VPLP design
VPLP design is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records.
History
VPLP design is a French-based naval architecture firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost. These two French nationals first met at Southampton College of Higher Education both having enrolled to study Yacht and Powercraft Design.During their years at college Marc and Vincent forged a friendship that was later to be the catalyst for VPLP. The company was formed in 1983 and first opened its doors in Marseilles with a focus on developing racing trimarans, which was a burgeoning niche market in the early 80’s.
VPLP’s initial project was to design a racing trimaran commissioned by skipper Vincent Levy for the 1984 OSTAR,. This foiler baptized Gerard Lambert was the first in a long line of racing trimarans that created a name for the firm and established the young designers as innovators in the field of naval architecture.
VPLP designed their first cruising catamaran in 1984 for Lagoon, which was then a division of Jeanneau Techniques Avancées. The Lagoon 55 was the first in more than 240 cruising catamarans designed by VPLP. Lagoon is now part of the CNB division of Groupe Bénéteau and has produced more than 2000 catamarans with worldwide distribution. VPLP are the principal designers for the Lagoon fleet of sailing catamarans.
Evolution
The offices moved to Paris, Bastille in 1985 to be closer their network of international clients.In subsequent years, VPLP have structured the organization into three divisions to focus on separate sectors of the yacht market:
- monohull and multihull racing yachts
- series production sailing catamarans
- luxury custom sailing catamarans
In 2007 VPLP cooperated with French yacht designer Guillaume Verdier to penetrate the competitive IMOCA racing circuit. The performance of their first interactions Safran and Groupe Bel earned the VPLP-Verdier consortium a growing orderbook for racing monohulls.
Racing prototypes
Racing prototypes and results
Since 1990, All of the VPLP boats are still undefeated at the Route du Rhum.| Year | Boat's name | Description | History |
| 1984 | Gerard Lambert | 50' foiler trimaran | For the Ostar |
| 1985 | La Santa Maria | 45' catamaran | For the Route de la découverte |
| 1986 | Poulain | 75' trimaran | Skipped by Olivier de Kersauson |
| 1986 | Biscuits Cantreau 1 | Formula 40 trimaran | Skipped by Jean Le Cam |
| 1987 | Biscuits Cantreau 2 | Formula 40 trimaran | Skipped by Jean Le Cam -World Champion 1987 |
| 1988 | Biscuits Cantreau 3 | Formula 40 trimaran | Skipped by Jean Le Cam -World Champion 1988 -World Champion 1989 |
| 1988 | Hitachi ↓ Bottin | 60' trimaran | Skipped by Lionel Péan in 1988 Skipped by Eric Tabarly in 1989 |
| 1989 | Nord Pas de Calais 3 | Formula 40 trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by |
| 1989 | Groupe Pierre 1er ↓ Lakota | 60' ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Florence Arthaud -1st in the Route Du Rhum in 1990 Skipped by Steve Fosset |
| 1990 | RMO ↓ Primagaz ↓ Foncia ↓ Bayer ↓ Rexona ↓ RegionGuadeloupe | 60' ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Laurent Bourgnon : -1st in the Open-UAP in 1991 -1st in the Baule-Dakar in 1991 -Mediterranean Record in 1991, 2921 miles - 22h 10min Skipped by : -1st in the Quebec-Saint Malo in 1992 -1st in the Route Du Rhum in 1994 -1st in the Fastnet in 1997 -1st in the Route Du Rhum in 1998 -Record of Atlantique Crossing in 1999, 7d 2h 34min Skipped by Skipped by |
| 1990 | Ylliam | Formula 40, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Pierre-Yves Firmenich |
| 1991 | Alibi | Mini 6,5 m Monohull Mini-transat | Skipped by Dominic Bourgeois -1991: 3rd in the Mini-Transat |
| 1992 | Fleury-Michon XI | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by |
| 1992 | Charal | 90' trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Olivier de Kersauson |
| 1992 | Lege Cap Ferret | Formula 28' trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Jean-Louis Miquel |
| 1993 | Lyonnaise des eaux Dumez | 90' trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Olivier de Kersauson |
| 1993 | YG 25 | One design racing catamarans, for the Clairefontaine Trophy | |
| 1997 | Broceliande ↓ Foncia ↓ Technomarine ↓ Banque Covefi 2 ↓ Stena Sovcomflot ↓ Orange | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Skipped by Skipped by Bruno Peyron & Stève Ravussin Skipped by : -Winner of in 2005 |
| 1997 | Sport-Elec | 90' trimaran ex-Lyonnaise des Eaux-Dumez, Composite Carbon nomex | Skipped by Olivier de Kersauson: -Jules Verne Trophy record in 1997, 71d 14h 18min |
| 1998 | Groupama I ↓ HiQ | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Franck Cammas : -Winner of Transat Quebec-Saint Malo in 2000 -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2001 |
| 2000 | Bonduelle ↓ Gitana XII | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Jean Le Cam |
| 2001 | Fila ↓ Tim | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by |
| 2001 | Belgacom II ↓ | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Skipped by : -Winner of the Route Du Rhum in 2006 |
| 2001 | Geronimo | 110' trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Olivier de Kersauson: -Winner of Jules Verne Trophy 2004 |
| 2002 | Foncia | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite | Skipped by |
| 2002 | Geant ↓ Vodafone | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Michel Desjoyeaux : -Winner of the Route Du Rhum in 2002 -Winner of the Transat in 2004 |
| 2002 | Sodebo | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite | Skipped by Thomas Coville |
| 2004 | Idec | 90' trimaran ex-Sport-Elec, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Francis Joyon: -Solo round the world record in 2004, 72d 22h 54min 22sec -Solo transatlantic world record in 2005, 6d 4h 1min 37sec |
| 2004 | Groupama 2 | 60'ORMA trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Franck Cammas: -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007 |
| 2005 | Crepes Whaou! 2 ↓ Maitre Jacques-Loic Fecquet | 50' trimaran, built by | Skipped by Franck Yves Escoffier -1st in Transat Jacques Vabre Multi50 in 2005 -1st in the Route Du Rhum Multi50 in 2006 -1st in Transat Jacques Vabre Multi50 in 2007 |
| 2006 | Groupama 3 ↓ Maxi Solo Banque Populaire VII ↓ Lending Club 2 ↓ IDEC Sport | 105' trimaran, Composite Carbon nomex | Skipped by Franck Cammas : -Transatlantic Record in 2008 -Jules Verne Trophy, Circumnavigation record in 2010, 48d 7h 44min 52s -Winner of the Route Du Rhum in 2010 Skipped by : -Record Solo Trans-Mediterranean, 30/09/2013, 18h 58min 13sec -New Record Solo distance in 24 hours, 27/01/2014, 682 miles -Record Solo Cadix-San Salvador, 30/01/2014, 6d 23h 42min -Jules Verne Trophy record circumnavigation in 2016, 40d 23h 30min 30sec |
| 2006 | Lightspeed 32 | One design racing/picnic catamaran, Carbon fibre and composite construction in USA | |
| 2006 | Safran | 60' IMOCA Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with Guillaume Verdier | Skipped by : -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2009 -Solo North Atlantic Record in July 2013, 8d 5h 20min 20sec |
| 2007 | Groupe Bel | 60' IMOCA Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Skipped by |
| 2008 | Maxi Banque Populaire V ↓ | 40m Custom racing trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Pascal Bidegorry & Loïc Peyron : -Transatlantic record in 2009, 3d 15h 25min 48sec -24 Hour World Speed Sailing record in 2009, 908 miles, Avg 37.8kn -Trans-Mediterranean record, 15/05/2010, 14h 20min 34sec -Jules Verne Trophy record circumnavigation in 2012, 45d 13h 42min 53sec Skipped by : -Record Cadix-San Salvador, 06/11/2013, 6d 13h 42min 53sec''" |
| 2009 | BMW Oracle Racing 90x90 USA 17 | 90' full carbon trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by Oracle Team USA: -Winner 33rd in 2010 |
| 2009 | Crepes Whaou ! 3 ↓ Fenetrea | 50' trimaran | Skipped by Franck Yves Escoffier: -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2009 Skipped by Erwan Le Roux & Yann Elies : -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2013 |
| 2010 | Vibrac Paprec 3 | 60' IMOCA Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Skipped by : -Winner of Barcelona world race in 2010-2011 -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2011 |
| 2010 | PRB | 60' IMOCA Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Skipped by Vincent Riou: -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre in 2013" |
| 2010 | Foncia II ↓ Banque Populaire VI ↓ Maitre Coq | 60' IMOCAMonohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Skipped by Michel Desjoyeaux Skipped by : -Finished 2nd in the Vendee Globe in 2012 Skipped by |
| 2011 | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by Stève Ravussin | |
| 2011 | Veolia Environment ↓ Orion Racing | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by |
| 2011 | Foncia | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by Michel Desjoyeaux: -Winner of the European Tour in 2012 -Record of the Tour of Isle of Wight in 2012, 2h 21min 25sec |
| 2011 | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by : -Winner of in 2010 -Winner of Krys Ocean Race in 2012 | |
| 2011 | Macif | 60' IMOCA Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Skipped by Francois Gabart: -Winner of the Vendee Globe in 2013, 78d 2h 16min 40sec |
| 2011 | Groupe Edmond de Rothschild | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by : -Winner of Transat Jacques Vabre 2013 |
| 2012 | Oman Sail | multihull, Carbon composite nomex | Skipped by |
| 2013 | Prince de Bretagne | 80' trimaran, Composite carbon nomex | Skipped by for the Route Du Rhum 2014 |
| 2013 | Hydros 1 & 2 - Class C | 25' Class C catamarans, for , Composite carbon nomex | |
| 2014 | Sodebo Ultim | 105' trimaran, ex-Geronimo, Composite Carbon nomex | Skipped by Thomas Coville -Winner of the Around the world sailing record the 25th of December 2016, 49 d 03 h 07 m 38 s |
| 2014 | Comanche 100 | 100' Monohull, Composite carbon nomex, designed with | Launched September 2014 Owned by James H. Clark, Kristy Hinze Skippered by Ken Read -Transatlantic Record 2016, 5d 14h 21m 25s |
| 2015 | Safran 2 | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with | Launched on February 5, 2015 to be skipped by for the Vendee Globe 2016 |
| 2015 | Banque Populaire VIII | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with , Launched on June 9, 2015 for the Vendee Globe 2016, to be skipped by | - Winner of the Vendée Globe 2016-2017, 74 days 03 hours 35 min 46 s |
| 2015 | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with , to be launched in July 2015 for the Vendee Globe 2016, to be skipped by | ||
| 2015 | Vento di Sardegna | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with , to be launched in July 2015 for the Vendee Globe 2016, to be skipped by | |
| 2015 | Hugo Boss | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with , to be launched in July 2015 for the Vendee Globe 2016, to be skipped by Alex Thomson | |
| 2015 | Saint-Michel - Virbac | 60' IMOCA Racing Monohull, composite carbon nomex, designed with , to be launched in September 2015 for the Vendee Globe 2016, to be skipped by | |
| 2015 | Macif | 100' Racing Trimaran, Composite carbon nomex, launched August 18, 2015 for :fr:François Gabart | -1st Transat Jacque Vabre 2015 double with Pascal Bidégorry -1st Transat Bakerly Ultime in 2016 |
Sport boats
| Date | Name | Size | Description |
| 2007 | Multi 23 | 23' | Multihull day sailing trimaran, Composite carbon nomex |
| 2013 | Diam 24 | 24' | One Design Multihull sports boat, Composite carbon nomex |
Cruising
Custom yachts
Production yachts
VPLP worked on several serial production boats programs, including the Lagoon range from the beginning, The Outremer 5X and .Experimental
| Date | Name | Size | Description |
| 1994 | Hydroptère | 60' | Hydrofoil prototype for |
| 1997 | Hydroptère | 60' | The second version has been launched |
| 2001 | Hydroptère | 60' | The third evolution launched |
| 2004 | Hydroptère | 60' | The fourth evolution launched
|
| 2006 | Hydroptère | 60' | The fifth evolution launched |
| 2008 | Siz & Co | 32' | Foiler for the Lake Léman |
| 2014 | 20' | Foiling boat |
Working
Annexes
Waterworld
In 1994 VPLP designed the racing trimaran made famous by the movie Waterworld starring Kevin Costner. Two trimarans were built at Jeanneau’s racing division, one a conventional trimaran capable of speeds in excess of and a second boat with unconventional features that allowed it to transform for certain scenes in the movie and was used for most of the onboard and special effects scenes. This second boat, although used for many of the close up scenes, was able to sail but was not capable of the speeds of the conventional trimaran.Hydroptère
In 1994 plans for an experimental Hydrofoil prototype was commissioned for Alain Thebault. The first Hydroptère was a trimaran. In the following years four additional evolutions were built. In 2006 was launched. This was the first boat to cross the barrier.Groupama 3
The prime design consideration for Groupama 3 was for a multihull which can be manipulated by a crew of ten people and not to make then LOA a defining characteristic thus Groupama 3 is not a maxi multihull!. It's a trimaran, which is also heavily inspired by Groupama 2, the ORMA : with the adoption of foils and the installation of three rudders, with a wide, open cockpit and a proportionally moderate sail plan. As a result, we opted for a relatively small boat which is rather light, progressive and very reactive. The deck plan enables the crew to manoeuvre faster in order to adjust the sail area to changes in condition and hence permanently exploit the trimaran's potential.As the record programme included above all the Jules Verne Trophy, it was necessary to take into account the `Southern ocean' parameter: the foils are far forward so that the boat is nose up, the freeboard is high to prevent the bow from burying, the height of the mast limits the trim changes. The balance when sailing is considerably safer than on a Orma."
Groupama 3 was reconfigured for Franck Cammas to enter the 9th edition of the single handed Route du Rhum 2010 which started 31 October 2010. Groupama 3 was the first to finish in 9 days, 3 hours, 14 minutes and 47 seconds. The Route du Rhum takes place once every four years, is a single-handed race across the Atlantic starting in Saint-Malo, France and finishing in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe in the Caribbean.
Maxi Banque Populaire V
, the largest ocean racing trimaran in the world, was launched in August 2008 in Lorient. Built at sites in Cherbourg, La Rochelle and Lorient, the construction of the maxi trimaran took 250 000 man hours of work, utilising a total workforce of some 170 people.Under the leadership Pascal Bidégorry, skipper of the Banque Populaire trimarans since 2004, the crew of the Maxi Banque Populaire V has embarked on a campaign to beat some of the most prestigious ocean racing records.
For VPLP, the challenge consisted of designing a fully crewed, no compromise multihull, which is totally versatile but very high-performing, suitable for a mixed programme, which is always seaworthy but cutting edge and progressive, but which always preserves the safety of the crew on board.
At 40-metre trimaran, Maxi Banque Populaire V is, to date the largest ocean racing trimaran ever designed and built.
Pascal Bidégorry and his associate Ronan Lucas, the Director of the Team Banque Populaire, sought a design centred on a very specific idea:
“We wanted a big boat which would be able to sail fast safely but with a range of speeds, all that we knew we could master from a technological point of view”. Pascal Bidégorry skipper of Maxi Banque Populaire V.
BMW Oracle BOR 90
winner America's Cup 33 - Deed of GiftThe 33rd America's Cup was held under a strict Deed of Gift rules: The first team to win two out of three races is the winner of the 33rd America’s Cup.
It was specified by the cup holder SNG that the match be sailed in yachts by, and so the Golden Gate Yacht Club developed their trimaran BMW Oracle Racing 90, whilst the Société Nautique de Genève have opted for a giant catamaran, Alinghi 5.
When it was proposed that the 33rd edition of the America's Cup would be contested with multihulls, BMW Oracle team immediately signed VPLP to their core design team
BMW Oracle Racing 'BOR 90, sailed as USA 17' the American challenger, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, won the 33rd America’s Cup Match in Valencia, sweeping past the Swiss defender, Alinghi, to a 2-0 victory.
Race one, a windward - leeward course with legs, saw BMW Oracle Racing's trimaran winning by 15.28 minutes. In race two, a triangle, with legs, the Challenger crossed the finishing line ahead by 5.26 minutes.