Sailing Café #2: Ergonomics and safety in offshore racing

For its second Sailing Café of the year, Bretagne Développement Innovation chose to discuss ergonomics and onboard safety in ocean racing. The focus was on Imoca boats, with Romain Attanasio, skipper of Fortinet Best Western, Matthieu Vincent, member of the Initiatives Cœur design office, and Ulysse David, who is part of the MerConcept design office for the Imoca Macif Santé Prévoyance.

“Ergonomics are designed to make life easier for sailors, so that they can eat and sleep in the best possible conditions,” explains Ulysse David. In addition to playing a key role in skipper safety and comfort, ergonomics is also a performance issue, continued Matthieu Vincent: “Boats are going faster and faster, hitting harder and harder, and without ergonomics, we can’t take them to their full potential.”

With a view to the Vendée Globe, the main objective of the Imoca projects, this is a subject that the teams worked hard on last winter. On Initiatives Coeur, for example, a central, compact living area was set up so that Sam Davies could rest and relax better. “We worked with an occupational therapist to make her a bespoke seat, which is also cushioned and rotated so that she can adjust her position in rest or work mode, but also according to the heel of the boat,” Matthieu Vincent detailed. Positioned with her back to the road, this seat is turned towards the cockpit and “Sam is thus more reactive to intervene on the winches”, added the engineer, before specifying that by way of ultimate protection, “a huge canvas has been installed in front of the living area so that Sam is not thrown into the mast or outrigger bulkheads in the event of an impact.”

On Macif Santé Prévoyance, ergonomics were considered right from the design stage of the Imoca, explained Ulysse David, since “during his first Vendée Globe on Apivia, Charlie (Dalin) encountered some pretty tough conditions, especially in the Indian Ocean, and he realized the importance of ergonomics for living well on board. For his new boat, we therefore designed a very compact living area centered aft (aft of the cockpit, editor’s note) so that everything is within easy reach, and installed a custom-made seat, mounted on two shock absorbers, on which he can fasten himself with a safety belt so as not to take off in the waves.”

Wearing a helmet was also mentioned when moving or maneuvering at high speed, particularly on Macif Santé Prévoyance, where “it’s compulsory as soon as the boat goes faster than 20 knots”, Ulysse David explained. As well as a cycling or rugby helmet, an anti-noise helmet is also a must, as Romain Attanasio points out: “The noise from the foils being particularly infernal over time, I wear it when I’m going fast, as it helps to attenuate extreme noise.”

Ulysse David, asked about possible devices or fittings to ease the matossage process, replied that today there is “no magic solution” and that it “remains a rather complex subject of study. For the bags, we have hoist systems, but for the sails – which weigh almost 100 kilos each – it’s still complicated, not least because of the fairly large bulkhead pitches.” On Initiatives Coeur, the decision was made to deck the sails on the outside, explained Matthieu Vincent: “As the deck is very uncluttered, this allows the sails to slide along, which are attached to it via numerous attachment points.”

The speakers also described how mealtimes are secured. On Fortinet Best Western, Romain Attanasio recounted how he can cook from his seat “thanks to a retractable galley – which houses a Jetboil – that stows under the chute through which all the ropes run, and I always have fat tulle on station to soothe any burns.” Matthieu Vincent concludes, “These are small details, but when put together, they make all the difference over the length of the Vendée Globe.”