The New Charal Launches

[Photoboy]

Jérémie Beyou's new stead, the IMOCA 60' Charal was just revealed from The CDK Shipyard
in port-LA-Forêt, France


"The Charaaal came out of construction this Tuesday, August 21, 2018 in port-LA-Forêt.
In the presence of all the teams involved - the Charal sailing team, its partner Charal,
the architects of vplp, the teams teams - until no more training than a united group which, behind the doors of cdk technologies, worked hard during Almost 12 months in perfect osmosis.

http://www.jeremiebeyou.com/

https://www.cdk-technologies.com/


all images © Yvan Zedda / Alea





Press release – 21 aout 2018
And then Charal was came to life
Inch by inch and with the greates care in the world, CHARAL IMOCA 60 was delivered
on Tuesday by CDK Techonolgies boatyard in Port-la-Forêt, France. This is the next
stage of the incredible story of the first IMOCA 60 to have been fully conceived and
designed around foils.


- IMOCA 60 CHARAL is launched following a 13-month build
- All is different; huge foils for an angular hull design

For months Jérémie Beyou and Pierre-François Dargnies, technical director for the Charal Sailng
Team, have been promising that the day the IMOCA 60 CHARAL would be a surprise when unveiled.
And it certainly was a surprise.
With its massive wide and long foils, the monohull looks almost like a multihull. The hull, with its
warship-like bow and rounded transom is proof of the change to the norm. Welcome to the new
IMOCA era. Welcome to the world of foils. Welcome to the extreme.










Since launching the hull moulds on the 29th of July 2017, it has been a race against the clock for 13
months which has not in a revolution but a very strong evolution. Jérémie Beyou, en route to compete
in the Vendée Globe for a fourth time, sees this as the culmination of “joint consultations and seeing
our ideas take shape. Suddenly, with all the pieces assembled, the boat comes to life.”
For the skipper form Brittany, who came third in the 2016/2017 edition of the Vendée Globe, the boat is
the result dedicated personal investment, experience gained over the years and the work of a group of
people who have listened to Jérémie and who have also known when to challenge him when needed.
“We have exchanged throughout the build and ideas have come about along the way and I have also been
forced to abandon some initial choices. These moments are crucial: sometimes you can’t turn back
and so you have to know how to apply the right method and energy to get the most and the best out
of everyone.”









From the architects drawing boards to those who have sanded the carbon, a whole chain of skills and
knowledge has been put in place and allowed for the boat to see the light of day. Each and every
element of this rocket ship is of utmost importance.”

On Tuesday, the IMOCA 60 CHARAL was brought out to the multihull hard at Port-la-Forêt before
being craned over the pit for the keel to be fitted. On Wednesday Charal will be launched with her
keel and no mast. The boat goes to Lorient for the mast to be stepped and for the static and 90-
degree righting tests. Then it will be time for the first sail. “Whilst it is wonderful to see the boat leave
the shed and show off the shape and the black, silver grey and red colours, which I find great, it is the
first sail that I am most impatient and excited about” says Jérémie.

These first sea miles will be the beginning of the long journey to the start of the Vendée Globe in
November 2020. “We would like to put the boat in the water before the start of the Route du
Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe (starts this year on the 4th of November) so we can get the
most out of an extra year of preparations andmodifications” explains Pierre François
Dargnies. We know that the boat that goes inthe water today is not the boat that will be racing
on the Vendée Globe. We have two years tomake this IMOCA, the first to be designed for
and around foils, a real rocket ship for theVendée Globe.”









The IMOCA 60 CHARAL in detail



Enormous foils
Jérémie Beyou: “We chose to make foils that are strong to get a maximum power and lift (for the
foiling effect). The shaft is very long as is the tip and has a double surface and angled elbow, which
highlights the visual impact. They are reasonably thick too because we are going to put quite a lot of
arching pressure on the tips. If the boat appears really wide, it is because we can’t raise both foils at
the same time : one will always be lowered.


An innovative hull
As the plan was to use the foils to get power, we had to come up with a hull that limits drag knowing
that the measurement rules do not allow for full flight. This means we have a very innovative hull with
a warship-like bow and rounded and closed transom.”



Jérémie Beyou: “the transom is completely different to anything we have seen before in the IMOCA.
The bow has had a lot streamlining to reduce the amount of carbon and gain on weight. We have
pushed the boundaries to the maximum with one exception, allowing me room to maneouver on the
foredeck.”


A condensed living space
Pierre François Dargnies: “Jérémie’s brief put both the living and work areas on a par just like on the
Ultimes. It became apparent that it would affect the centre of gravity and so we had to adapt. We
designed a boat where the skipper can spend the part of time in the cockpit and virtually reach without
moving, the winches, the helm, the chart table and the galley. The idea is to go below the least
amount of times needed. Jérémie will be outside permanently but in a protected area from both the
wind and the water thanks to the non-retractable coach roof.”


Sensors fit for F1
Jéremie Beyou: “All that supports important loads - the rig, the appendages – has sensors with optic
fibre sending back information in real time to my navigation console to then be treated by software
that gives me the right reading of the situation.
However, unlike the F1 or the Ultime, this information is not relayed to shore. I am the only one who
can access this and therefore am then able to act manually as needed.”
Photography Copyright: Yvan Zedda / ALeA / Charal



Graphic –
The new IMOCA 60 CHARAL in some numbers:
2 km of lines on board the IMOCA
Top boat speed - 40 knots
70,000 Number of hours worked on the construction of the boat – or 8 years, 24 hours a day
2.2 tonnes – hull weight equivalent to a whale calf
1,185 m2 sail area equivalent to 6 x tennis courts
4 m2 Living space on board equivalent to 4 m2

[Dutch Rudder]

Snazzy looking whip right there!

[Panama Red]

Almost to pretty to go beat up in the Vendee Globe

[Doug Lord]

Seems like there is a lot more emphasis on vertical lift on this foil design compared to previous IMOCA 60 foils.

[Built to List]

Pushing the limits!

[Doug Lord]

Charal's first sail:

[Photoboy]

It was in a good westerly wind of 20-25 knots that nine competitors of the Azimut Challenge took part in runs this Sunday morning between Groix and Lorient. An exercise for the pleasure that allowed the skippers to embark guests (members of the technical teams, partners, journalists). They had to set the fastest time on a 1.5-mile stretch. The show was at the rendezvous with IMOCA launched at full speed.

The long-awaited Charal was talking powder, perched on his huge foils. After a first unsuccessful attempt, the second was the good one. With a time of 4 minutes and 52 seconds, Jérémie Beyou crushed the competition. Samantha Davies on Initiatives-Cœur (5 minutes 31 seconds) and Paul Meilhat aboard SMA (5 minutes 37 seconds) finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The day after Vincent Riou's victory in the great 24-hour race, the competitors of the 8th Azimut Challenge took part this Sunday in speed runs which made it possible to close the event in a spectacular way. Bringing a record plateau with 15 IMOCA competing, the Azimut Challenge 2018 has kept all its promises. Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA class, and Jacques Caraës, race director, take stock of this event rich in lessons.
Sailors and organizers were expecting a lot from this 8th edition of the Azimut Challenge. They were not disappointed. Sporting level raised, magnificent technological confrontation, tonic weather conditions, suspense, show, conviviality, sharing: all the ingredients were gathered for a successful event.

BREEZE, FINALLY!
The sailors of the class were in need of muscular navigations. " Previous IMOCA races have been played in light conditions. Finally we had a breeze! Says Antoine Mermod, President of the IMOCA class. "The wind was rather soft this summer, which did not allow the sailors to test their boats under sustained conditions. A few weeks from the Route du Rhum, it was important for them to confront each other in the breeze, on a sea formed, "says Jacques Caraës, race director. " At the beginning of November in the Bay of Biscay, there is a good probability of facing this type of conditions. This Azimuth Challenge in the strong wind was a great opportunity to get back into the situation. True challenge, the Challenge has not stolen its name of "test life size".

THE FIRST OF CHARAL
A boat was particularly awaited, the superb Charal of Jérémie Beyou, the first IMOCA new generation. This boat made the show and aroused curiosity. The images, beautiful, speak for themselves. " This IMOCA has impressive potential, the base is extraordinary, " confirms Antoine Mermod. " The boat had to give up the 24-hour race (because of electronic worry, NDR) but it's not so surprising. Such a complex machine requires a lot of development time. "

VALIDATE THE TECHNICAL CHOICES
More generally, the challenge Azimut was used to test and compare the different types of foils, to make a technical assessment of the innovations of the moment. Antoine Mermod: «I think we have definitely buried the debate between foilers and non foilers. The Challenge confirmed that foils are the answer. From now on, we enter a new debate between small foils and large foils. We have seen that PRB, with its large appendages, has interesting attitudes at all speeds. The choices made by Vincent Riou and his team seem very positive. "

FUN AND CONVIVIALITY
Whether during the race 24 hours or the runs, all the skippers have pushed their machines thoroughly and had fun. Jacques Caraës: «The 24-hour course was both tactical at times and very fast at others. Everyone was able to learn from this experience and learn interesting lessons. I felt that everyone appreciated the confrontation. And all the moments on the ground took place in the conviviality. This is a very important aspect to keep in future editions. The alternating sports and sharing program really holds the road. The race arrives at a certain maturity. Can not wait for next year ! "


SOURCE

[Doug Lord]

Incredible high speed video of Charal: https://www.facebook.com/sylvain.hay...6248237492107/