Etoile 65

DREAM HUNTERS

Which sailor hasn’t dreamed of the perfect instrument? Haddock had the Sirius, a coal-fired cargo ship, always ready to set off to look for the Licorne and Rackam le Rouge’s treasure; Scott had the Discovery, Amundsen the Fram, Charcot, Pourquoi Pas? In a different register, James Wharram merged with Oro and Gaia (55’ and 63’ cats); Tom Follet asserted that he was fully satisfied with Cheers, apart from the absence of his piano! Phil Weld found a balance with Moxie (50’ trimaran, winner of the 1980 Ostar), as did Roger de la Grandière with Vakuta, an 8m Heavenly Twins, for a circumnavigation! In 4000 years, the Polynesians accomplished the conquest of the 176 million km² of the huge Pacific aboard an infinite variety of audacious multihulls. The history of these tribal machines died with the accomplishment of their objective, but their DNA, adapted to the Atlantic by a few iconoclastic pioneers, opened a royal road to leisure sailing, which has now reclaimed this heritage and is continuing its development through an abundance of attempts. The speed record under sail belongs to a multihull, as does the record for the incredible North West Passage under sail alone.....