All sailors - men and women - on an equal footing for the triumph of Emotion

All sailors - men and women - on an equal footing for the triumph of Emotion France - New Zealand - France 26,000 nautical miles single-handed around the three capes Start: Sunday 25 th October 2009

Single-handed round the world race with equal opportunities The Solo-Oceans is the first equal opportunity, single-handed round the world race. Skippers and sponsors will sail on oceanic one-design monohulls with controlled costs. Solo-Oceans is a registered trademark The Solo-Oceans is dreamed up, organized, broadcasted and developed by the SailingOne company that created the Oceanic One Design. SailingOne will produce and market the Oceanic One Design. The Solo-Oceans is the first single-handed round the world race in which international skippers are guaranteed to compete on an equal footing on Oceanic One Design, 16m, high-tech offshore monohulls, all strictly identical to each other: hull, equipment and sails. The Solo-Oceans is also the first single-handed round the world race that guarantees a total control of the entry and running costs, enabling small enterprises as well as big companies to get involved on an equal footing, with reasonable budgets. The Solo-Oceans is the first oceanic race that contractually guarantees the same minimum media exposure to each competing team, in addition to the regular editorial media coverage and sports news. The Solo-Oceans is the first single-handed round the world race scheduled to run every two years with one race per year: first leg France - New Zealand during the last quarter of the year, followed by the second leg New Zealand to France at the beginning of the following year. And so on. The first Solo-Oceans fleet will leave France on Sunday, October 25 th 2009.

Focusing on simplicity and efficiency The concept of the Solo-Oceans relies on a tripod that highlights the EQUALITY of opportunities for skippers and boat-owners to compete on an equal footing, the EMOTION, that a very broad audience will undoubtedly acknowledge, and the GUARANTEES given to all the actors involved in the race: skippers, businesses, regional and local authorities, journalists and representatives of sporting authorities. EQUALITY - Competitors confronting each other on an equal footing is the essence of sport. It is a simple and universal concept epitomized by the most anticipated event in the Olympic Games: the sprint. Every detail in the Solo-Oceans has been conceived in such a way that the boat - Oceanic One Design - has no greater influence on the final result than the sprinter s shorts, shoes and jersey. The one-design status of the Solo-Oceans is complete. Pre-preg carbon material treated at 90 degrees Celsius guarantees the weights and structural consistency. As a result, the hulls and decks of competing boats will be perfectly identical. The internationally renowned quality and reputation of official suppliers, as well as the nature of the contracts signed with them, guarantee reliable and high performance materials, and all competing boats will be perfectly identical. The sails will be North Sails 3DL resulting from the technology of the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, and developed by single-handed offshore sailors such as Ellen MacArthur. The Oceanic One Design monohulls will be equipped with Harken winches, Lancelin ropes, Karver furling units and electronics by NKE. A Nanni Diesel engine and a hydro generator will provide energy onboard. EMOTION - Offshore racing is widely considered to be a sporting adventure practiced by men and women of exception. By putting everyone on an equal footing, with identical equipment, we magnify human involvement and consequently minimize the technological factor. The Solo-Oceans will provide a wealth of human emotions. The material and sails used to construct the boats is of reduced importance as all the boats are identical. What really matters to the public is the solo sailor s ability to face, all alone, the elements in some of the world s most hostile stretches of water. It is a story about the conquerors of the impossible embarked on a naval battle of modern times, on a sprint around the globe. This feature of the Solo-Oceans will be the main vehicle for communication where human endeavour will prevail over sport results. Indeed, amazing stories of sailors happen at the head of the fleet, in the middle of the group and also far behind the leaders. Our attention will be focused on all of them. GUARANTEES - Guarantee is the driving force behind the Solo-Oceans. Everyone will benefit from it: sportsmen with rigorous one-design monohulls in order to sail fast and safely; ship-owners with affordable budgets and fully controlled costs; sponsors with a contractual media coverage; media with the simplicity and the strength of the event; regional and local authorities with the exposure of start and finish sites; sporting authorities respecting the ethics of international sailing; and finally the public with exceptional adventures, full of emotion and astonishing images.

France - New Zealand - France around the three capes The Solo-Oceans and its Oceanic One Design fits in between the entry-level single-handed transatlantic races and the Vendée Globe, regarded as the ultimate in ocean racing. The Solo- Oceans will run every two years in the traditional West to East direction around the three legendary Capes: Good Hope, Leuwin and Horn, with about a month stopover in New Zealand. Single-handed sailors on their Oceanic One Design will face a 26,000 nautical mile voyage (48,000km) in two legs through the most treacherous seas of the planet. The first leg of the Solo-Oceans goes from France to New Zealand via the Cape of Good Hope, at the South of Africa, and around Cape Leuwin, at the extreme southwest tip of Australia. Sailing to the far south of these capes will lead the sailors through the roaring forties and furious fifties of the Indian Ocean. The postcard-like landscape of the northern part of this ocean turns into a hell on earth on the way down to New Zealand. The single-handed sailors and their 16-meter Oceanic One Design monohulls should cover the 14,000 nautical miles (26,000km) in about 52 days. The second leg of the Solo-Oceans goes from New Zealand to France. Competitors will come up against extremely strong winds in this part of the planet where few yachtsmen venture. They will have to traverse areas with drifting icebergs and head south into the Pacific Ocean towards Cape Horn, the extreme southern tip of the American continent. They will then head back north through the Southern and Northern Atlantic towards France. It should take them about 54 days to cover these 12,000 nautical miles (22,000km). Although shorter than the first leg by almost 2,000 nautical miles (3,700km), this second leg is also the most difficult of the two because of strong adverse winds. In the two most southern parts of the race, on each side of New Zealand, sailors will have to go through way points in order to avoid the well-known iceberg-drifting areas, and remain within reach of aerial rescue in case of serious damage. Single-handed sailors will twice have to face stormy and tricky areas around the doldrums near the Equator, firstly on the way to New Zealand during the first leg, then on the way back between France and New Zealand. With its two 50 day-long legs, the Solo-Oceans fits between the single-handed transatlantic races onboard the Mini Transat 6.50 (also known as Transat 650, a solo transatlantic yacht race onboard 6.50m one-off boats) or the 10.10m Bénéteau Figaro boats (a well-known French single-handed offshore series) both around 20 to 30 days long, and the 80 to 90 days long Vendée Globe - the quadrennial single-handed race non-stop around the globe without assistance onboard 18.20m long one-off monohulls. The Solo-Oceans will be held every two years which effectively means one race per year: first leg France - New Zealand during the last quarter of 2009, followed by the second leg New Zealand - France at the beginning of the following year in 2010. The second edition will depart from France in 2011 and leave New Zealand early 2012 and so on.

The inevitable price increase of offshore one-offs Professional round the world sailing races widely remain the exclusive territory for oneoff boats whether they are fully-crewed like the Volvo Ocean Race ex-whitbread, (every four years and now every three years) or single-handed races running every four years like the Velux Five Oceans ex-around Alone and ex-boc Challenge (with stopovers) and the Vendée Globe (non-stop). The costs of campaigns on such high tech yachts keep on rising. A professional skipper signs a contract with a sponsor whose name will be given to the boat and appear on the sails and the hull. With these funds, the skipper chooses his team, his boat designer, the boat yard and the contractors who will build his boat. The one-off boat is launched, then tested and optimized according to the current class rules and new technologies developed by its competitors. The skipper then starts its on the water campaign funded by his sponsor with one race as a major focus. The media exposure of the sports campaign is either organized by the sponsor itself or via a contractor. Nobody has any control over all the parameters, particularly in terms of finance. Therefore everything seems to lead to an increase in costs. As with any mechanical sports, research and development is the key to a successful campaign. Competitors are therefore forced into a neverending quest for performance. The more skilled the skipper and his team, the designers and the boat builder are, the further the limits of R&D are pushed. This has a price obviously and you quickly find yourself trapped into the spiralling price-rise. However in most cases the communication budget of the sponsor is fixed. On top of this, the return on investment expected by the sponsor is mainly based on the media coverage. More often than not, this has proven to be riskier than a traditional advertising campaign. Unfortunately, regarding offshore sailing, it has been shown that the increase of running costs does not necessarily imply increased exposure for the sponsor. On the contrary, with a strictly one-design class, costs can be contained. This is the case for the Figaro Bénéteau series in Europe, racing the Solitaire Afflelou Le Figaro and also doing one transatlantic race per year. The budget for the best teams varies from 170,000 to 230,000 EUR (210,000 to 290,000 USD), exclusive of tax, per season. This does not include the media coverage costs but does include amortization or rental costs for the boat. In the Open60 IMOCA class (one-offs) the annual budget for the Vendée Globe campaign - the Vendée Globe runs every four years - ranges from 1,300,000 to 2,500,000 EUR (1,700,000 to 3,200,000 USD) exclusive of tax. This does not include the media coverage costs but does include the amortization of the boat. This means that the yearly budget for an Open60 is between eight and eleven times higher than the annual budget of the Figaro Bénéteau. This probably explains why only a few sponsors involved in the Figaro make the switch to the Open60 despite skippers strong motivation to race around the world.

Single-handed around the world for 1 million EUR (1,2 M USD) The Solo-Oceans is designed, organized, broadcasted and developed by the same company - SailingOne - founded in 1990 and directed by Managing Director Yvan Griboval. SailingOne manages the design, the sale as well as the maintenance of the Oceanic One Design, which is why it can guarantee a reasonable and fixed annual budget for competitors. This is what makes this race innovative and sets it apart from all the other professional offshore races. The objective of SailingOne is to promote offshore sailing as an accessible and effective means of communication and advertising for firms and regional and local authorities, with the guarantee of excellent media exposure, which is good value for money. Yvan Griboval wishes to render sailing more attractive to small to medium-sized businesses, regional subsidiaries of international companies and local authorities, thus, by enabling sponsors to accompany the skipper through a significant step in his professional career, i.e. his first singlehanded around the world race. A sponsor can finance the start of a young sailor in professional single-handed sailing through the Mini Transat 6.50. They can then help him step up to the next level with the Figaro Bénéteau series without blowing the budget. SailingOne wishes to extend the partnership between the sailor and his sponsor through the next logical step, which is single-handed around the world sailing. They hope to do so by offering a race format at a reasonable cost. The annual budget for a sailor to enter the Mini Transat 6.50 is estimated at between 60,000 and 130,000 EUR (77,000 and 166,000 USD) exclusive of tax. This goes up to 170,000 to 230,000 EUR (210,000 to 290,000 USD) for the Figaro Bénéteau series exclusive of tax and of media coverage costs. With the Solo-Oceans, SailingOne offers potential sponsors the opportunity to race around the world for 2 to 3 times the cost of a Figaro Bénéteau campaign including a guaranteed media exposure. The running cost is currently being considered but will be set between 460,000 and 580,000 EUR (590,000 and 740,000 USD) exclusive of tax per year. That is to say between 920,000 and 1,160,000 EUR (1,170,000 and 1,480,000 USD) for one Solo-Oceans race over 2 years. This cost includes: - Amortization or renting of the Oceanic One Design - Insurance (boat, skipper, boat captain) - General maintenance and one-design inspection - Consumables (sails, running and standing rigging ) - Salary (full time skipper and part time boat captain) - Cost of communication boat / shore crew (sound, images, Internet) - Guaranteed media coverage (TV, radio, print media, Internet) This amortization guarantees the owner a significant profit when he sells the Oceanic One Design. This profit is not taken into consideration in the yearly budget. It is a substantial bonus.

Forty months to set up the Solo-Oceans The first edition of the Solo-Oceans will start Sunday 25 th October 2009 from France, this being just over 40 months away. This is the time required to organize this event and build the dozen of Oceanic One Design boats that will line up in this new adventure of equal opportunities. Two years prior to the start, the first unit of this 16-meter one-design series will be taken on a reconnaissance lap of the Solo-Oceans in conditions likely to be encountered during the race. The stepping stones of the Solo Oceans are: - January 2006: Start of the drawings of the Oceanic One Design boat - 15 th June 2006: Official presentation of the Solo-Oceans to the media - 25 th July 2006: Launching of the official website www.soloceans.org - September 2006: Start of the manufacture of tools for the boat building - February 2007: Start of the mass production of the Oceanic One Design boat - July 2007: Launching of the first Oceanic One Design - 25 th October 2007: Start of the reconnaissance of Leg 1 of the Solo-Oceans - Mid-December 2007: Arrival and stopover in New Zealand - 17 th or 24 th January 2008: Start of the reconnaissance of Leg 2 of the Solo-Oceans - March 2008: Finish of the reconnaissance of the Solo-Oceans course - May to September 2008: Final sea trials in race mode in the Northern Atlantic - June and July 2009: Offshore race qualifier for the Solo-Oceans - 25 th October 2009: Start of Leg 1 of the Solo-Oceans - Mid-December 2009: Arrival of Leg 1 and stopover in New Zealand - 17 th or 24 th January 2010: Start of Leg 2 of the first edition of the Solo-Oceans - March 2008: Finish of the first edition of the Solo-Oceans The starting and finishing ports of the Solo-Oceans in France and New Zealand will be announced once the ongoing negotiations with the cities involved have finished, at the latest, early 2007.

Yvan Griboval: "Equal opportunity is a universal concept" To Yvan Griboval, SailingOne Managing Director: How can you guarantee sportsmen and sponsors that operational budgets will be identical for every boat? I am glad you ask the question and rightly so, because budgets won t all be totally identical. There is only one parameter that could create inflation and that is the skipper s salary. An experienced single-handed national champion is potentially worth more than an average young Mini Transat 6.5 sailor. We perfectly understand that a champion is entitled to claim a higher salary than a young sailor who is still learning the ropes. In this case inflation is totally justified and we even support it. Apart from the skipper s salary, our philosophy is entirely based on the control and the reduction of the material and maintenance costs for the sponsor s annual operating budget. It is one of the reasons why we chose a complete one-design concept. Only clothes, food and the skipper s personal belongings will vary from one boat to another. The rest will be strictly identical. We will make sure to take a hard line with this one-design rule similarly to the Trophée Clairefontaine, which we have been organizing for 16 years. No less than 69 champions among the world s most famous sailors such as Dennis Conner, Chris Dickson, Grant Dalton, Dean Barker or Ernesto Bertarelli, as well as French sailors including Loïck Peyron, Michel Desjoyeaux, Franck Cammas, Laurent Bourgnon, Florence Arthaud, Loday or Bertrand Pacé to name a few, can testify to this. Through the Solo-Oceans, its purpose built Oceanic One Design boat and its one-design rule concept, our approach is simple: reducing the cost without restricting the quality of the event. Michel Desjoyeaux, our technical adviser, Hervé Laurent, responsible for the equipment, and especially Christian Brit, in charge of the boat building, constantly discuss their ideas with designers from Finot-Conq to come up with clever solutions that reduce the cost without compromising the pleasure of sailing and the seaworthiness of the vessel in treacherous conditions. My role is to validate the solution or decide to examine other solutions if deemed necessary. Our real advantage in terms of managing the costs is that we have full control over the various parameters: definition of the concept, design, development and building of the boat, the event in itself, media coverage and promotion of the whole project. Having all these parameters under the control of the same entity will prohibit outrageous unexpected expenses arising for those who have to pay the final bill, in other words, the sponsors.

You will guarantee the same minimum media exposure for every advertiser. How can you offer such a guarantee? We are tirelessly looking for solutions to cut down on waste, and we have looked at how we could reduce the cost of sponsors, while offering a real guaranteed media exposure to each of them. We have come up with smart solutions that will first be revealed to the sponsors. This approach is totally innovative in terms of sport marketing, in particular in sailing. This is not the first time that we have been innovative in this area and we are very proud of it! For instance, when we first launched the Trophée Clairefontaine in the early 1990s, when there were still significant sport-dedicated programs on free-to-air TV, we had a prime time live coverage on major channels from 6pm to midnight during three days. We even managed to broadcast the start of a race live at the beginning of the national news, and then the finish 20 minutes later during the same news program. We do believe we are innovating in terms of TV coverage, and we have the experience and the expertise both in France and overseas to fulfill our media commitments towards the sponsors involved in the Solo-Oceans. We will draw up a valid contract with each company or group of companies which financially invests in the Oceanic One Design for the Solo-Oceans. It will guarantee each candidate the same minimum media exposure - controlled by TNS Sport, European leader in this area. The media coverage will be organized in three different ways. First, there will be contractual media exposure guaranteed to each competing team as previously mentioned. This will be partly independent from the sports news of the event. Secondly, there will be traditional media coverage driven by us, except that it will focus on the emotional values rather than on the results of single-handed sailors. Lastly, team managers will be free to resort to the services of specialized agencies to boost their media exposure, especially for events like the launching of the boat, a celebrity presence, humanitarian events and other operations halfway between public and media relations. More generally, our aim is to extend the best support we can to the competing teams and optimize their media exposure. We want sailing to remain attractive to sponsors thanks to the very high return on investment it will offer. Will the Oceanic One Design take part in other events in addition to the Solo-Oceans for which it is dedicated? The Solo-Oceans will offer an opportunity to participate to a 50-day offshore single-handed race each year starting from 2009. The leg from France to New Zealand will indeed run in 2009, followed by the race back to France in 2010. In 2011 the first leg of the second Solo- Oceans will start and so on every year In addition, a return race through the North Atlantic will allow a fully-crewed leg on the way out and a single-handed leg on the way back. This single-handed leg will be a qualifier for competing in the Solo-Oceans. The transatlantic return will be held every two years, in June- July, starting in 2009. The purpose of this two-part race, fully-crewed and single-handed, is to provide single-handed sailors with a better knowledge of their Oceanic One Design, by sailing first with a crew, then a preparation on their own.

We also consider that a qualifier under racing conditions is the only way to assess the sailors ability to take on the Solo-Oceans around the world. Apart from the Solo-Oceans and the biennial transatlantic race scheduled in spring-summer and exclusively dedicated to the Oceanic One Design, the sailing calendar for this class, for those interested, will consist of the most famous classic and traditional offshore races, like the Giraglia, the Fastnet Race, the Sydney-Hobart, the Cowes-Dinard, the Spi Ouest-France, the Round Gotland Race, the Channel Race, etc In this case, our role is to ensure that the Oceanic One Design boats are considered as onedesign boats in their own right. In other words, they are only used for offshore races, and possibly on specifically designed race courses such as a 250- nautical mile Spi Ouest France for instance. We will also ensure that they have their own category, avoiding any comparison with other boats, and lastly, if possible, that they have their own starting line and race course as in the above mentioned Spi Ouest France example. We also have to take into account single-handed, double-handed or fully-crewed offshore races that are open to the Open60, 50 and 40 class. We have a clear policy in this respect. We cannot implement a universal concept - equal opportunity - that can be understood by everyone, and at the same time have the boats sail in races where the results can be confusing for the majority of the audience. For instance, it would be smart if the Oceanic One Design could compete in a transatlantic race reserved for monohulls. It would help identify a variety of classes in the offshore single-handed race category and its position within this category. As an example, we can imagine a race only accessible to the Open60 IMOCA, our one-design boats and the Class 40. That would make sense. I will make sure that this universal concept is adopted, guaranteeing equal opportunity to the sailors and, more importantly, to enterprises investing their money into the event, so that the skippers can enjoy fast sailing with high safety standards. In that regard I will ensure that the spirit of the race will live on, thanks to constant consultation with the persons directly involved and the various observers. Do you have a particular wish? I will consider that I have achieved my goals when the three following conditions are fulfilled. Firstly, I wish to welcome a large number of foreign single-handed sailors for the first edition of the Solo-Oceans. A satisfying result would be 50% of a fleet of 10 to 15 Oceanic One Design. Then, I wish to welcome companies or local authorities, teams or organization partners who have never invested in a sailing event before. Lastly, I wish to welcome talented single-handed sailors who are taking the next step in terms of solo offshore sailing thanks to our efforts, while keeping the same sponsor who trusted them early in their career. We will then win our bet. We still have forty months to achieve this goal.

Jean-Pierre Champion: The human factor will be decisive To Jean-Pierre Champion, President of the French Sailing Federation (FFVoile) and member of the board of directors of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) management committee: What appeals to you in the Solo-Oceans? This new race is based on a true one-design concept. It is the simplest way to compete. The first to cross the finish line wins, and since everyone has the same equipment, we know that he or she is the best. It is the essential premise of Sport, across all disciplines. Strictly controlling the running costs in the Solo-Oceans is a crucial factor in our opinion. Controlled budgets will appeal to more sponsors and will enable a larger number of sailors to really show their talent. Indeed, the ultimate goal for the president of a Federation is to pave the way to its sport for as many talented people as possible. A one-design class is also a satisfactory solution at the technological level, because we sometimes see this aspect outweighing the human factor in some classes. We believe that it is not good for the future. In the Solo-Oceans, the personal element will be decisive and this is wise. In what way does the Solo-Oceans reflect the Federation s policy? On one hand, the FFVoile has to promote all types of sailing. However, facilitating entry into singlehanded around the world races thanks to identical boats and controlled costs, is a positive initiative that we can only encourage. On the other hand, it also enables companies to take part in the great adventure of around the world races with reasonable budgets. These two essential factors perfectly illustrate our policy regarding the development of offshore sailing. And we trust Finot-Conq with the collaboration of Michel Desjoyeaux to come up with a sea-worthy and attractive Oceanic One Design for competitors. Do you think that a stopover in New Zealand is a smart decision? To be honest, it is a good idea to reach out to our friends from the Antipodes for this great adventure around the world. A race with French roots and an Anglo-Saxon format is very appealing to us when we often complain about creating Franco-French races. An around the world race with a stopover half way through is still an around the world race. The stopover in New Zealand does not devalue it, but makes it possible for sailors to rest and carry out any maintenance required on their boats. It can t be a bad thing. It is important to bring together great sailing nations through an offshore race, and to establish a strong relationship with the country we regard as the most famous when it comes to competitive sailing. New Zealand sailors have demonstrated their offshore sailing ability in the Whitbread, the Volvo Ocean Race, the Race, not to mention the America s Cup where they are well represented in the best teams. We have yet to see what their single-handed sailors are capable of, but we are in no doubt that they will be on the start line of the Solo-Oceans with serious contenders.

Michel Desjoyeaux: One-design boats help sailors to improve To Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of the trimaran 60 Géant: What is it about the Oceanic One Design for the Solo-Oceans that has seduced you, and convinced you to get involved despite your busy schedule? Firstly, I find that this boat and its main race, the Solo-Oceans, are a nice addition to the existing classes and races. They fill the gap between the one-design Bénéteau Figaro and the one-off boats for the Vendée Globe. It is a good idea. Secondly, we are developing a real one-design boat. We have enough time to thoroughly think through this project, get the big picture and fine-tune the boat. It is a very satisfying approach and is what motivates me to collaborate towards the success of the project in the long term. What is your role in the development of this Oceanic One Design for the Solo-Oceans? I am a technical adviser, and I give my opinion when asked by any of the very competent people gathered around the table. I use my technical experience of the one-design Bénéteau Figaro and the one-off-open60 IMOCA for the Vendée Globe, as well as my experience of offshore racing in general. These experiences as well as what I ve learnt from them are inseparable. They indeed are the basis of the whole concept: Oceanic One Design and Solo-Oceans together. What major qualities should this Oceanic One Design have? Most importantly the Oceanic One Design has to be strictly one-design. In that respect, we have to go beyond what currently underlies the meaning of a one-design class. A given boat will be sailed very differently from one sailor to the other because they all have a style of their own. The one-design must therefore be meticulous, to enable each skipper to fully express their talent while remaining on an equal footing, technically speaking. Secondly this new boat has to be seaworthy, fast, durable and fun to sail. Let s not forget that the boat is designed to be single-handed and sailed several times around the world on treacherous oceans. Do this new class and this new race have their places in the current sailing landscape? It is important that sailors are given the opportunity to show their talent on both open rule class boats and onedesign boats. We need both: the open rules contribute to the technical research and development and the onedesign rules push sailors to refine their sailing abilities. One-off and one-design boats are complementary within a coherent sporting branch. In the solo offshore racing monohulls category, we currently have the Mini Transat 650 which is custom built by definition, alongside the one-design Bénéteau Figaro; we will have the one-design Oceanic One Design for the Solo-Oceans, and we already have the one-off Open60 IMOCA to top up the picture for the Vendée Globe. It seems to me like a good balance provided, as I said earlier, that we go beyond what currently underlies the term one-design, I mean the Melges 24, Mumm 30 or the Figaro Bénéteau for instance. Even though there will obviously be fewer 16m Oceanic One Design built than 25 footers like the Melges 24, we can still standardize all the gear and equipment including the sail to get a true one-design class. This is the choice that has been made.

Jean-Marie Finot: Gliding around the world To Jean-Marie Finot, boat designer and president of the Finot-Conq Group: What is it about the Oceanic One Design convinced you to design it? intended to the Solo-Oceans that has seduced you, and First of all, it is an offshore boat which must go fast, free of every rule and constraint other than those we have set ourselves to make it seaworthy. For instance, it is more stable than required under the IMOCA rules, and we use a long prod (4m) to tack the flying sails far in front of the bow to avoid any nose-diving. We use the most advanced and proven methods to build the boat (pre-preg carbon) in order to make it fast without compromising safety and it should be a lot of fun to sail! As designers, we see ourselves on the boat in place of the skipper and try to come up with the best boat possible for this kind of solo around the world racing. The goal really is that the sailors enjoy their journey in the safest conditions possible. What are the major qualities of this Oceanic One Design for the Solo-Oceans? Gliding, always gliding all the way around the world! This would summarize the philosophy of the Oceanic One Design from the very beginning of the project when Yvan Griboval asked: design me an Open 7.50 that is 52 feet long to sail in the Southern Ocean. The Oceanic One Design fulfills three criteria. It is a very stiff boat with a large sail area and it is easy to steer. We will first sail the boat around the world on the race course to test it in racing conditions. Our intention is to adjust the balance of these three factors if necessary. We have more than a year of sea trials ahead of us and close to 40,000 miles in all sorts of sea and wind conditions. It is the first time that we have had the chance to benefit from such a complete development program for a production boat. Where will this boat fit in terms of speed? It will be faster than the Open50 IMOCA and we should be able to hang on to the Open60 IMOCA from the previous generation. It will be fast What makes this project different from the Open60 IMOCA for the Vendée Globe? With a one-design boat you always look at ways of sailing the boat faster instead of concentrating on developing the boat itself. You have to focus on the sailing, not the development. It is a first in round the world racing and it is fascinating. This will highlight the sailor s own abilities even more than a race with custom-built boats. The involvement of talented sailors on strictly identical boats will quickly enhance the potential of the boat. The bottom line with these boats and this around the world race with one stopover is to attract more sailors to this kind of races. The idea of having a one-design round the world race is in itself very interesting. To make it short, it is very exciting to design this new boat.

Technical specifications of the Oceanic One Design The Oceanic One Design is the product of Yvan Griboval s imagination. It has been conceived through the comments of the numerous consulted offshore sailors. Then Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper of the trimaran 60 Géant, became involved in the definition of the boat. Jean-Marie Finot, Pascal Conq and their team have designed this new oceanic monohull racer. Every decision regarding the Oceanic One Design has to be agreed by all three parties: Yvan Griboval, Michel Desjoyeaux and the Finot Conq Group. Christian Brit, in charge of the boat building and Hervé Laurent, in charge of the equipment, have joined the team. Construction: Pre-preg carbon Nomex cooked at 90ºC Length overall: 16.00m Length on the waterline: 52ft (15.85m) Beam: 5.23m Draft: 4.20m Total displacement: 6.5t Weight of the bulb: 2.3t Water ballasts: Two in the front (2 * 1000L) and two at the back (2 * 700L) Carbon fin keel: Canting to 40 Two rudders: Height of the wing mast: Can be lifted 22.60m above the deck (23.73m above the waterline) Wing mast area: 7m 2 Main sail area: 127m 2 Jib area: 72m 2 Max area upwind: 206m 2 (127 + 72 + 7m 2 ) Working jib area: 32m 2 Stay sail: 18m 2 Gennaker area: 145m 2 Asymmetrical spinnaker area: 252m 2 Main gear suppliers: Sails by North Sails France; deck gears from Harken Electronics and autopilot by NKE Nanni Diesel engine, Karver furlers