Boat durability : offshore racing faces a major challenge

Extending competitive lifespans, offering a second life, and planning for deconstruction: the offshore racing industry has multiple fronts to manage regarding the sustainability of its boats. An investigation into an environmental issue that has become impossible to ignore.

Durability and end-of-life for racing yachts: this is one of the many pillars of the Offshore Racing 2030 program, initiated in 2023 by the French Sailing Federation to align the discipline with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Part of a broader module titled “New Materials, New Developments,” the subject is being tackled by industry players in a somewhat fragmented manner.  

“The life of the boats remains the responsibility of each owner, and it’s not necessarily a subject we’ve tackled head-on until now, as our priority is to keep them racing for as long as possible with class rules that allow it—and it’s working quite well,” comments Antoine Mermod, president of the IMOCA class. In the last Vendée Globe, 27 out of 40 boats were second-hand, with an average age of 9.6 years and very few units currently out of commission. This will likely change in 2028, as 11 new boats (to date) will have been launched between 2025 and 2027, which is expected to sideline a number of previous-generation IMOCAs—many 60-footers are currently for sale without finding buyers.   

Nevertheless, this does not mean the end of the road for them. The class is considering offering them a second sporting career, particularly outside of France: “We’ve reached out to the Royal Yachting Association in England,” adds Antoine Mermod. “Some older IMOCAs are already competing in RORC races, but there are also amateur round-the-world trips that could provide a great playground.” Other boats have found a second “non-sporting” life, such as Mike Golding’s former Team Group 4, converted into an educational boat by Fabrice Amedeo, or Catherine Chabaud’s former Pingouin, which served for a time in carbon-free maritime transport.

By opening a Mono Vintage category for the 2026 edition, the organizers of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe have also offered a new perspective for these IMOCAs, some of which are approaching or have exceeded twenty or thirty years of age and can no longer compete with the new generation of foilers. 

This also applies to multihulls, which can compete in Multi Vintage, prompting sailors to buy back old trimarans and give them a second life. Romain Pilliard initiated this movement by refitting Ellen MacArthur’s former B&Q-Castorama (renamed Use it Again) for the 2018 solo transatlantic race. Today, Damien Seguin is following suit, having officially announced on December 10 his 2026 Route du Rhum project aboard the former Fujicolor II (launched in 1990). This Nigel Irens design gave birth four years later to a sistership, which Francis Joyon will also be racing between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre! “We might be five or six at the start,” says a delighted Damien Seguin, adding: “This is already giving ideas to other organizers who have contacted skippers to discuss creating a real vintage class and opening their races to it.” 

Could this initiative by OC Sport Pen Duick, the organizer of the Route du Rhum, lead to a rebirth of the former ORMA class and other legendary boats, similar to what the Ocean Globe Race achieved with the former Whitbread fleet?  

Planning for deconstruction

Maximizing the lifespan of boats is a main challenge for other classes, such as the Ocean Fifty, whose rules allow nearly twenty-year-old trimarans to remain competitive, or Class40, which created the Mediterranean Trophy “to bring the play back, with weather conditions that allow older boats to be at the front of the pack,” explains class manager Vanessa Boulaire.  

Sustainability also guided Dimitri Caudrelier and Harold Baseden when they acquired the rental company Team Winds and its 32 Grand Surprise boats in 2022, renaming it Yellow Impact Sailing with the goal of refitting the entire fleet. “We are adding ten to fifteen years to boats that are already twenty years old, at a lower cost—around 20,000 euros—and with a carbon footprint reduced by 90% compared to buying new boats,” explains Dimitri Caudrelier. 

To go further, he launched Reboat at the end of 2024, which offers total reconditioning of used boats at its 1,000 m² workshop in Lorient. While the service is primarily aimed at leisure sailors, several renowned skippers have shown interest in the approach. 

Another initiative is the future IMER class, which aims to launch a championship for 30-foot low-carbon boats designed from the outset for a second life in cruising. The five selected architect/shipyard duos have opted for scows or semi-scows made of wood, bio-sourced resins, and flax, glass, or basalt fibers. 

While durability is at the heart of these discussions, the question of deconstruction remains one of the blind spots of offshore racing, which has not yet truly addressed the issue. However, solutions exist outside the industry that could inspire offshore players. One example is APER (Association for Eco-Responsible Yachting), created in 2019 by the French Federation of Nautical Industries, which manages the free deconstruction of pleasure boats and reports a 70% recycling rate. 

“We have had exchanges with them and are monitoring technological developments; in fact, a study on the cost of deconstructing an IMOCA is underway,” confides Antoine Mermod, while Vanessa Boulaire, manager of Class40, acknowledges that “it is a subject regularly raised by the younger generation of skippers.” But to be truly optimized, deconstruction must be considered at the design stage, particularly regarding the choice of construction materials. This has sparked projects like the Greenscow 6.50 in plywood (a Gildas Plessis design), currently under construction at the Kaori Concept shipyard. Plenty of food for thought for the next Offshore Racing 2030 Conference scheduled for March 2026.