With the opening days of 2012, comes the successful circumnavigation of the globe by the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V in 45 days 13 hours 43 minutes, earning her the Jules Verne Trophy at an average speed along the great circle route of 19.89 knots. At the end of 2011, three Imoca monohulls, they too built by CDK Technologies, gained renown with a podium finish in the Transat BtoB, from Saint Barts to Lorient… An unprecedented success then, for the yards in Port-la-Forêt and Keroman.

With a view to qualification for the Vendée Globe and to give the boats one last test in solo configuration before the final meeting of the 2012, eight skippers took the start on 5 December 2011 from the port of Gustavia, for a 3,300 mile sprint across the Atlantic. It was a race which proved early on to be very tough for both the men and the boats alike because, with the onset of winter, the ocean certainly made its presence felt! After a quiet start in the easterly tradewinds, the Imoca 60 footers headed due North to hunt down the first depression to the South of Newfoundland, and a second disturbance pushed the fleet into the middle of the Atlantic. However, the weather situation was to worsen still further when a third depression rolled in as the solo sailors were about to enter the Bay of Biscay with over 70 knots of breeze forecast along the Breton coast… Race Management, headed by Jacques Caraës, rightly opted to set up a virtual finish line offshore of Cape Finisterre.

Powerful validation!

From the first week of racing, the three new VPLP-Verdier designs took control of the fleet, which is where they stayed. These three Open 60 footers were built by the CDK Technologies yard in Port La Forêt: MACIF the most recent boat, driven by the young and talented François Gabart, Banque Populaire (ex-Foncia skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux) skippered by Armel le Cléac’h and PRB helmed by Vincent Riou. Three boats with similar characteristics but each carefully adapted to the needs of each solo sailor by their shore crew and the whole of the team at CDK Technologies… Despite the testing sailing conditions, the three boats made Lorient in good condition and were thus able to prove their seaworthiness and reliability in the rough weather.

Now, early this January 2012, it’s the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V which has completed her round the world off Ushant after 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds! Setting off on 22 November 2011 at 0831 UTC from in front of the Créac’h lighthouse, Loïck Peyron and his thirteen men enjoyed some very favourable weather conditions as far as the entrance into the Pacific, but most importantly they benefited from a perfectly optimised and reliable multihull:

“There has been a lot of work carried out over the past three years, particularly in terms of time on the water, and I’ve just been lucky to come along after this spell of fine tuning to participate in this round the world. What’s impressive is that even beneath the beams, an area which often cracks on multihulls, there is no sign of structural weakness. It’s a well-designed boat created by people who know their job and onboard, some members of the team even took part in the design” indicated the skipper of Banque Populaire V prior to her victorious finish.

A crop of records!

Launched on 28 August 2008 in Lorient on leaving the CDK Technologies yard in Keroman, Banque Populaire V has now won the biggest haul of major oceanic multihull records. In August 2009, managed by Pascal Bidégorry, the maxi-trimaran won the transatlantic record in 3d 15h 25’ 48 and, in the process, the greatest distance covered in 24 hours: 908.2 miles at a staggering average of 37.84 knots! In May of the following year, the largest ocean racing multihull in the world won the Trans-Mediterranean record between Marseille and Carthage in 14h 20’ 34 at an average of 32 knots.

The year 2011 saw the arrival of Loïck Peyron as skipper and Banque Populaire V enjoyed a number of record attempts with three major successes over short courses: the SNSM record (RNLI equivalent) in 11h 48’ 30 (June 2011), the Round Britain and Ireland in 3d 3h 49’ 14 (July 2011) and the Rolex Fastnet Race in 32h 48’ 46 (August 2011). During her round the world, Banque Populaire V also won two WRSSC records (World Sailing Speed Record Council) with the Indian Ocean crossing from the Agulhas Cape to Tasmania in 8d 7h 22’ 15 then the section from equator-equator in 32d 11h 51’ 30… Today, with a Jules Verne Trophy to her credit after 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds, Banque Populaire V opens the 2012 season on a roll!

CDK Technologies is delighted to congratulate the skippers of the three Imoca monohulls, who believed and trusted in them, namely the highly successful François Gabart (MACIF), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) and Vincent Riou (PRB), as well as Loïck Peyron and his thirteen men (Banque Populaire V).

Specialised in high tech composite geared towards ocean racing, the yards in Port La Forêt and Keroman are currently in charge of  build and assembly of the new one-design MOD-70 trimarans: already five multihulls have taken to the water on leaving the yards in Lorient… and that is just the beginning.

Translation :Kate Jenning