vice-President of the Yacht Club and general secretary of the training center for offshore racing, director of Grand Large Services (a subsidiary of Outremer). I’m a graduate in strategy and management, with a university degree in addictology. After my studies and working as a sailing instructor, I made delivery trips and became a Delta Voiles agent on the Côte d'Azur. My first solo sailing trips were on a Delph 28, Super Harlequin and First 30 in 1982; I made my debut in the single-handed Figaro on Pierre Follenfant’s half-tonner (a Joubert design). I later worked as regional director, then successively president for a temporary work company and finally as head of a care center for female multi-drug addicts. In 2003, I took part in the Mini Transat from La Rochelle to Bahia - the return trip was quite "special" and I decided I had to go back to sea: the South Atlantic, the Indian Ocean. Then I met Xavier Desmarest of Outremer Yachting and this led to the creation of Grand Large Services in 2009. The company is growing, and the demands are no longer compatible with my current plans, and two years ago I decided to go back to sea.
Multihulls World: Why this irrepressible desire to do the Rhum?
Setting off again, but not just any old how. And with a project that is both defining and fascinating, from an intellectual and sailing point of view: the Transquadra? A circumnavigation? A trip to the poles? Why not the Route du Rhum? It’s a mythical race, alone, exciting tactically and meteorologically, and compatible with my social life. The project is taking shape, things are becoming clearer, and the initial budget is being put in place. "My" race is taking shape in the way a business is created: a desire, an idea, ambitions, studies, probabilities and finally a certainty. I have to do the next Route du Rhum, the 2018 edition, the 40th anniversary (I will be 60, or almost).
Multihulls World: What motivates you for this challenge?
The project must be pertinent, and include a way of life strong enough and crazy enough to justify the required effort, so that I can take pleasure in the sailing, but not to put me too much in difficulty on a personal level (I am not very young anymore, nor am I wealthy). My Route de Rhum is beginning now. Choices, certainties, questions, constraints, trade-offs. In short, I am opening up new horizons and here I am like I was at 22 years old (my age when I did the Figaro), full of projects and desires.
Multihulls World: Why this catamaran?
I know the Outremer 4X well. I know it to be efficient, safe and graceful. And there is something in it for my employer. Over a meal with Patrick (a longtime friend), he confirms that he can buy the boat if I commit to charter it for 2 years, on condition that the boat must be reusable for cruising after the race. This leaves me a completely free choice for the optimization of the boat. The only constraint is that I must preserve his investment, so it will be a production boat. My employer is ok with it all, and I have the person who can financially support the project. With my address book in hand, I organized a photographer, a press officer and a "community manager"! All friends, and all willing to exchange their talents for some beautiful sailing trips.
Multihulls World: what does your support consist of, and who do you support?
First step: motivate the employees who will build the boat, involve the technical partners to create a dynamic around the project. Everyone’s involved in the game and I love that! I’m as happy as if I’ve had a good start, where I wanted, as I wanted; that the race looks both beautiful and tactical, and that I can read the water. I have a special sensitivity from my previous job involving accompanying people in pain and their families. In recent years, we have established a link between the CEM (Mediterranean training center) and RIRE clowns for hospitalized children. I want to associate them with my project and contribute to their cause. This partnership is contractual, and it remains only to find the financial support for my race and for my support for RIRE; Lizmer, a subsidiary of the Caisse d'Epargne banking group, here in France, with whom I have worked for many years, has confirmed their acceptance for financing for the boat and given me financial support. The dream is becoming reality and the construction of RITUAL has begun. Solveo Energie, whose president has been following the project since the beginning, have confirmed their partnership and commitment to us. Yes, yes, yes! This company’s core values (renewable energy) are ethically compatible with my requirements.
Multihulls World: can you give us an idea of the budget?
We are still 30,000 euros short of the 150,000 anticipated to be needed for this beautiful project (the race and support for the RIRE association). Fortunately, I am still in a position to negotiate the name of the boat for the duration of the race and the logo on the mainsail... (Anyone interested?)
Multihulls World: do you see yourself achieving a result?
In the Rhum Class there will be racing boats that should be ahead, and boats that are a little more versatile. I'm racing a production boat and it will be interesting to see how I get on against boats that have a comfort/performance level which is different to mine.
Follow Jean-Pierre Balmes’ adventure:
Facebook page - Jean-Pierre Balmès – officiel
Email: jpbalmes@gmail.com
