Ocean fifty

Ocean Fifty

The multihulls in the Ocean Fifty class will be competing in their tenth Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre this year.

This is an event that cannot be missed, during which pairs of skippers have the possibility of getting the most out of their high-performance trimarans in all sorts of weather. While they clearly have a preference for long downwind stretches as they make their way towards Martinique, the skippers cannot hide their pleasure when the wind is on the beam. The Ocean Fifty skippers do not hesitate to sail as quickly as possible down to the latitude of the trade winds, sometimes in tricky conditions.
The Ocean Fifty class is now a fully-fledged class with a race calendar including an annual circuit with four episodes, the Pro Sailing Tour, and a major transatlantic race. In the Pro Sailing Tour, they have to deal with close contact racing, where the most important thing is to carry out perfect manoeuvres, get off to a good start and pay attention to tactics. In the transatlantic race, they go from tactics to long term strategy, with the crew ensuring that the boat can cope until they go full throttle in the second part of the race.
In 2022, the class decided it was time to take responsibility as the ocean racing ecosystem faces a number of challenges. They became committed to more sustainable sailing, by limiting numbers to ten boats, thus avoiding the construction of new boats, preferring to fine tune the older multihulls. While the two most recent boats launched in 2023 are competing in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre, it was however a boat dating back to 2009 that so brilliantly won the last edition. Between sheer speed, reliability, talent and strategic choices, the field is wide open once again this year.