Newsletter 2025-10

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OCEAN RACING

Jacques Caraës : "A great adventure"

After a long career as a sailor and then race director, Jacques Caraës became team manager of The DMG Mori Sailing Team this summer. The main objective is to support Kojiro Shiraishi in the next edition of The Ocean Race on a new Verdier design, currently under construction at Multiplast. Interview.

Jacques Caraës with Thomas Lempérière, industrialisation manager at Multiplast
(© DMG Mori Sailing Team)

How did you end up in this position as team manager?

I first came into contact with the DMG Mori team during the Vendée Globe, when they were looking for a team manager following the announcement that Charles (Euverte) would be leaving after this edition of the round-the-world race. At the time, I was focused on race management alongside Hubert Lemonnier, so I didn't pursue it too much. After Kojiro arrived, he called me himself to say that if I was leaving race management as I intended to do, he would be very happy to talk to me about the future. I had planned to ‘take a break’ a little, at 66, but he insisted a lot, he came to see me several times and I finally let myself be persuaded, telling myself that it would be a great adventure to embark on this project, especially as there was a new boat at stake.

Is this a new position for you, and what were your priorities during your first few weeks?

I have worked extensively on team projects, but not necessarily in a role with such responsibilities, so yes, you could say it's new. As team manager, you get involved in a bit of everything. It's not the easiest job, which is why I didn't come alone. I asked Kojiro to bring in Kaori [an agency created with his wife, Laurence, editor's note], with Anne-Laure (Pluchon) supporting me on the administrative side and Laurence on communications. I spent my first few weeks meeting with each person individually – 14 employees and 12 freelance contractors – to find out who they were, what they did and what their ambitions were, but also to introduce myself. These interviews were beneficial, as they also allowed me to identify small areas for improvement in the team's organisation.

What are the ambitions for the project, with a new boat under construction?

It's clear that with a new-generation IMOCA, the objectives are much more focused on performance. Kojiro's primary goal is to take part in The Ocean Race, so one of my current missions is to recruit and bring together the right people, both in terms of the shore team and the sailors, to move in this direction of performance with a view to the round-the-world race, knowing that we also have in-house expertise at the DMG Mori Sailing Academy. The new boat will be launched next May, which doesn't leave us much time to fine-tune it, with an Atlantic crossing coming up quickly for the start of The Ocean Race Atlantic in the summer of 2026 (New York-Barcelona), where we'll already need to be in the game.

Can you tell us more about the future Imoca designed by Guillaume Verdier and the collaboration with Multiplast?

It's a boat that will feature a lot of innovations, so there are high expectations, with a slightly new hull configuration. One of the key criteria in the specifications that Kojiro gave to Guillaume Verdier is that the boat must be reliable, which means that we won't necessarily be the lightest boat out there. As for the shipyard, I'm really happy to be working with the teams at Multiplast. I've always had a great relationship with Gilles Ollier (founder) and Yann Penfornis (managing director), and we've had some wonderful adventures together, particularly with innovative boats such as Club Med and Orange 2. As a sailor, I have always enjoyed giving feedback to architects and shipyards, and I have very fond memories of that whole period. When I returned to Multiplast this summer and saw Yann again, we thought it was funny that our paths had crossed again years later! As far as construction is concerned, the schedule is on track, all the bulkheads are in place, and the teams are working on the longitudinal structural parts, inevitably spending time on key elements such as the keel's tipping points. There are a lot of people on site, we also have 3-4 people from our team joining the Multiplast team for layup, and we're all eager to see this new boat assembled!

 IN SHORT

• AÉRONAUTICS Multiplast has just completed an initial series of eight bellmouths, air intakes for aircraft engine test benches – Leap for the Airbus A320neo and GenX for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner – on behalf of Safran Aero Boosters, a division of the Safran group (see our december 2024 newsletter). Six more have already been ordered for 2026, with production starting in September.

• AÉROSPACE. Following on from the series of parts already produced over the last three years for a German aerospace company, Multiplast has received a new order for a satellite launcher cover (the upper part of the rocket).

• AÉRONAUTICS. As detailed in our May newsletter, Multiplast has been chosen by Positive Aviation to manufacture the floats for the future FF72 amphibious firefighting aircraft. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) took place in September in Vannes, and the moulds for the first two floats, currently being made in Spain, will arrive in November for draping to begin in January. The prototype aircraft (a reconfigured ATR 72) is scheduled to fly in the summer of 2026. Multiplast is also considering mass production, as Positive Aviation's goal is to subsequently release one aircraft per month.

• ASTRONOMY. Multiplast has been selected by Paris Cité University to manufacture a meridian, a very large sundial and solar calendar to decorate one of its buildings on the Grands Moulins campus in the 13th arrondissement. ‘We were chosen both for our expertise in producing large parts, given that this one measures 13 metres by 3 metres, and because we proposed to build it in carbon, which has the advantage of being very thermally stable and therefore allows the meridian to be more accurate,’ explains Franck Martin, naval architect at Multiplast.

• RACING. Twenty-one tandems representing 15 nationalities and at the helm of a Sun Fast 30 One Design, a one-design boat produced by Multiplast and Jeanneau, took part in the mixed double offshore world championship. in Cowes from 24 September to 1 October. This year's event was organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), in collaboration with Lorient Grand Large and Cap Regatta, and was won by the French Théa Khelif and Thomas André.
  
  
• CRUISING. In September, Multiplast delivered the four bulkheads for the future Nomad VII, a large cruising catamaran (125 feet) designed by Finot-Conq, whose assembly began at the FC Cube shipyard in Lorient for a planned launch in 2026.
  
  
• RACING.The second edition of The Ocean Race Europe ended on 21 September in Montenegro, with Paprec Arkéa, Yoann Richomme's Imoca built by Multiplast, finishing in an impressive second place. Richomme, accompanied by Corentin Horeau, now has his sights set on the Transat Café L’Or (departing on 26 October from Le Havre to Fort-de-France), a race in which other boats produced entirely or in part by the Multiplast teams will also be competing: the Ultims Actual Ultim 4 (formerly Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), Sodebo Ultim 3, Banque Populaire XI (floats) and SVR Lazartigue (central hull), the Imocas Paprec Arkéa, 11th Hour Racing (formerly Malizia) and Fortinet Best Western, and the Ocean Fifty Inter Invest.
  
  
• DÉFENCE. The Aarok military drone, designed by French company Turgis et Gaillard and with wings manufactured by Multiplast, successfully completed its first two flights, on 9 and 16 September in Blois, under the watchful eye of Emmanuel Chiva, General Delegate for Armament, and in the presence of Sylvain Meudec, the engineer in charge of the project at Multiplast.
  
  
• DÉFENCE. The Amiral Ronarc'h defence and intervention frigate (FDI), built by Naval Group in Lorient, arrived in Brest on Friday 19 September, carrying four Thales Sea Fire 500 multifunction radar radomes and a hull sonar dome, all manufactured by Multiplast.

© Multiplast

CRUISING

Vitalia 2 soon ready for a third life

She has come a long way and her silhouette is familiar. After ten years of cruising around the world under the aegis of François Bich, Vitalia II, Bruno Peyron's former Orange 2 returned this summer to its original shipyard, Multiplast, for a refit in preparation for its future sale.

It's homecoming time for Vitalia II! On 18 July, almost ten years after beginning her second life, the 37.80-metre maxi-catamaran was taken out of the water in Vannes and returned to the Multiplast shipyard for refit.

Designed by Gilles Ollier, founder of Multiplast, and launched in late 2003 for its skipper Bruno Peyron, Orange 2 quickly became legendary, winning the Jules Verne Trophy in March 2005 in 50 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes, before setting the Atlantic crossing record in 2006 (4 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes) and the 24-hour record (767 miles covered) - records that have since been broken. It was this extraordinary multihull, forced to remain out of the water for the next eight years, that François Bich spotted in 2014 on the Multiplast slipway and decided, once purchased from Bruno Peyron, to transform into a long-distance cruising catamaran.

"The project took fifteen months and involved adding the nacelle, redesigning all the interior fittings, adding larger engines and converting the winches to hydraulic power," recalls Yann Penfornis, CEO of Multiplast. "The aim was to enable its owner to sail around the world in safety and comfort, while retaining the racing DNA of a catamaran to which the teams were (and still are) very attached."

This is what Vitalia II, launched in April 2015, did for ten years, first sailing from the Mediterranean to Guinea-Bissau, then the Caribbean, before crossing the Panama Canal and stopping off in Costa Rica. The crew then explored French Polynesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, West Papua, Australia and New Zealand, before a prolonged stay in the Maldives, where it was immobilised for several months due to the Covid pandemic. It then sailed to the Seychelles for a much longer stopover. "We stayed there for three or four years because the owner really enjoyed the archipelago for its sport fishing, beautiful sailing and the beauty of the islands," says Pierre-Antoine Aylmer, skipper and boat captain. The end of this long-distance round-the-world trip took them to Dubai, Cape Town, Saint Helena, the Panamanian islands of San Blas, the Bahamas, the Azores, and then La Trinité-sur-Mer, their final destination.

"Everyone fell in love
with this exceptional boat."

"Over ten years around the world, we encountered some pretty rough seas and wind conditions at times, but we never doubted the boat's capabilities, robustness or reliability," adds Pierre-Antoine Aylmer. "It's incredible to come back after tens of thousands of miles with a catamaran that is sound, clean, in good working order and has no technical problems. Multiplast did an incredible job, putting their heart and soul into making Vitalia II what it is today."

He adds: "Another reason why it's in such good condition after ten years is that everyone who has sailed on her has fallen in love with her. Without the crews' passion for this exceptional boat and the owner's trust, we would never have been able to complete such a journey in such good conditions."

Vitalia II is now in the shipyard for a few months of refit. "The aim is to carry out an assessment of the boat, check the condition of the structure and carbon fibre following the addition of the pod in 2015 and ten years of sailing, and see what has changed and what hasn't. We also need to redo the antifouling and update the electronics and electrical systems," explains the skipper. This refit, scheduled to last until March 2026, should restore the boat to its former glory as it seeks a new owner. "We hope to find a buyer during the winter and, if necessary, we will present it at various boat shows next year," concludes the skipper. A call for lovers of legendary boats.

© Neoline

MARITIME TRANSPORT

Morgane Fouillet: "Neoline sails, a real challenge"

The first industrial-scale sailing cargo ship, Neoliner Origin, fitted with two SolidSail rigs developed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and equipped with composite sails manufactured by Multiplast, will make its first commercial transatlantic crossing between Europe and North America in October. Morgane Fouillet composites project manager at Multiplast, looks back on this adventure, which aims to contribute to the decarbonisation of maritime transport.

Can you remind us how the Solidsail project came about?

It is a project initiated by Chantiers de l'Atlantique almost ten years ago, consisting of creating Solidsail rigging for cruise ships and cargo ships with the aim of decarbonising maritime transport. Multiplast was involved in two ways: first, in the construction of mast sections, in collaboration with other Breton companies, now united within SolidSail Mast Factory, the company that produces these masts in the new factory in Lanester. Next, we manufactured all of the composite sails, of which there are two on Neoliner Origin, the ro-ro cargo ship that sailed September 29 from Turkey, where it was built, to Saint-Nazaire, before making its first commercial voyage to Halifax (Canada) and Baltimore (United States) via Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. For us, Neoline is a project that is almost complete – although we obviously hope that other cargo ships of this type will be ordered in the future – so we moved on to manufacturing identical sails for two Orient Express cruise ships, each equipped with three masts.

How were these sails developed?

We started six or seven years ago with a 20 m² sail, then tested another one on Jean Le Cam's Imoca and then on Le Ponant, a small cruise ship, to arrive today at sails measuring 1,000 m². An initial mast/sail prototype was set up at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, where it served as a demonstrator before being installed on Neoliner Origin. There were inevitably many back-and-forth exchanges with Chantiers de l'Atlantique, but also with GSea Design for the dimensioning aspect and Ensta Bretagne for support on R&D issues. The challenge for Multiplast was both technological, even though we are very familiar with the materials – carbon, fibreglass and epoxy – and processes involved, and economic, because although these sails are designed to last for twenty years, we had to ensure the project was financially viable. As we did not compromise on the processes, we had to come up with a product that was simple to implement right from the design stage, and then be able to keep up with the pace of production. A sail consists of eleven panels, some of which are 20 metres long and 7 metres wide, we currently manufacture three sails per year, with the goal of increasing this to ten in the coming years. In a workshop where we make a lot of prototypes and where everything is constantly changing, it was a real challenge to integrate such mass production, to set aside a space and a pace in the midst of other unrelated projects, knowing that we demould one panel every week before starting on the next one. We had already done this type of production with Figaro 3 foils, but that took up much less space!

What does this project mean for Multiplast?

As I said, it's a long-term project, because when I talk about ten sails per year, I'm looking ahead to 2030-2035. It allows the company to have sustainable production over the long term and therefore visibility to potentially expand and dedicate a workshop to this production. We have already had to build an 8-metre high and 25-metre long building dedicated to painting the panels. Secondly, from a human resources perspective, it allows us to recruit new people into the company who do not necessarily have initial composite training. It is easier to integrate them into a controlled industrial project like this than to put them directly on an Imoca hull. It is also an attractive project, as more and more people want to work on projects that have meaning. Being involved in the manufacture of these sails means contributing to the decarbonisation of maritime transport, which is quite inspiring. I think that when Neoliner Origin completes its first Atlantic crossing, the whole team will be very proud to have been part of something great. Finally, SolidSail has been an opportunity for us to make significant progress in terms of organisation, and today it is a showcase for our industrial expertise. The aim is for our other projects, including prototypes, to move towards this type of organisation.

VOS CONTACTS PRESSE

MULTIPLAST : Yann Penfornis This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / +33 (0)6 12 05 86 97

"If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough"