The first IMOCA scow designed by Sam Manuard
First IMOCA designed bySam Manuard, L'Occitane en Provence (FRA 2) is the first IMOCA 60 with a scow hull. Hull molding handled byPauger Composites in Hungary, assembly and finishing byBlack Pepper Yachts in Nantes. Launched on January 31, 2020 for Armel Tripon's Vendée Globe program.
Hull design: applying scow principles to the 60-foot class
Manuard transposes principles proven on his Mini 6.50 and Class40 Mach40 to the 60-foot class:
- Wide, rounded bow (scow), forward maximum beam, flush deck.
- Retractable foils housed at the sheerline (not at the waterline), optimized for average speed rather than peak performance.
- 29 m rotating wing mast, sail area 270 m² upwind / 535 m² downwind.
- Canting keel, two lifting rudders, four ballast tanks.
- Displacement 7.8 t.
Manuard summarized the design brief at the time in one word:« easy and consistent » — a boat more usable single-handed than optimized for outright speed.
Boat achievements
Under Armel Tripon (2020–2021):
- Vendée Globe 2020–2021 — 11th in 84 d 17 h 07 min 50 s, after climbing from 24th to 11th between the descending and returning equators. Two notable incidents early in the race (broken J3 headstay, return to La Coruña; then composite repair on a foil well offshore).
Sold to Louis Burton in February 2021, renamedBureau Vallée 3 (sail number unchanged):
- Transat Jacques Vabre 2021 — retired (mast failure), with Davy Beaudart.
- Route du Rhum 2022 — retired.
- Rolex Fastnet Race 2023 — 9th.
- Transat CIC 2024 — 9th; New York Vendée 2024 — 10th.
- Vendée Globe 2024–2025 — retired due to rigging failure.
- Transat Café L'Or 2025 — 7th.
Descendants
The hull molds were reused by Black Pepper to buildInitiatives-Cœur 4 (launched in 2022, Samantha Davies), with adaptations to foils and structure required by the IMOCA 2025 rule set.
