The IMOCA 60 Malizia-Seaexplorer is the world\u2019s fastest monohull, having set a blistering 24-hour record of 641.08 nautical miles while competing in The Ocean Race transatlantic legFollowers of the IMOCA 60\u00a0fleet will know that two names have dominated the class over the past two generations when it comes to design: VPLP and Verdier. So, it\u2019s no surprise that all five of the IMOCAs competing in The Ocean Race come from those same drawing boards (and in the case of the oldest boat in the fleet, the 2015-launched Guyot Environnement, a VPLP\/Verdier partnership).
\nOf the four designs, three are by Verdier \u2013 11th Hour Racing Team, Holcim-PRB, and Biotherm. This leaves Boris Herrmann\u2019s Malizia-Seaexplorer as the sole latest generation VPLP IMOCA in the race, but the differences in its design concept run much deeper. Malizia-Seaexplorer was, uniquely among the fleet, designed from the outset for both the 2023 Ocean Race and the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe. The result is a distinctively different looking IMOCA.
\nVPLP explains that the design differs markedly from previous iterations of IMOCA, particularly in the shape of the hull. Much of this was the result of lessons learned during the 2020 Vend\u00e9e Globe. The main aim of the hull studies VPLP undertook was to optimise Malizia-Seaexplorer\u2019s performance in the heavy seas of the Southern Ocean without compromising its ability to perform in the more moderate conditions expected on the Atlantic stages of both The Ocean Race and Vend\u00e9e Globe.
\nDamage to the original L-shaped foils proved fortuitous \u2013 the replacement C-shaped ones actually performed better. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/Team Malizia
\nBow shape
\nGerman skipper Herrmann had made three laps of the planet before the Ocean Race start and had specific ideas he wanted to incorporate into the design. Malizia-Seaexplorer has noticeably full bow sections, a higher freeboard and more curved sheerline. Co-skipper Will Harris explained that the boat\u2019s bow shape and volume are two of its key design features.
\n\u201cThe first 3.5m of the bow were cut off, in effect giving us a scow bow,\u201d Harris said while showing me around the boat in the Newport stopover. \u201cIt means we\u2019re less likely to catch the bow as we plough into the wave in front of us. And the added volume up front helps lift the boat back out of the water. You look at a boat like Biotherm, it has a bullet nose. Once it digs in a wave it\u2019s hard to get it back out.
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExtraordinary Boats: the new 11th Hour Racing IMOCA 60<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor decades the whole point of designing an IMOCA 60 has been to win the Vend\u00e9e Globe solo round the\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExtraordinary boats: the new radical PRB IMOCA 60<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs if the new PRB IMOCA 60 were not eye-catching enough, the story behind it is truly remarkable. The reason\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really thought about this design for the Southern Ocean, and it really pays off in the heavy conditions. It might not be so good in other conditions, in lighter winds the extra volume means it\u2019s heavier, but in the rough conditions it pays off for us.\u201d
\nAmong the Verdier designs, overall race leader Holcim-PRB seems the most similar in terms of bow shape, though it lacks the volume of Malizia. Not surprisingly, the two designs were clearly superior in the arduous 12,000-mile Southern Ocean Leg 3 of The Ocean Race. Holcim-PRB and Malizia-Seaexplorer were 1st and 2nd through the mid-leg scoring gate. Approaching the gate at longitude 143 East, Malizia-Seaexplorer overtook 11th Hour Racing Team in strong north-westerly winds of 20-25 knots to earn 2nd place.
\nMalizia-Seaexplorer\u2019s notably high freeboard translates to greater headroom inside the cockpit. Photo: Antoine Auriol\/Team Malizia
\n11th Hour\u2019s onboard reporter Amory Ross ruefully described Malizia\u2019s superiority in the sea state as they went past: \u201cAfter working our way through Biotherm it was Malizia\u2019s turn to do the same to us this afternoon. They seem to be able to carry more sail and keep their bow up, presumably with the shape of their hull, and while we struggled in the waves to keep from nose diving, they were able to sail at the same speed but lower.
\n\u201cWe watched as they sailed down to us, around our bow, and then continued on in a more southerly direction.\u201d
\nMalizia kept that pace up in heavy conditions on the approach to Cape Horn and rounded the iconic landmark ahead of Holcim-PRB.
\nRacing at full bore in the Southern Ocean during Leg 3 of The Ocean Race. Photo: Antoine Auriol\/Team Malizia
\nBanana boat
\nAnother design feature Harris credited to their success is the boat\u2019s rocker, the curvature of the hull from bow to stern. Harris said that because the rocker rises up in the stern, it also aids the bow in staying out of the water.
\n\u201cThe rocker continues well into the back of the boat, so the whole boat is like a banana,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThe idea behind the rocker rising in the stern is to help lift the bow up even more. By having the stern high we can stack more gear, people and equipment in the back of the boat so the bow comes out even more, so it\u2019s less likely to dig into the waves. The tradeoff is it\u2019s less efficient in marginal planing conditions, it\u2019s a little harder to get on a plane just before foiling, but we feel it\u2019s a very small difference.\u201d
\nThe added freeboard also has multiple benefits, including the boat\u2019s ability to self-right. All IMOCAs must be able to self-right after passing 110\u00b0 of heel angle. \u201cThe higher freeboard means more volume at the front. So, when the bow digs in a wave, there\u2019s a lot of buoyancy to help lift it out of the water. Higher freeboard also means more volume for life onboard. And in the IMOCA rules, a high freeboard means more form stability so we can have a lighter ballast bulb for the 110\u00b0 test,\u201d Harris adds.
\nThe new borrowed c-shape foils were something of a blessing. Photo: Antoine Auriol \/ Team Malizia
\nFoil changes
\nHowever, it\u2019s Malizia\u2019s foils that have proven to be an unexpected benefit \u2013 especially since they\u2019re not the intended foils, but rather a spare set the team had to switch to after Malizia-Seaexplorer\u2019s version one foils were damaged beyond repair before the race start.
\nThe team\u2019s original set suffered damage on the delivery from Guadeloupe at the end of the Route du Rhum to Alicante for the start of The Ocean Race. Harris said that they experienced some rough conditions on the passage and that when the boat nosedived the loads on the foils were counter to the designed loads. There\u2019s a shaft inside the foils around which the carbon fibre is laid, but the carbon wasn\u2019t strong enough to support the huge loads the foils undergo.
\nAn ultrasound check revealed internal damage, and was followed by a frantic search for a replacement set \u2013 the team was fortunate to be able to use a set from designer Sam Manuard, similar to those built for Sam Davies\u2019 new Initiatives Coeur.
\n\u201cTo be honest, it\u2019s been a bit of a blessing,\u201d Harris said. The original foils were L-shaped in profile, whereas the replacements are C-shaped. Harris says the biggest benefit is the way the foils regulate the boat\u2019s motion through waves.
\nThere are 54 separate control lines running into the enclosed cockpit. Photo: Antoine Auriol\/Team Malizia
\n\u201cThe C-shaped foils are more polyvalent, they\u2019re good in all conditions,\u201d said Harris. \u201cThey\u2019re more vertical in profile, which means there\u2019s more righting moment, more of a daggerboard effect. And when the boat starts to lift out of the water the foil comes out in a natural way and helps stabilise the flight of the boat. It doesn\u2019t leap as much. The L-foils are not as good at managing those leaps, you must play more with their extension. With the C-foils, if they\u2019re extended a bit too much in a gust it\u2019s OK. They allow the boat to lift over the wave and not jump so much that it ventilates.\u201d
\nThe C-shape foil versus L-shape played out dramatically on Leg 5 of The Ocean Race, when 11th Hour Racing Team, Holcim-PRB and Malizia-Seaexplorer all took turns blowing through the race and outright monohull 24-hour records (previously standing at 602 and 618 miles respectively, the latter set by the 100ft Comanche back in 2015). During what\u2019s been dubbed the \u2018North Atlantic Speed Sailing Seminar\u2019 Malizia-Seaexplorer ended up with the top number, setting a new record of 641.13 miles in 24 hours on 26 May, having maintained a breathtaking average speed of 26.71 knots.
\nBy IMOCA standards, Malizia\u2019s living quarters are comfortable, with curtained bunks. Despite how snugly the crew are wedged in, Rosalind Kuiper was thrown from her bunk and suffered a head injury in Leg 3, due to the foiling IMOCA\u2019s extreme motion in rough seas. Photo: Antoine Auriol\/Team Malizia
\n\u201cWe had exceptional conditions with a flat sea, the wind steady from the right direction, the right angle for such a long time,\u201d said Herrmann.
\n\u201cNo sail changes \u2013 actually, we took a reef in and out, so we slowed down for these two moments, but apart from that nothing slowed us down for a longer time. Sometimes, the waves got a little bit shorter and we\u2019d slow down to 18 knots and get a bit stuck in the sea. But most of the time the boat would pass the sea perfectly and fly at 27-34 knots, it felt really relaxed.\u201d
\nBulletproof IMOCA 60
\nRegardless of the foil shape, Malizia-Seaexplorer is a beast of a boat. Harris noted that the boat has 30% more structure than the other IMOCAs. The hull is solid carbon fibre, no foam core, up to 16 layers thick in some places. The trend among the IMOCA class is to eliminate the foam cores and use a monolithic construction process that eliminates the possibility of core failure. Given the 30-knot speeds these boats are capable of, their skippers must have confidence that the machine will not break.
\n\u201cThis is a very good boat for the Vend\u00e9e Globe, it is very good for the overall campaign,\u201d said Herrmann. \u201cI don\u2019t foresee broken stringers or a delamination after a cold front. We have a monolithic very strong hull, a little heavier but when we are up on the foils we perform very much like the pack.
\n\u201cWe are seeing sensational performances downwind and upwind, a few knots quicker than the old boat, the ergonomics are so much better than the old boat. There are so many good things about this boat.\u201d
\nExtensive solar panels from Solbian on the side decks and coachroof produce 60% of required power, the rest being generated from two hydro-generators. Photo: Antoine Auriol\/Team Malizia
\nMalizia-Seaexplorer specifications
\nLOA: 18.28m \/ 59ft 11in
\nLOA inc bowsprit: 20.12m \/ 65ft 5in
\nBeam: 5.70m \/ 18ft 3in
\nDraught: 4.50m \/ 14ft 8in
\nDisplacement: N\/A
\nMast height: 27.24m \/ 88ft 9in
\nSail area upwind: 270m2 \/ 2,906ft2
\nSail area offwind: 550m2 \/ 5,920ft2
\nDesign: VPLP
\nBuilder: Multiplast<\/p>\n
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The IMOCA 60 Malizia-Seaexplorer is the world\u2019s fastest monohull, having set a blistering 24-hour record of 641.08 nautical miles while competing in The Ocean Race transatlantic legFollowers of the IMOCA 60\u00a0fleet will know that two names have dominated the class … <\/p>\n