The G-Class Ollier built for The Race
Maxi-catamaran of 32.8 m designed by Gilles Ollier and built by Multiplast in Vannes, launched in October 2000 under the name Innovation Explorer for The Race, the non-stop, non-limits round-the-world race created by Bruno Peyron. The boat belongs to the G-Class family, predecessors of the Ultim class, of which Multiplast produced six units in seven years.
Five owners, five names
- 2000–2001 — Innovation Explorer: 2nd in The Race under Loïck Peyron and Skip Novak (64 days 22 hours, 28,764 nautical miles at 18.4 knots average, behind sister-ship Club Med).
- 2002 — Orange: Jules Verne Trophy in 64 days 8 hours 37 minutes under Bruno Peyron, shaving nearly a week off the record.
- 2003 — Kingfisher 2: Ellen MacArthur’s Jules Verne attempt, dismasted in the Indian Ocean near the Kerguelen Islands.
- 2006–2010 — Gitana 13: purchased by the Gitana Team (Baron Benjamin de Rothschild), refit. 2008 record campaign under Lionel Lemonchois — New York to San Francisco in 43 days 38 minutes (record beaten by more than 14 days), then San Francisco to Yokohama in 11 days and Hong Kong to London in 41 days.
- 2010–2014 — Swift: sold to Jacky Setton, converted into a fast cruising catamaran.
- Since 2014 — G-Force: current name, cruising and private round-the-world voyages.
Technical specifications
- Length: 32.8 m
- Beam: 16.5 m
- Mast height: 40 m
- Sail area: 610 m² upwind, up to 800 m² downwind (racing configuration); 510 m² in current cruising configuration
- Composite construction: carbon/epoxy/honeycomb core (Multiplast specialty)
