New Racing Trimarans - The Big and the Beautiful
A couple of incredible new sailing trimarans have hit the water in the last few days. In France, the enormous 131 foot Banque Populaire V, the largest racing multihull ever built, was launched. More than a third of the way around the world in Washington State, champagne crashed against the bow of the new BMW Oracle boat, which the team hopes to be the next America's Cup winner. While certainly big and beautiful, these boats weren't designed for aesthetics - they're built for speed.
After over 18 months of construction, the 40 meter maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V had it's first taste of the water a few days ago in Nantes. The boat was lifted, and the mast attached, as the crowds stood by at dockside stunned by the sheer size of this gigantic yacht. The crowds didn't have much time to gawk however, as Banque Populaire V quickly pulled away under power, heading for its home port of Lorient, France, with skipper Pascal Bidégorry at the helm.
Skipper Bidégorry said at the launch “today is the first time that the boat touches water, the first time we start the engine and the propeller turns. Many things will happen in the days to come and they will all be a first. It is a great satisfaction to see the boat floating, though I am torn between the emotion of being in the water and the reality of the work which awaits us."
The trimaran will now undergo a battery of tests, before her first sailing sea trials begin in about 10 days. The new trimaran will then be officially christened in Nantes on October 4th. Director of Team Banque Populaire, Ronan Lucas said of their new yacht: “We now have a splendid boat on the water, which will be developed to break records. The entire Team Banque Populaire was passionate about this project and gave of its best. This boat is already the prettiest of them all and I hope that it will prove to be a highly reliable record breaking maxi-trimaran over the next year!”
Olivier Bordeau, who oversaw the Banque Populaire build, was not only happy about the launch, he was feeling a bit philosophical as well: “I have built dozens of new boats in my professional life. This one is the largest, but I treated it like all the others. This boat, like all boats, has a heart and yesterday evening, when I spent the night with the boat, I felt that it was waiting for this moment.”
BMW Oracle Racings new 90 foot carbon fiber multihull also hit the waters this week, when it was launched in Fidalgo Bay after more than 9 months of building. To design this new high-tech trimaran the team partnered with Van Peteghem & Lauriot Prévost of France, and one of the most respected skippers in multihull racing, YachtPal Franck Cammas.
Russell Coutts, who will skipper the new America's Cup boat said: “We have learned a lot and developed a lot of new technology in building this boat and I’m really looking forward to testing it on the water. It is going to be an interesting challenge and we will need to build up slowly and carefully to testing its full potential.” The U.S. team expects sea trials to begin in early September, once the fitting out is complete, and structural load tests are conducted at dockside.
According to the team, "the yacht is a key element of the team’s preparation for the next America’s Cup, representing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), on which a ruling is expected from the New York State Court of Appeals in the next six months."
The 33rd edition of the America's Cup could take place in the Mediterranean port of Valencia in Spain, if the team's long running court battle with Alinghi ends with a decision in favor of Oracle Racing. If this happens, the Alinghi team will be ready, they are also building their own multihull yacht, which should be ready at the beginning of next year.
- New Racing Trimarans - The Big and the Beautiful by K. Hampton and Fred Eagle for YachtPals.com
- Sailboat Video 1: BMW Oracle Racing 90x90 Trimaran Launched in Anacortes Washington
- Sailboat Video 2: BMW Oracle Racings new 90 foot carbon fiber trimaran - Stepping the Mast
- Sailboat Video 3: Maxi Banque Populaire V
Submitted By YachtPals on 27 Aug
trimaran, Banque Populaire, bmw, Oracle, US, Washington, France, BMW Oracle, sailing, dogzilla, Banque Populaire V, America's Cup, sailboats, sailboat
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Oracle trimaran's mast step
Is Oracle's trimaran deck stepped?
40 meter Trimaran
Just a warning for the amateur designer:
OK its great for stability against capsize to be so big. Sailarea goes up by the square, Boat weight by the cube,
but the strength of the material doesn't scale up so smoothly. The molecules stay the same size.
So get an expert engeneer to calculate the forces and dimensions of the crossbeams. Nearly needs rocket science, aircraft
technology.
I am in awe about this boat. May it hold together. Valvetrom H (c:
New BMW Oracle Trimaran
BMW ORACLE Racing’s new 90 foot multihull sailboat hoisted sail for the first time yesterday, sailing for four hours in 6-8 knots of wind on Rosario Strait off Anacortes, Washington.
“This boat is incredibly challenging,” said skipper Russell Coutts. “We will take it conservatively in this testing session as we learn more about the boat and its potential.”
The initial on-the-water testing session will continue in Anacortes until the middle of September.
BMW Oracle Trimaran - Sea Trials Continue in Anacortes WA
“We’re not even at 50 percent yet and it’s already pretty impressive,” said James Spithill, one of the helmsmen for the new BMW Oracle America's Cup multihull, as they tested the new boat in Rosario Strait.
YachtPals own Franck Cammas, helmsman for the Anacortes testing session said: “The important part is to take it slow as we continue to learn about the boat. Most of us have not done anything like it. It’s a huge credit to the designers and boat builders that everything is working so well at this early stage.”
On Monday, the new BMW Oracle multihull was sailed with two reefs in the mainsail. On Tuesday, the new boat was sailed without any reefs, and with a Solent headsail. They are progressively increasing the loads on the boat as the testing continues.
“Each day we will push things a little bit harder and harder,” said tactician John Kostecki. “This boat is testing the limits. We are like test pilots and we’re taking it gently and carefully so we don’t have any majors. We’re quite happy with the initial performance of the boat.”
Today the team is having another testing session on Rosario Strait near Anacortes.
Watching the BMW Oracle sail
For the past week or two we have had glimpses of the BMW Oracle multihull sailing in front of our house on North Whidbey Island.
When I first saw the boat I thought "what is that, the mast is huge".
We frequently see tankers as they come in from the Straights, round Lopez Island and head to Anacortes to unload their crude oil.
This "sail boat" is much more impresive than the tankers. From our deck the boat is probably seven miles out as it runs North up Rosario Straight in front of Lopez. The boat is so low to the water the only thing on sees is the mast and sails.
Whenever the boat is out , I haul out my 80 mm scope and watch it. Unfortunately, 7 miles of water vapor distortes the image slightyl but the signt is still impressive.
As the boat heads West around Lopez, once again the only thing one sees is this huge mast rising from the horizon..
North Whidbey resident
Banque Populaire V Sailing in France
The multihull racing yacht Banque Populaire V started testing in France this week. Read the full story here:
World's Largest Racing Trimaran Sailing in France - Banque Populaire V
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