Oman Sail
Arabian 100’, the mega one-designed multihull
Oman Sail’s new flagship multihull built in Australia and to be launched in 2009
mercredi 17 décembre 2008 –
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As announced recently, Musandam plans to depart for her first big ocean challenge in the new colours of Oman Sail on January 8th - aiming to get the first ever Omani around the world. The heart of Oman Sail is about getting Omanis out on the water, from beginners through the Oman Sail Academy to the highest level of ocean competition, and the new Arabian 100 trimaran will provide the team with unrivalled capacity to develop ocean racing in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
This new Oman Sail flagship has been been conceived as the first member of a new One-Design class (identical boats), rather than a one-off boat. On purpose, Oman Sail have not opted to simply build a bigger and better boat with records like the Jules Verne in mind - instead the new Arabian 100 will provide a challenging and exciting platform very suitable to the often lighter wind conditions in the region as well as the storms of the Southern Ocean, and within reach of the sailing capabilities of the developing Oman Sail team in the coming years. If, as it is hoped, the Arabian 100 becomes the Class of choice for other developing sailing teams in the region, thereby avoiding the arms race seen in other big unlimited multihull classes, the One Design aspect will create close-combat racing whilst remaining in a context of controlled costs.
Proud heir of the Musandam world-record Record #sailingrecord breaking trimaran, the Arabian 100’ is an already proven concept, developed by multihull experts Nigel Irens (UK) and Benoît Cabaret (FRA). Oman’s new flagship is a direct development of Francis Joyon’s IDEC, round-the-world record Record #sailingrecord holder, and sistership to Thomas Coville’s Sodeb’O, currently attempting to break IDEC’s reference time, and new holder of the solo 24-hour record, both also designed by the Irens/Cabaret partnership. Although the Arabian 100’ will differ to her counterparts in terms of deck and interior layouts, since unlike the French trimarans she has been adapted to be raced by a full crew of up to five.
When working on the blueprint of this new speed machine, the designers took Dame Ellen MacArthur’s B&Q (now Musandam) as a reference and adjusted the general balance given the increased proportions of just over 100 feet (32 metres). Relying on a long central hull that extends beyond the lateral floats, the Arabian 100’ is safe at high speeds in rough sea conditions - her massive bow prevents dangerous nose-dives whilst sailing downwind, and thus allows for high average speeds over long periods of time.
The sailplan, the "engine" of the boat, has been carefully designed to remain manageable even in stormy conditions, and the mast is stepped rather far aft in order to take some pressure off the forward sections (again to prevent nose-diving). To add clearance, the crossbeams are high above the water, ensuring the boat will not sustain any damage by repeatedly hitting the crests of waves - a phenomenon which has been known to become a speed-reducing factor for many ocean-going multihulls.
Capable of speeds in excess of 35 knots (65 kph), this giant trimaran is clearly among the fastest ocean racers ever conceived, yet her programme will not include the classic European based records or solo races, being instead focused on the development of ocean racing in, and from, the Arabian peninsula region, and extending out along historical trading routes to Asia and Africa. At the head of the Indian Ocean and the gatekeeper of the entrance to the Gulf, Oman looks south to Antarctica, and east to India and Asia. These are the playgrounds for the ocean racing part of Oman Sail, and it is hoped in future, professional ocean racing in the Gulf region in general as other countries in the region take up the challenges that the new Arabian 100 Class offer.
The first Arabian 100 should be sailing by the winter 2009, and the production has been implemented to allow the construction of further identical boats for 2010 if the challenge is taken up elsewhere.
Press info Oman Sail / www.omansail.com
The Arabian 100’ in figures
Length : 105 ft - 32 metres
Width : 54 ft - 16.50 metres across its 3 hulls
Mast height : 115 ft - 35 metres
Maximum sail area (approx) : 5,920 square feet - 550 square metres
Building the Arabian 100’ - process and timeline
Major elements (central hull, floats and crossbeams) built by Boatspeed, Australia using their highly successful "Custom Preg" system. The spars will be constructed in New Zealand by Southern Spars and the winch system will be supplied by Harken Italy.
Assembly to take place in Sallalah in the south of Oman from May 2009
The assembly facility will be promoting apprenticeship and encouraging the sharing of technical knowledge, while at the same time showcasing Oman’s forward thinking and opportunities.
Launch date boat 1 : winter 2009
2010 and beyond, series of record passages and event development in the Middle-East and Asia.
Current multihull records
IDEC, Francis Joyon : fastest solo circumnavigation in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 06 seconds.
Sodeb’O, Thomas Coville : greatest distance covered singlehanded over 24 hours - 628.5 nautical miles (awaiting WSSRC ratification)
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