{"id":161847,"date":"2026-01-28T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=161847"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:09:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:09:43","slug":"the-transat-cafe-lor-debrief-imocas-capsizes-and-a-surprise-second-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/features\/the-transat-cafe-lor-debrief-imocas-capsizes-and-a-surprise-second-place-161847","title":{"rendered":"The Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or Debrief: IMOCAs, capsizes, and a surprise second place"},"content":"When it was announced that three-times Kiwi America\u2019s Cup<\/a> helmsman Peter Burling<\/a> had not re-signed<\/a> with Emirates Team New Zealand<\/a>, a lot of people wondered what he was going to do instead.\r\n\r\nNews last month that he was joining Italian Challengers<\/a> Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli<\/a> certainly made sense. Between that and his Black Foils New Zealand SailGP team \u2013 and a young family \u2013 he seemed to have enough on his plate.\r\n\r\nBut Burling is evidently enjoying the freedom that not being locked into an ETNZ contract or Olympic cycle brings, with the news that he is going to join the Ultim<\/a> SVR-Lazartigue<\/em><\/a> for this month\u2019s Rolex Fastnet Race<\/a>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_158827\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The Ultim SVR-Lazartigue being relaunched for its 2025 programme[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSVR-Lazartigue<\/em> will race with skipper Tom Laperche (who took over from Francois Gabart last year \u2013 Gabart is taking some time out for a cruising circumnavigation with his family)\u00a0and a crew of six, including new co-skipper Frank Cammas. Cammas has moved from the Gitana<\/a> stable, where he was long-time skipper and co-skipper of the Ultim Maxi Edmond de Rothschild<\/em><\/a> with Charles Caudrelier.\r\n

Recruiting Burling<\/h2>\r\nTom Laperche explains: \u201cFran\u00e7ois (Gabart) encouraged me to reach out to the Anglo-Saxon sailing scene, where some of the best in the business are pushing the limits of these flying boats.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe had a shortlist of sailors we were keen to sail with. The New Zealanders have long been leaders in this area. Peter is an exceptional sailor \u2014 Olympic medals, America\u2019s Cups\u2026 and from our first conversations, he was totally on board. His flight expertise is top-level, he\u2019s an outstanding inshore racer, and I know he\u2019ll bring a lot to the team.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_158830\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" SVR-Lazartigue skipper Tom Laperche[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen they contacted me, it was an easy decision to say yes to the Rolex Fastnet Race,\u201d adds Burling.\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve always loved offshore racing \u2014 that\u2019s what led me to The Ocean Race. The Ultim class is the pinnacle of high-performance offshore sailing. These boats are incredibly innovative and versatile. I\u2019m really excited to get back offshore and to learn more about how this class is evolving.\r\n\r\n\u201cJoining a team with such deep experience on these boats is a fantastic opportunity. I\u2019ve followed Fran\u00e7ois Gabart\u2019s journey and everything the team has achieved, and seeing Tom take over the project is great. He\u2019s an exceptional sailor. For me, this is a chance to push myself, learn, and work with an outstanding crew. I can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_115062\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"600\"]\"\" Leg 9 of the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race from Newport, US to Cardiff, UK \u2013 on board Brunel. Peter Burling thinks Vestas 11th Hour has tacked and fever sets in[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBurling is no stranger to offshore racing: he raced with Brunel<\/em> in the 2017\/18 Volvo Ocean Race. He was helmsman and watch leader on the Dutch boat, and widely rumoured to be something of a secret weapon when it came to Brunel\u2019s impressive boat speed<\/a> improvements over the race.\r\n\r\nBouwe Bekking\u2019s Team Brunel<\/em> finished third overall, in the closest finish<\/a> in the race\u2019s history. Burling sandwiched the ocean marathon in between winning Gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and Silver at the 2020\/21 Games in Tokyo, and winning back the America\u2019s Cup for New Zealand in Bermuda in 2017 and defending it in Auckland in 2021.\r\n

Cammas switches teams<\/h2>\r\nFor Laperche and the SVR-Lazartigue team, having Franck Cammas join after six years with Gitana is a significant appointment. The Gitana stable is currently building a top-secret - and rumoured to be radical \u2013 new Ultim, designed by Guillaume Verdier and due to be launched this autumn.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1Akg0bituFQ\r\n\r\nCammas will be Laperche\u2019s co-skipper for this autumn\u2019s Transat Cafe L\u2019or (formerly the Transat Jacques Vabre<\/a>), but also performance director.\u2028\u2028\u201cWhen I called Franck, I wasn\u2019t just looking for a co-skipper,\u201d explains Laperche. \u201cI wanted someone who could also contribute to the sporting and technical vision \u2014 someone to challenge and build on the work from our design team.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cMy goal is to bring a fresh perspective to a team that already knows the boat inside out,\u201d says Cammas. \u201cWe\u2019ll need to keep the dialogue open, challenge ourselves, and remain receptive to new ideas.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s all about working the details, staying rigorous, curious and open-minded. That mindset is something Tom and I share. We\u2019re always looking for new ways to push technology further \u2014 but we know that innovation comes with risk.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_158829\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Franck Cammas has joined the SVR-Lazartigue team for 2025 as co-skipper and performance director[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\"Humility is essential because the competition is fierce. Everyone is stepping up. Each time we go to sea, we aim to perform better than the time before. With this team \u2014 both on land and at sea \u2014 and one of the most advanced boats in the fleet, we have everything in place. Now we just need to deliver. Sometimes you have to be patient for results, but that\u2019s the nature of the game.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe Rolex Fastnet Race starts from Cowes on Saturday, 26 July. The Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or from Le Havre on 26 October.\r\n\r\n
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Shortly after 10.30 in the evening on Saturday, 25 October, French team mates Erwan Le Draoulec and Tanguy Le Turquais found themselves upside down in a capsized trimaran in 30-knot winds with the waters of the English Channel rising inside their boat. Though Le Turquais says there was no panic on board, fear did momentarily take hold as air inside their smashed Ocean Fifty became scarce, and the pair realised the aft hatch was blocked by bags. \u201cIt lasted five or 10 seconds maybe, but they felt like hours,\u201d recounted a shocked Le Turquais. \u201cI was thinking: we\u2019re going to drown here like a couple of idiots.\u201d Fortunately, both were rescued safely, along with four more competitors, in a hectic few hours of incidents. Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or: The coffee route If it\u2019s an odd-numbered year, the nights are drawing in and there are dramatic mid-Atlantic rescues of multihull sailors hitting the headlines, it must mean the race across the Atlantic which follows the \u2018coffee route\u2019 is underway. For its 17th edition the double-handed offshore classic switched its name from the Transat Jacques Vabre to become the Transat Caf\u00e9 L\u2019Or, thanks to the French coffee giant which supports the race from Normandy, northern France, to Martinique in the Caribbean. Otherwise the blend has changed little. The docks in Le Havre welcomed four divisions: four Ultims; a record fleet of 10 Ocean Fifty trimarans; 18 IMOCAs (the reduced numbers reflecting the post-Vend\u00e9e Globe season); and 42 Class 40s of all vintages. The race organisers\u2019 plan was to try and ensure the winners of all four fleets finished within hours rather than days. So the Ultims raced around the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, 600 miles north-east of Brazil, the IMOCA course took them to the Canaries, the Ocean Fiftys turned right at the Cape Verdes, while the Class 40 fleet had to be halted in La Coru\u00f1a to sit out a storm for three days, before passing south of a mark off the Azores. Mouth-watering prospect The line up in each division was fascinating. Sadly the launch of the highly anticipated Gitana 18 was delayed, but in the big Ultim fleet 2023 winners Armel Le Cl\u00e9ac\u2019h and Seb Josse were out to defend their titles with Banque Populaire XI, reported to be flying earlier and more smoothly with new foils. Franck Cammas joined as co-skipper to Tom Laperche on SVR Lazartigue. Thomas Coville hand-picked Benjamin Schwartz as a powerful ally and his co-skipper on the re-optimised Sodebo Ultim 3. And ex-Figaro ace Anthony Marchand has upgraded to a new boat with Actual Ultim 4, formerly Gitana 17. The Class 40 fleet ranged from five new 2025 launches, to a couple of 10- to 15-year-old boats raced by Corinthian teams. There were a clutch of international skippers, including Irish-US\/French pairing Pamela Lee and Jay Thompson on #EmpowHer, pro Italian and French teams, enthusiastic amateurs, and super-experienced hands, not least ocean racing legends Michel Desjoyeaux and Vincent Riou, to make for a wide-open …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":447,"featured_media":161872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,68],"tags":[405,3080,1633],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161847"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/447"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161876,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161847\/revisions\/161876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161847"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=161847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}