Architect : Guy Saillard (Ploemeur) L.O.A. : 7,80 m L.W.L. : 6,80 m Beam : 1,30 m Hull depth : 0,75 m Draught : 1,05 m Loaded weight : approx. 500-550 kg Materiau : sandwich carbon-airex-epoxy, internal walls in NIDA Batteries : 12V / 120 AH Solar panels : 12V / 120 W Desalinisator : Power survivor 12V / 5 liters/h Telephone : Iridium (official suppliers : E.T.N.A. et TDCom) Positioning : GPS Furuno GP 50 Mark 2 Radio : VHF Icom IC GM 1500 Réf. GMR 3520 - Photo Gilles Martin-Raget   Réf. GMR 3381 - Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Rigging : official supplier Neil Pryde, 6 latted sails in monofilm (RAFJET serie modified), of 4 surfaces 4.2 to 7.4 m2; 4 masts in carbon and 3 wishbones in aluminium Food : dehydrated food (Knorr Bivouac), freeze dried food (Voyager), dry fruit, cookies, energy bars, jerky imported from Canada (Mirab, USA) Construction : J.P.K. Composites (Larmor-Plage) in 2001, Sailing Concept (La Ciotat) in 2002-2003.

The new sailboard is lighter and faster than the one which was used during Raphaela’s Atlantic crossing. It was built in 2001 by JPK Composites (Larmor Plage, France) according to drawings made by Guy Saillard (naval architect and expert).

Réf. P0013 - Photo R. le Gouvello

Photo H. André

Who else better than Guy Saillard can talk about his SAILBOARD ?

Guy, what are the main constraints to design and build such an «Open Sea» sailboard ?

The main constraint is to be fully autonomous, e.g. to be able to live on such sailboard independently, not requiring any assistance from another boat which would provide a wrong safety feeling.
Raphaela’s board should be floating in any circumstances even if it is damaged (despite the construction in sandwich carbon/kevlar/epoxy). It should be of course strong and light at the same time.

How long did the construction last ?

The construction of the board was done between July and September 2001. All the equipment was then gradually installed. And it took us almost a year to achieve this phase. Every work that has to be done on the board requires a lot of attention and precision, is uneasy because of the tiny available space. It is therefore very much time consuming.
We worked on and in the board again in 2003, mainly to set up the airbag system in collaboration with the ESA.

You designed and had built the sailboard that Stéphane Peyron used for his Atlantic crossing in 1987, the same board that Raphaëla used for her own Atlantic crossing 13 years later… what are the main changes brought to this new board ?

The main point was to further investigate lightness, for instance the internal walls in NIDA. The board front is finer to better pass the waves. The back is flatter to better surf them.
The command rudder system is also much more sophisticated : the tiller sectors are made very adjusted in carbon, they weigh 350 g and allow the use of kevlar ropes. This was all done to avoid the troubles that Raphaela encountered during her Atlantic crossing with the old and heavy equipment.
And in addition, the airbag system developed with the ESA is a true technological innovation.

Can you talk about this airbag system ?

After Raphaela’s first attempt to cross the Mediterranean sea which ended up in a capsize and difficulties to upright the sailboard by Raphaela alone, the crossing of the Mediterranean sea went well in the second attempt. And we decided to double all the safety procedures.
This is particularly crucial for the Pacific crossing as Raphaela will follow a route very far from any regular vessel route. She is for sure able to upright her sailboard alone but we must anticipate any kind of worst case.
With the ESA, we have therefore developed a unique and prototype airbag system.
An airbag which volume has been calculated according to the sailboard specificities is fixed onto Raphaela’s sailboard, at the back of the board. In case of a capsize, the airbag will be able to inflate very rapidly, released by an emergency manual signal placed in the cabin of the sailboard or externally. When inflated, the airbag will create a disbalance of the capsized sailboard and consequently, the board will turn back to its normal right position. The airbag is inflated by an air-gas system including pyrotechnical cartouches specifically designed by the SEVA Technologies engineers who closely work with ESA. The commands of such emergency system will be electrical.
Such a collaboration with ESA has allowed us to access high technologies related to airbag inflation.