Harnessing experience and ambition

A growing trend among IMOCA competitors is cooperation for improvement, and this has escalated for the first time in class history as three teams join forces to co-design and build three new IMOCA yachts.

Team Malizia (Boris Herrmann), TR Racing (Thomas Ruyant), and Team Banque Populaire (Loïs Berrehar) are working with naval architect Antoine Koch, design office Finot-Conq, and Gsea Design with the boats to be built at CDK shipyard.

“We are pooling expertise and brainpower but also sharing tooling which, amongst others, helps to reduce the environmental footprint of the build,” explains Herrmann, with the launches in 2026 and 2027. The boats will have the same hull, but each team will tailor their boat to personal preferences.

“It is indeed quite rare in naval architecture to see such a coordinated approach involving three distinct entities,” noted Koch. “The belief that we could achieve significant gains in reducing both the environmental impact of construction and the overall lifecycle of the boats led us to combine the efforts and expertise of three renowned teams.

Hermann adds, “This new boat will be quite different from our current boat. Antoine has designed two highly performing boats, including Thomas’ current VULNERABLE, which serves as the starting point for the design of the new IMOCA, which is a beautiful one that I strongly believe in.”

Koch noted how the boat’s rounded hull shape makes life on board more comfortable and less brutal, moving well through the water.

“We know its strengths, especially downwind in rough conditions, but we have also identified its weaknesses: upwind and in flat water,” he explained. “We are working to improve its versatility. Our aim is to gain in transition phases, make up for our minor “gaps” in light winds, and continuously improve how the boat handles waves. The devil is in the detail, and we are making progress across the board.”

Herrmann explains the connection between the three skippers.

“Thomas and I have been friends for many years, and we raced together in the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre. I have a lot of respect for him as a sailor, and he has a hugely experienced team, with three Vendée Globe campaigns behind them.

“Team Banque Populaire also has a top-tier design office and are now returning to the IMOCA class with Loïs as skipper. Although it’s his debut in the class, I’ve known Loïs since he was just a kid and back in 2008, he christened my Class 40 Beluga Racer. This year, he’ll be sailing with Team Malizia as a co-skipper in The Ocean Race Europe 2025.

“Now, our three teams are working together alongside Antoine, and it’s a real privilege to be working with these brilliant people. That kind of cooperation is rare in our sport, and it’s made the process of designing our new boat both inspiring and energizing. This new boat reflects that spirit: innovative, precisely developed, and full of potential.”

Ruyant adds, “This project builds on the foundation Antoine Koch and I have developed since 2019. He contributed to my previous boat, LinkedOut (a 2019 Verdier design), working on two versions of our foils. He is the architect, alongside Finot-Conq, of my current IMOCA VULNERABLE, which has become the reference point for the design brief driven by this shared ambition to pool the expertise of three ambitious teams.

“Antoine is bursting with ideas. He has a highly rational, analytical mind, and our communication feels almost instinctive. Banque Populaire and their teams, who have performed at a high level across various classes, are bringing their own unique perspective.

“Malizia also has an excellent design office. Their current boat (a 2022 VPLP design) is very different to ours, and we’re learning a lot from their recent experience. Together, we are looking into the finer details as we work to improve from VULNERABLE’s base. Versatility is the key word, particularly improving the boat’s performance in light winds and its ability to get up to speed quickly.”

“It’s a rewarding and exciting process to design a boat this way,” said Berrehar. “I find it particularly interesting to do this alongside teams whose skippers already have strong Vendée Globe experience (two campaigns for Boris, three for Thomas). What’s crucial for this boat is its ability to handle heavy seas well.

“If you’re going to launch a Formula 1 car into a bumpy field, it needs to be tough enough! Antoine Koch and his team’s hull studies are very insightful in this regard. As a team, we’ve been able to add our own touch and input… and the further we progress, the more exciting the project becomes!”

The ultimate goat for all the teams is the 2028-29 Vendée Globe.

PHOTO (from left): Boris Herrmann (Team Malizia), Thomas Ruyant (TR Racing), and Loïs Berrehar (Team Banque Populaire)

Details: www.vendeeglobe.org

The Vendée Globe, raced in the 60-foot IMOCA, is the elite race round the world, solo, non-stop, and without assistance. Beginning and ending in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, Charlie Dalin (FRA) set the record for the 24,300 nm course in the 2024-25 edition of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, 49 seconds. The 11th edition will begin in 2028.