La Roche-Posay Racing Team have worked-up their AC75 to full sailing mode in glorious conditions off Lorient, France, as the French campaign for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup took flight.
Towing out of their new bespoke AC75 base, a fast tow out to the open waters of the Atlantic with more than a fair few spectator boats taking in the sight of an AC75 at full bore – an impressive sight in sailing and the first time ever that an AC75 has sailed in French waters.
As a sister-ship to the all-conquering Emirates Team New Zealand ‘Taihoro,’ La Roche-Posay Racing Team have an excellent opportunity to work the boat up to race mode over the coming months. Thursday was a chance to check-in on the myriad of systems and controls of the new version three of the AC75.
The six pods have been reconfigured high on the combing arc of the deck, similar if not identical to the Kiwi set-up with the trimmers and flight controllers forward, the helms tucked in behind and then the undefined fifth role just behind the helm on the starboard (right) side.
Down on the other side, the aft port pod will eventually be for Guest Racers and what a privileged and coveted position that will be, come Naples in 2027.
The team performed a short upwind, a bear-away and a downwind leg with helmsman Quentin Delapierre on starboard and Diego Botín on port, Jason Saunders and Timothé Lapauw handling the trim and controls, showing steady flight and good co-ordination.
It was a shake-down sail and plenty of positives to take away. In the coming days the boat will be fully worked-up.
The boat was eventually bow-towed back to base early after the mainsail and jib had been lowered following work around the mainsail tack. The reason for the curtailed session could not be confirmed.
The recon team reported that: the atmosphere appeared slightly subdued following the shortened sailing session, suggesting the interruption had not been entirely routine, though this could not be confirmed.
During end-of-day handling, one foil was seen being pushed down manually rather than through the foil cant system, although whether this related to the interruption or formed part of normal handling could not be determined.
Speaking afterwards, skipper Quentin Delapierre summarised the day saying: “It was a good setup. Just checking all the hydro settings and the aero systems. Also, first time sailing with sails on an AC75 in France, on water. So yeah, it was pretty special. We had a decent day.”
“All the checks are done, and we’re ready for the rest of the week…today, first we had to check all the systems. It was the first time. Also check the sails. We had a bit of upwind, a bear away, a downwind, and after we tried to fine-tune some of the systems before we went back to the harbour.”
Related Post . . .
Here come Les Bleus . . . French launch their rebuilt AC75 for 38th America’s Cup