FIRST SAIL FOR LA ROCHE-POSAY RACING TEAM
It has been an impressive few days as La Roche-Posay Racing Team have worked-up their AC75 to full sailing mode and today, in glorious conditions off Lorient, France, it all came together as the French campaign for the Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup took flight.
Towing out of their new bespoke AC75 base, there was palpable excitement in the air with the team monitoring the weather before the call was made to go. A fast tow out of the famous harbour led 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.
The beautiful azure blue and white decked livery glistened in the sunlight and blue waters as Quentin Delapierre and Diego Botin got to grips with the boat that so much has been written about and so many hopes depend on.
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. Today was a sighter-run, a chance to check-in on the myriad of systems and controls of the new version three of the AC75.
Gone are the cyclors, replaced by battery-power that equates to manual output and requires careful management. 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 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 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."
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.”
Quentin was full of praise for his shore team and briefed the sailing team before sailing that they were there in the service of the Shore Team. Asked to explain this he offered: “Yeah, it was just because the shore crew and the team worked pretty hard in the last weeks, and it’s pretty hard work. Today was honestly just to follow the checklist and see if all the systems are in and in a good shape, and the performance and sailing will come after. It was not a super high-pressure day.”
On-Water Recon Report: The Recon Unit was advised that LRPRT intended to sail B1 for the first time on Tuesday 30 June, the boat's first sailing day of the AC38 campaign. From the dock-out brief, the objective was understood to be to validate the sail control systems with one upwind and one downwind at around 75% of maximum load.
The boat rolled out from the shed at approximately 08:15 and was taken to a different crane from that used on D3, where the port and starboard foils and rudder were fitted. The rudder appeared consistent with that seen on D3, though it was raked further aft such that the elevator leading-edge root did not sit against the hull. Orange marks were noted on the outboard wing tips of both foils, together with white marks slightly inboard along the leading edge on the outboard side of each wing tip. The anti-ventilation fences on the foil arm fairings appeared consistent with D2.
Mast stepping followed broadly the same sequence as D2. The forestay was attached and a tensioning sequence carried out, during which the forestay was detached and reattached while the halyard remained under tension on the hydraulic ram, with mast bend monitored throughout. A crew member was hoisted aloft to remove temporary holding ropes before the hydraulic ram was removed. The boat was craned into the water at approximately 09:42 with the bow facing the sea, as previously observed on D3.
Alongside the dock, a crew member was again hoisted up the mast using a halyard driven by a hand drill to remove the crane hooks and the temporary spreader piece. The Cunningham hydraulic rams connected to the orange hydraulic lines were installed, completing the Cunningham system, while the remaining temporary fittings and temporary forestay were removed. An extended dockside validation of the control systems then followed, including mast rotation to both sides, full foil cant cycles, and checks of the mainsheet, traveller, sheeting angle and mast rotation systems, often operated simultaneously from laptops on deck. Both mainsail skins (MN2-1) were loaded, and two jibs, J3-2 and J4-2, were on deck.
From the dock-out brief, the helmsmen were Quentin Delapierre on starboard and Diego Botín on port, with Jason Saunders and Timothé Lapauw also aboard. The boat docked out at approximately 11:12 under a short tow to clear the harbour.
The mainsail was hoisted on both sides before the jib, with a crew member later sent aloft to carry out checks around the jib hook. After a short tow, the boat was released and sailed in displacement mode before taking off at approximately 13:02. It reached up onto the foils and bore away to an estimated true wind angle of around 150° on starboard, working through varying modes of approximately ±10°. Boat speed appeared to be around 30 knots, possibly approaching 40 knots, with a fairly constant ride height and some pitch movement developing towards the end of the run. A single gybe followed with a pronounced touchdown, after which the boat struggled to return to stable foiling with both foils down and considerable windward heel before recovering. Ride height and pitch remained irregular before briefly stabilising in a bow-down attitude. On a short port segment, raising the windward foil again led to further instability and another touchdown before the windward foil was lowered once more. The boat then stabilised briefly, headed up and stopped at approximately 13:14 after around 15 minutes of sailing. While stopped on the water, noticeable mast bend remained visible under load.
Following the stop, the technical team boarded the boat to carry out checks while the crew completed team photographs. Once the checks were complete, the technical team disembarked and the boat appeared ready to resume sailing, likely for an upwind, with the chase boat preparing a bow tow. An apparent interruption then followed, with the technical team boarding the boat again before a prolonged wait on the water. The boat was eventually bow-towed back to base from approximately 14:37 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 boat docked in at approximately 15:20. Once alongside, the small inspection openings in both inboard foil arm fairings were opened and personnel appeared to inspect the area before applying an unidentified coating or lubricant in several locations. Vibration fairings were also noted on the shrouds and lowers. 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 earlier interruption or formed part of normal handling could not be determined.
The boat was lifted out at approximately 16:23. Blue markings were noted on the foil wings and beneath the foil bulb. The mast was unstepped and rinsed on the pontoon before the boat returned to the shed at approximately 18:08. Although operations ashore continued normally, the atmosphere appeared slightly subdued following the shortened sailing session, suggesting the interruption had not been entirely routine, though this could not be confirmed.