trimaran groupama 3

The Maxi-Trimaran

A boat that has proved herself.

The former Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire VII, the IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran has had an exceptional list of successes. Winner of the Jules Verne Trophy in 2010 and 2012, and again in 2017, the boat also won the last three editions of the Route du Rhum – and many other events. Thirteen years after she was first launched, this strong all-round performer can look forward to a bright future in the expert hands of Francis Joyon.

It was in December 2004 that Groupama announced the construction of a giant trimaran to attempt to smash the major ocean records leading up to the legendary Jules Verne Trophy. At a time when the arms race was on in the sailing world, Groupama wanted to come up with a reasonably sized boat, the smallest trimaran capable of beating Orange II. Franck Cammas and his team opted for a length of 31.50 metres (105 feet) designed by the architects, Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost.

Work began on Groupama 3 in 2005 at the Multiplast yard in Vannes. After almost 130,000 man hours, the boat was launched on 7th June 2006. “ We decided to design a medium power trimaran,” stressed Cammas when presenting his project. ” Groupama 3 is light, but long enough to be safe in the Southern Ocean. The power comes from her width, while her light weight is down to optimising her structure, rationalising the equipment and paying attention to how she was built.” Groupama 3 innovated with her concept inspired by the 60-foot ORMA trimarans (like Groupama 2) ratehr than the more recent giants, which were heavier and designed to face the Southern Ocean. While Orange II (36.80 metres) was amazing in heavy seas, she found it tougher in lighter conditions and moderate winds. Groupama 3 was a strong all-rounder and could sail almost as quickly in strong winds, while remaining at ease in lighter weather. There was another new feature: Groupama 3 was the very first big multihull to set off around the world with foils, a concept only used until then on the Orma boats in the Atlantic.

Specifications

Architects : VPLP team (Van Péteghem-Lauriot Prévost) Previous names : Groupama 3 , Banque Populaire VII Length : 31.50 m Beam : 22.50 m Displacement : 18,000 kg Draught : 5.70 m Mast height : 33.50 m Structure : carbon-Nomex Upwind sail surface : 411 m 2 Downwind sail surface : 678 m 2 Initial launch date : June 2006

The boat which has won the Route du Rhum three times

In 2010, Franck Cammas took up a challenge which many people thought impossible, or at best very complicated: he wanted to win the Route du Rhum, sailing alone on his 31.5m maxi trimaran which was equipped with a shorter rig and with a more suitable deck layout. Cammas’s performance was amazing: after nine days 3 hrs 14 mins 47 seconds, he finished first in Pointe-à-Pitre ahead of Francis Joyon and Thomas Coville.

The boat was then sold and became Banque Populaire VII. Relaunched on 15th April 2013 in Lorient, the boat achieved more successes in the hands of Armel Le Cléac’h, who smashed several solo records aboard her: the Mediterranean record, Columbus Route and 24-Hour record (682 miles). After injuring his hand, Armel Le Cléac’h was forced to stand down for the Route du Rhum and was replaced at the last moment by Loïck Peyron at the helm of the maxi trimaran, which had won the previous edition of the prestigious transatlantic race. After a fantastic race, Peyron won the tenth edition of the Route du Rhum with a time of 7 days, 15 hrs 8 minutes and 32 seconds.

• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Groupama 3 back home at Multiplast yard, Brittany

Related Articles

• MarketPlace
• Digital Archives
• Order A Copy

Groupama 3 on track to break own transatlantic record

Franck Cammas was in fine fettle at noon on Thursday, 30 July, for the first radio link-up organised with the shore-based HQ in Lorient, at which point the green trimaran had already covered over 450 miles since setting out from New York. “We’re sailing downwind on flat seas with 20 to 25 knots of breeze. We’ve had to make a few sail changes since leaving the Ambrose Light, hoisting more sail aloft this morning as we set the gennaker. We’re trying to go fast by heading up to accelerate. “The trajectory as far as Lizard Point isn’t as clear as all that; after Newfoundland we’re going to have to choose between a route which sees us heading up a bit or bearing away a little, which has repercussions on the sail configuration. We’re going to take that decision after Cap Race. The crux of the matter still centres on the end of the course as the front looks to want to drag its heels as we approach the goal.”

Read more …

By Ocean Navigator

• subscribe newsletters
• Design office
• Research and development
• Production facilities
• Human resources
• Means of controlling
• Health and safety, environmement
• Racing multihulls
• Cruising multihulls
• Racing monohull
• Cruising monohull
• Customer reference
• Aircraft industry
• Radiotelescope
• Metal toolings
• Carbon toolings
• Tooling low cost
• Motor industry
• Railway industry
• Shipbuilding
• Construction industry
• Luxury goods industry
• Radar antenna structure
• Antenna Z5500
• Newsletter archive

Maxi Groupama trimaran launched ______________________________________________________________________

Bang on schedule, the launch of the 105 ft (31.50 m) long maxi trimaran for French skipper Franck Cammas is the 6th maxi-mulithull to have come out of the Multiplast shipyard in Vannes since the year 2000. The yard is world leader in the building of ocean-racing maxi-multihulls. The unique experience and unrivalled savoir-faire of the Multiplast yard no doubt convinced Groupama 3's sponsors and skipper to commission the Vannes yard to undertake construction. A fine programme of major records and circumnavigations has been scheduled for the boat, events and courses where boats bearing the 'made by Multiplast ' mark have an unbeaten record. The yard builds machines that can be relied upon. Gilles Ollier, Director of the Multiplast yard :

Multiplast has been investing in the construction of big ocean-racing multihulls for more than 25 years now. Being chosen to build a prototype for one of the world's leading green water racing teams reflects our experience and savoir-faire. We are proud to have undertaken this project...". Groupama 3 is the 6th maxi-multihull of more than 105 ft (32 m) to have been built here (only 7 multis of this size have been built in the world). Designed by the firm Marc Van Peteghem & Vincent Lauriot-Prévost , she is the 2nd maxi-trimaran to come out of the yard's build shed.

A gigantic puzzle

Truly dynamic

Quest for the Holy Grail

As soon as she has been launched, Groupama 3 will make for her home base in Lorient (Southern Brittany). There she will first undergo loading tests. This means that all of the major traction points, such as the rigging chain plates or the sail pulling points will be subjected to working loads which have been calculated statistically by the architects. A final validation before the first sea trial. The first series of sea trials will get underway in the middle of June. All testing will be under the direction of Multiplast, before the boat can be said to be handed over finally. Franck Cammas and his team will then enter into the training and apprenticeship phase of their platform, before setting about attacking their programme of record attempts including the transatlantic records, the 24-hour distance record and the round the world record.

Facts and figures

Characteristics LOA 31,50 m Bmax 22,50 m Mast height 38,40 m Draft 5,70 m Air clearance 41,00 m Dislacement 18,00 t Upwaind sail area 557 m² Mainsail area 356 m² Solent jib 201 m² Downwind sail area 828 m² Gennaker 472 m²

Construction 16 000 m² of carbon Oven cured more than 50 times at temperatures of between 100° and 120° C A puzzle comprising more than 400 parts A team of 50 people working on the prototype Cost of boat : 8 million euros (excl VAT)

Copyright free photos for the press by Yvan Zedda

MULTIPLAST S.A.S

Parc du Golfe        24 Allée Loïc Caradec        56000 VANNES        France

Tél. +33 (0)2 97 40 98 44

OUEST COMPOSITES

• Legal notice
• Newsletter subscription
• Book a visit

Groupama 3 then Maxi Solo Banque Populaire VII then Lending Club 2 then IDEC Sport then The Famous Project

Five years after Geronimo , VPLP designed another record-beating machine , this time for Franck Cammas. The result was Groupama 3 . A little shorter, slightly less beamy but lighter, she was built at the Multiplast yard like her predecessor. This legendary trimaran is simply one of the most titled on the planet .

After winning the Jules Verne Trophy in 2010 with Franck Cammas and a rock-solid crew, she was modified in a matter of weeks for solo sailing. The same year, Cammas sailed her to victory in the Route du Rhum, thus achieving a historic two in a row and paving the way for single-handed racing on multihulls exceeding 100’.

Sold in 2013 to Banque Populaire and renamed Banque Populaire VII, she broke three records under the steady hand of Armel Le Cléac’h: transmediterranean, Route of the Discovery, and distance run in twenty-four hours. With Armel Le Cléac’h injured, she was entrusted to Loïck Peyron for the 2014 Route du Rhum, and achieved a second resounding victory .

The much-coveted trimaran became Lending Club in 2015 and over the course of the season she smashed the Pacific crossing record from Los Angeles to Honolulu, as well as beating the records for Newport to Bermuda and crossing the Channel crewed!

She was subsequently renamed IDEC Sport when Francis Joyon bought her in 2015 for round-the-world racing with a small crew.

For the Jules Verne Trophy , she kept the set up Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire VII used in their victorious forays into the Routes du Rhum, being light and easy to manoeuvre with her small mast. Francis Joyon and his crew of five set an incredible record of forty days, three hours and thirty second at their second attempt, in January 2017.

And as if proof were needed of this trimaran’s hunger and legendary status, she won the Route du Rhum for the third time in a row in November 2018, beating François Gabart’s Macif in a thrilling sprint to the finishing line.

In 2023, Alexia Barrier takes the helm of the maxi-trimaran, which becomes The Famous Project , with the goal of winning the Jules Verne Trophy with a 100% female crew in 2025. The aim of the project is to inspire younger generations by promoting women in sailing.

VPLP Design

486 m² / 635 m²

Sun Fast 30 One Design

Paris +33 1 42 77 24 00 Vannes +33 2 97 44 74 19 Nantes +33 9 85 11 79 77

[email protected]

Privacy Policy

Subscribe to our newsletter

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

GROUPAMA 3: ‘IT’S EASY UP TO 36 KNOTS…’

• Chris Beeson
• July 25, 2007

Exclusive report from onboard the record breaking tri

YM’s technical editor Chris Beeson was in Lorient, France, to carry out a liferaft test when he chanced upon Groupama 3 click here for previous story  It was too good an opportunity to miss. Here’s his special report:

Franck Cammas’ maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 passed south of The Lizard at 0045 on Tuesday morning, setting a new Transatlantic record of 4 days 3 hours, 57 minutes 54 seconds. That’s an average speed of 28.65 knots over the 2,925-mile course. She also becomes the first boat to cross the Atlantic in under 100 hours.

The 31.5m green giant broke the record set by Bruno Peyron’s 36.8m catamaran Orange 2 by 4 hours 26 minutes. She also set a new record for distance covered in 24 hours – a remarkable 794 miles – within 30 hours of the start off New York’s Ambrose Light.

‘We broke the port foil (daggerboard) on the first night,’ co-skipper Franck Proffit (34) told Yachting Monthly’s Chris Beeson in Lorient, France. ‘Otherwise we would have past 800 miles in 24 hours. We lost about 2 knots.’

Groupama 3 was built for skipper Franck Cammas (44) and his crew to break the Jules Verne non-stop round the world record. The record of 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes is currently held by Peyron’s Orange 2, set in 2006.

Apart from breaking three bunks, two records and one daggerboard, the trip was an uneventful work-out for Groupama 3 in advance of its Jules Verne attempt in December. It was widely thought that the boat would be too small to challenge the bigger multihulls like Orange 2. This record blows that notion away.

It’s been her biggest test since launching in 2006. ‘We put the boat in the water and two days later we started to push, but never that hard,’ said Proffit. ‘Now we know it can handle that workload. We can beat the bigger boats.’

Proffit raced non-stop round the world with Peyron onboard Orange 2’s sistership during The Race in 2001. He believes Groupama 3 is better suited to the challenge. ‘She’s not too big, not too heavy, not too powerful. We can reef with hooks in 5 minutes. During The Race, it took us 20 minutes. You lose a lot of time.’

The roughest conditions encountered were on the last day when an easterly, head-on wave train sent them crashing down from 2 metres. That exposed a weak point for Groupama 3: ‘The only problem is the sea,’ said Proffit. ‘If the waves are not organised, it’s very rough. Orange 2 can handle the waves easier than us.’

The bigger boats have one more important advantage: ‘It’s more difficult to steer than the bigger boats, you have to concentrate every second. It’s easy up to 36 knots but after that? Our top speed was 42.5 knots.’

After breaking the record, Groupama 3 was off Lorient by 1100 the same morning. She stood off until 1430 while her champagne reception was arranged and the press assembled. ‘After all the press, we had a party until 0400. Now I’m back in debrief meetings, getting the boat ready again.’

Despite – or possibly because of – the Tour de France and its daily scandals, her achievement has attracted high profile praise, as Proffit explained. ‘Sarkozy sent us a message this morning saying good job, best of luck with the Jules Verne.’

Franck Proffit spent 20 years racing with Bruno Peyron’s brother Loïck onboard a series of Fujicolor-sponsored 60ft trimarans. He joined Cammas’ Groupama project five years ago, racing the 60ft trimaran Groupama 2.

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Groupama 3 sets off

• July 30, 2009

Maxi Trimaran departs New York aiming to cross the Atlantic in under 4 days 3 hours and 57 minutes

Last night the maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 – skippered by Franck Cammas – passed the Ambrose Light on her way out of New York harbour. The crew now has 2,925 miles ahead of it before reaching Lizard Point, the Southwestern tip of Britain. The time to beat? 4 days 3 hours 57 minutes 54 seconds. To stand a chance of beating her own reference time, set on 24 July 2007, Groupama 3 will have to cross the finish line prior to Monday 3 August at 00h 09′ 10” UT.

Sylvain Mondon from Météo France, Groupama 3’s onshore router, explained: “Groupama 3 set off Wednesday evening in a 20 to 25 knot southerly wind. A line of stormy squalls from the southwest hit New York during the course of the afternoon and produced a considerable wind increase on its way through. This enabled us to take the start a little earlier than we initially planned.”

The weather window opening ahead of Groupama 3 is forecast to see some stiff conditions and a steady rhythm, which will certainly appeal to Franck Cammas and his crew.

To follow the crew, visit www.cammas-groupama.com  

BoatNews.com

Idec Sport, the unbeatable trimaran in the Jules Verne and the Route du Rhum

In 2015, Francis Joyon took over Idec Sport, formerly Groupama 3 and Banque Populaire VII, holder of the Jules Verne Trophy in 2010 and the Route du Rhum in 2010 and 2014. On board, he achieved new records, the Jules Verne Trophy in 2017, which he still holds. The following year, he won the 2018 Route du Rhum with only 7 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of François Gabart, making him a legend. This article is part of a feature on one of the most successful trimarans in history.

Building the multihull for the Jules Verne Trophy

After a record-breaking summer 2015 under the name Lending Club 2, Francis Joyon has recovered his trimaran Idec Sport . Arriving in Vannes in early September 2015, the boat entered the yard at Multiplast . Even though the official handover was on September 15, Ryan Breymaier (the skipper of Lending Club 2) and Francis Joyon got a little bit of a head start.

Once in Vannes, the equipment and sails were dismantled and the Lending Club tickets were removed. The minor work following the use of the boat for the record campaign has been taken care of by Lending Club. Francis Joyon , for his part, has identified the improvements to be made in preparation for the Jules Verne Trophy . "The trimaran has been re-configured for a round-the-world race and the hostile seas of the Deep South.

Protection systems for the helmsman and the crew member who is at the winches watching the sheets have been installed. "I find that these posts are too exposed for the seas of the Deep South where it gets very wet. They need to be better protected for watches in those seas, with facilities to hold on and not be swept away by the waves ." explains Francis Joyon.

Credit: JM Liot/DPPI/IDEC

A watermaker and a system for drying boots and oilskins were installed, in order to carry less equipment and save weight. The small mast was adapted and two new sails were installed.

After three weeks of express refit at Multiplast (it was in this same yard that the trimaran Groupama 3 had been built), Idec-Sport âeuros all dressed in red - was launched on October 2, 2015. Put in the colors of Idec Sport, the boat has undergone a major refit, having accumulated 25,000 miles under the name Lending Club 2.

In addition to the work mentioned above, improvements were made such as a removable propeller shaft and a real navigation station inside. After the installation of the centerboard and the rudders, the boat went to Lorient, to be masted.

A word from the architect

"Spindrift 2 and IDEC SPORT will both enter the Jules Verne Trophy stand-by next autumn. The battle between the two crews will be exciting to follow. On the one hand, there will be an overpowered boat and on the other, a "moped" led by a reduced crew . The hypothesis of a victory for IDEC SPORT is quite possible. Light and maneuverable with its small rig, this boat is at ease in the transition zones. It will be able to do well in the descent and ascent of the Atlantic. IDEC SPORT , on the other hand, will be handicapped below 10 knots, but these are marginal conditions on the scale of a Jules Verne Trophy . In the Southern Ocean , if both boats encounter the same conditions, the differences will be minimal. IDEC SPORT is a safe boat on which we can shoot with complete confidence. That said, Spindrift 2 has been very well optimized and will be a formidable competitor.

Credit: JM Liot / DPPI / IDEC Sport

On paper, it will be faster than when it was in the colors of Banque Populaire V. Beating the 45 days of BP V is possible for IDEC SPORT and Spindrift 2. The bar is high, at a level where the weather is becoming preponderant. At the start of a Jules Verne Trophy , we have a fairly clear vision of the weather situation until we round the Cape of Good Hope and enter the Southern Ocean . After that, it's all unknown. The record is often decided on the way back up the Atlantic, so there is a certain amount of luck involved explains Xavier Guilbaud, architect at VPLP.

The Idec Sport trimaran in 10 essential points

1 âeuros The sails the trimaran has 5 sails : The mainsail , a gennaker which is used downwind and three flat sails of different sizes on the front called J1 J2 and J3. The headsails are mounted on furlers, which means that a roller allows them to be rolled around their stays. This is a wise precaution with a small crew , as it is easier than with sails on halyards that would have to be lowered and/or raised at each change.

2 âeuros The foils on each side float, port and starboard, there is a foil or "water wing." This profiled surface, whose immersion depth can be adjusted, provides dynamic lift. In other words, it allows the boat to be lifted off the ground at certain speeds This is the great revolution in sailing boats in recent years. The gains in performance are enormous compared to a boat without these load-bearing appendages.

3 âeuros The central drift : Multihulls do not have a keel . So to avoid "skidding" on the water and moving forward like a crab, IDEC SPORT - like all the big multihulls - is equipped with a long central daggerboard which ensures what the architects call the anti-drift plane.

4 âeuros The mast : IDEC SPORT is configured with its "small" mastâeuros¦ which is still its 33.50 mètres high. The big one was 6 meters higher, but it was necessary to take a reef (reduce the mainsail ) as soon as 20 knots of wind. Triple advantage according to Francis Joyon: equal or even better performance, high mainsail , less risk of breakage, and above all two tons saved compared to the big boat.

5 âeuros The winch columns they are also known as "coffee grinders" and allow you to increase the effort (several speeds) and therefore to turn more easily the winches which are used to trim or ease the halyards and sheets. In addition, they can be used by two crew members, face to face, to combine efforts. The system is obviously disengageable. There is a column on each side of the boat .

Credit: Mer & Media / JB Epron / IDEC

6 âeuros The winches for the port and starboard maneuvering areas on each side of the roof cap, there are two huge winches. They are mostly operated by the columns called "coffee mills" because of the enormous forces exerted on them (often several tons of traction). Just in front of them are the pianos or the ropes which are used for everything: hoisting or lowering the sails, reefing, raising, lowering or adjusting the appendages, etc. It should be noted that these four large winches can also be operated by a simple crank for the rare cases where the tension is lower. There is a fifth winch in the center of the cockpit.

7 âeuros The cap of roof it protects the sailor from the spray, allows the man on stand-by to rest and prevents the water from going down inside the central hull of the boat where the minimalist living quarters of the IDEC SPORT maxi trimaran are located.

8 âeuros The rudders these three appendages are the "shovels" that allow IDEC SPORT to be steered. There is a large central one, but also one on each side float. This prevents the boat from stalling when it starts to rise on its foils and is more efficient when one float is in direct contact with the water.

9 âeuros The starboard helm : On the previous IDEC trimarans, there was only one steering wheel, in the center. On this larger one, there is one on each side. On the right side of the boat , the starboard helm is the "steering wheel" used to steer the trimaran when it sails on starboard tack, when the wind comes from the right of the boat .

10 âeuros The side bar on the left side of the boat , the helm is used to steer the trimaran when it is sailing on a tack. That is, when the wind comes from the left of the boat . The helmsman thus faces the sail .

Victory in the Jules Verne Trophy

On December 16, 2016, Francis Joyon set off on the Jules Verne Trophy with a crew of 5 sailors: Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet , Bernard Stamm , Sébastien Audigane and Alex Pella . Slower at the start, they gained miles throughout the course, passing some of the major capes several days ahead. The last short-handed round-the-world race dates back to Bruno Peyron's record in 1993. Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 8:49 a.m. after 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds, Francis Joyon and all his team win this beautiful victory . Although attempted several times by other crews since 2017, this record still belongs to him.

Victory in the Route du Rhum

A legend is born... While François Gabart on Macif is one of the big favorites in this 2018 Route du Rhum, it is Francis Joyon who is entering the legend . The two sailors were neck and neck throughout the crossing of the Atlantic, with François Gabart leading at the finish. But it was a breathtaking 6-hour finish around Guadeloupe that reshuffled the deck. Francis Joyon wins this 11th edition of the Route du Rhum with a race time of 7 days 14 hours 21 minutes and 47 seconds to complete the 3542 mile course at the speed average speed of 19.42 knots. He also set a new reference time by improving the race time of the 2014 edition (won by Loïck Peyron ) of 46 minutes 45 seconds. Aged 62, he finally enters the history of the race as it is his 7th participation.

An incredible gap âeuros the smallest in the history of the race since the 98 seconds of the first edition âeuros that makes this 40th anniversary of the race in the legendâeuros! A remake of the Birch/Malinovski duel in 1978âeuros!

The other records...

After the Route du Rhum, Francis Joyon continues to break records, including a campaign in Asia in 2019 . He comes back to this edition of the Route du Rhum 2022, because he likes adventure and maybe the weather will give him a nice surprise...

• AI Generator

143 Trimaran Groupama 3 Of Franck Cammas Stock Photos & High-Res Pictures

Browse 143 trimaran groupama 3 of franck cammas photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images..