A sharp-eyed Anarchist found the Volvo Ocean Race’s tender proposal for the inshore foiling multihull portion of the VOR’s new format, and it’s as forward-thinking as we hoped. Will the VOR’s next in-port series provide the kind of kick start to the sport that the Volvo Extreme 40 did back in 2004-5? Read the full six pages here, or read on for the bits we found interesting:
“boats must be capable of close, foil borne racing in a wide range of conditions…winds of up to 30 knots.” We likey.
“The design must be capable of stable foiling with minimal adjustment from the sailing team…a design that…provides a stable foiling platform…without complex and/or expensive, constant manual trimming. Stored energy may be considered, as well as the automation of certain trim and foil control.” In other words, these boats will fly without input from the sailing team. It’s the ‘holy grail’ of foiling that some top foilers have been chasing for a decade; powered, automated, electronically controlled flying that removes most of the grinding and foil-driver positions from the boat. Good for women and younger sailors, great for spectators.
“A ‘lake’ version should be considered – designed for sailing in considerably lighter winds”. Because Hong Kong. Also, because something’s gotta go racing in a series between VORs?
We will consider a solid wing, mast and sail, or a hybrid combination. Tenderers are encouraged to think ‘out of the box’ when developing their submission. Who knows what you get when you ask designers specifically to ‘get crazy’?
Maximum cost expected c.750,000 Euros for each of the 8-10 boats of 32-50 feet. Note the cost of the 33′ DNA TF-10 trimaran is not far off this number…
