Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2018: Team Arkema Lalou Multi ready for the off!
Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2018: Team Arkema Lalou Multi ready for the off!
Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe 2018: Team Arkema Lalou Multi ready for the off!
An experienced skipper in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe race, with three podium places to his credit and now his fourth participation just a few days away, Lalou Roucayrol has been preparing assiduously for this solo transatlantic event due to set off from Saint-Malo (France) on 4 November.
With the last preparations underway, Lalou Roucayrol will be presenting the other skippers with a “KIT A PARTIR”, a repair kit devised jointly with the Arkema Group.
Thorough technical and physical preparation
Since winning the Transat Jacques Vabre race at the end of 2017, the Multi50 Arkema, already a high performance boat, has seen further technical fine-tuning and innovation, for example new sails to gain speed in all weather conditions, and the installation of solar panels and a wind turbine to prioritize renewable energies and minimize the need for fuel on board.
Over and above the boat’s preparation by a highly skilled technical team, determined not to leave anything to chance for this race of the extreme, Lalou Roucayrol has put in place a highly comprehensive physical and mental preparation program, in close collaboration with specialists in effort and stress management.
KIT A PARTIR: a sailing emergency kit
Making the most of his experience in repair following damage from impact or breakage during past races, Lalou Roucayrol together with the Arkema Group have devised a “Kit à Partir” specially for the skippers taking part in the Route du Rhum. It will help them to cope with any needs for bonding or repair that may arise at sea.
This “Kit à Partir” comprises adhesives and sealants. These grab adhesives are suitable for countless repairs, in both immersed and submerged conditions. The kit also includes the Elium® resin in the form of a recyclable composite sheet, which will help skippers fill or plug a hole in the hull, even below the water line.
This “Kit à Partir” is the result of collaboration between Lalou Multi and the Arkema Group’s applied research teams on the use and optimization of methacrylate structural adhesives together with the Elium® resin for recyclable composites.
The products of Arkema and its adhesives specialist subsidiary Bostik have enabled Lalou Multi to build the world’s first boat from a recyclable resin, the Mini 6.50 Arkema3, and assemble, by bonding, the Multi50 Arkema trimaran.
Route du Rhum 2018 facts and figures:
The Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe race is the most legendary transatlantic solo race held every four years between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe.
- Over 3500 miles separate Saint-Malo from Pointe-à-Pitre
- 123 skippers starting this 2018 edition
- Six classes of craft (Ultime, Multi 50, Imoca, Class40, Rhum Mono, Rhum Multi)
This 11th edition of the famous race marks its fortieth anniversary since it was first created in 1978.
Don’t miss a moment of the #RDU2018 and follow Lalou Roucayrol live on the Team Arkema social networks: