IMOCA D’Ieteren Group in for a winter refit at Eole Performance
Successes at sea are prepared for on land! Therefore, a winter refit is a crucial step for the IMOCA D’Ieteren Group. Set to take around three months, this period consists of checking, optimising and preparing the boat before what promises to be a decisive year in 2024, with two transatlantic races and the first circumnavigation of the globe for Denis Van Weynbergh. As such, the Belgian skipper is surrounding himself with the best: the Eole Performance yard, based in Port Bourgenay in the Vendeé region, as well as his loyal team of volunteers. We go behind the scenes of an offshore racing team.
Photos © Disobey.
Denis Van Weynbergh:
"We’re not making the kind of massive modifications we’ve made in the past. We’re really in a phase of validating and honing everything that has been done so far. With regard to the paintwork though, we’ve stripped back the boat’s topsides and hull bottom because that hasn’t been done since we bought the boat. As such, we’ve sanded everything to remove the coats of anti fouling and leveled out the entire surface area on the hull bottom. Next, we’ll apply a first coat of epoxy and sand it back again to smooth everything out (like the running surface of a ski!) That will give the boat a boost and the time was ripe to do it.”
After the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Retour à la Base, a technical analysis was carried out to understand, analyse and optimise any issues encountered during these two races to the best of the team’s abilities:
“We had a few technical issues in the Retour à la Base, especially with the engine. As a result, we’re switching to a lighter model, which will save us weight. We noted some water ingress during the last races too, so the hatches will be changed. During the Retour à La Base, I also had some issues with my keel, which got stuck. The whole keel ram system has been dismantled and we’ll be checking over the whole set-up. We’ve also sent all the shrouds and standing rigging* off for inspection so everything can be checked before the season’s racing commences.”
To successfully carry out this work, Denis can rely on the members of his team of volunteers, who support him on a daily basis and organise themselves accordingly despite their respective commitments...
“During the day, the team from Eole works on the boat and in the evening and over the weekend, the volunteers take over. Eole is taking care of the sanding, the painting, as well as the dismantling and reassembly of the deck hardware. We’re taking care of everything related to the electronics, the keel ram, the mechanics and part of the deck hardware if something needs changing due to excessive wear. Julien and Florent are in charge of all the mechanical aspects.
Jean-Noël takes care of all the electronics system on the boat. On top of that, we are contracting out certain jobs like the inspection and maintenance of the shrouds and I’m liaising with our suppliers.It was important for us to use suppliers who are familiar with working on IMOCA projects and who have experience with these types of systems.”
“We’re also going to have some new sails for the Vendée Globe and we’re having a new sail made which I don’t yet have: a small gennaker. Not having this sail during the Retour à La Base left a big hole in my sail wardrobe. However, I will have it for the next races, especially for the New York - Vendée Les Sables and the Vendée Globe, as it is very useful for all the daggerboard boats.”
As we go to press, we’ve just completed the keel and hull inspection to ensure the boat is compliant with the measurement rule and the first coats of paint have been applied. The relaunch of the Belgian boat is scheduled for between 20 and 22 March.
*the standing rigging comprises all the cables and ropes, which support the mast and cannot be worked on when out sailing