Jean Le Cam / Bonduelle
Golding fans were hit hard by the news yesterday: for the first time the Briton was only two miles from the top and everything looked like he could finally take the lead - but then the big fall broke and he fell more in a few hours than 60 miles back.
But that night Golding seems to have sailed with a knife between his teeth: With the best boat speed and VMG, he managed to get within 37 miles of the leading Jean Le Cam and is only 16 miles behind the runner-up Vincent Riou. An impressive comeback.
The three-way battle at the top is not only exciting from a human point of view, but also a competition between the various boat concepts: The three leading yachts represent absolutely opposing concepts in the Open 60 class Designs and have completely different rigs, different keels and are optimized for different goals.
Mike Golding, ECOVER
While Golding's boat has an innovative, rotating mast without the overhanging deck salings, Le Cam relies on their safety advantages. Golding has clearly optimized its boat for upwind courses, Le Cam relied on a good all-rounder. In return, the skipper of "Bonduelle" has a high-tech attachment with a carbon fiber quill with a tungsten bomb, while Golding favors a more stable but heavier steel / lead combination.
Everything is different with Vincent Riou: He only has one sword opposite two of the competitors, the rig cannot be turned. To do this, he can adjust the angle of the sword. The technology of these ocean racing machines offers a multitude of facets that are unthinkable in more stringent one-size-fits-all classes
Vincent Riout PRB
Constructors use the open 60 league, which is hardly restricted by rules, as the guild's creative playground. What creates exciting boats with very different advantages. We spoke to the most important designers in the scene and reported on the background to their designs. Keels, rigs, cockpits, hulls, construction methods - a detailed technical analysis shows the boats in all details.
Now in the new YACHT No. 2, available from January 12th at the kiosk.