| Groupama III smashes the Route of Discovery record |
| Thursday, 03 May 2007 |
Future Fibres offers its congratulations to Franck Cammas and his team aboard Groupama III, the 105-foot trimaran which has just smashed the Route of Discovery record from Cadiz to San Salvador.
Using a complete set of composite rigging supplied by Future Fibres, the maxi-trimaran covered the 3,901 nautical mile course across the Atlantic in just 7 days 10 hours 58 minutes and 53 seconds of sea (subject to ratification by the WSSRC). The new time takes 2 days 2 hours minutes and 25 seconds off the previous record set by Steve Fossett’s PlayStation in February 2003.
Groupama III crossed the Atlantic at an average speed of 21.79 knots, compared with PlayStation’s average of 16.92 knots, a measure of just how far technology has progressed in the past four years.
Miles Amin, who handles technical sales for Valencia-based composite rigging specialist Future Fibres, praised Cammas and the crew. “This is the first record Groupama III has attempted and the result demonstrates the determination and attention to detail of this very professional team.
“Alongside our French agent, Vincent Le Roux and his company Blew Stoub, we have worked with Franck and his team on the two ORMA 60 trimarans Groupama I & II, and in everything they do they strive for the very best. The requirements for the rigging were very specific: the need for optimising power to weight ratio and a supplier willing to provide the highest level of service. Future Fibres’ worked with the Groupama design team on a series of cable load testing, lash testing, fitting optimisation, custom mast interfacing, cover abrasion testing and product development.”
Groupama III is a boat that dwarfs almost anything else in both scale and ambition, so it was back to the drawing board for Future Fibres when it came to specifying the rigging. Amin says this project has tested the very limits of customisation. “This trimaran is extreme; it sails so fast and the loads are huge. The cable on the Solent stay, for example, has a breakload in excess of 77 tonnes, and the furling cable on the Maxi Gennaker is over 41 metres long.
“Obviously, this is a very weight-conscious project so we have worked hard to supply cables at minimum weight and windage. It has been a very exciting project, and I’m sure this Route of Discovery record is just the first of many that Groupama III will conquer in the coming months and years.”
Franck Cammas’ Maxi trimaran Groupama III was launched in June 2006 with a full set of Future Fibres composite rigging. The trimaran has been designed specifically for around the world racing and record attempts. It is the largest Maxi trimaran built to date, lighter and more powerful than its predecessors.
ENDS
Contact:
Phil Anniss
Future Fibres Rigging Systems SLU
PI Torrubero, Av Constitución 26
Museros 46136
Valencia, Spain
info@futurefibres.eu www.futurefibres.eu
tel: +34 961 452 135 fax: +34 961 452 136
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