Revolution versus Evolution: Two very different new IMOCAs getting ready for The Ocean Race Atlantic
by The Ocean Race 14 Jul 18:18 BST
Malizia 4 © Marie Lefloch / Team Malizia
The inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic this September will see two examples of the very latest in IMOCA design-thinking face off against each other for the very first time.
Boris Herrmann's Malizia 4 (GER) and Kojiro Shiraishi's DMG MORI Global One (JPN) - both launched in Lorient, France in recent weeks and currently in the early stages of commissioning by their respective teams - represent two very different design philosophies.
First to hit the water in early June, DMG MORI Global One was conceived by the legendary Guillaume Verdier - famous not only for his success in the IMOCA world, but also for his contribution to the creation of the America's Cup class AC75 foiling monohull.
Indeed, the French designer looks to have incorporated some of the AC75 underwater profile into the new Japanese boat - most notably, a pronounced bustle running the length of its centreline.
It's a feature that has never been seen on an IMOCA before and - as Verdier explained - speaks volumes about just how different this boat is to the established IMOCA norm.
"Most IMOCA designs are U-shaped," he said. "This is so that when they heel over the hull's wetted surface is reduced. We decided to go to the other side of the line and create a boat that is designed to mostly stay upright."
Verdier described the new underwater hull shape as being akin to the central hull on a foiling multihull and said he expects the normal angle of heel for the boat to be around eight or nine degrees.
"We will displace the full volume of the boat on this bustle," he said. "That's a wetted area equivalent to 70 to 75 per cent - a saving of around 20 square metres."
According to Verdier, the knock-on effect of the low angle of heel and the fact that the boat will ride on the central bustle is a more comfortable ride for the crew as the boat skims over the waves.
DMG MORI Sailing Team manager Jacques Caraës described the new boat as "a new page in IMOCA design-thinking".
"Everybody has been waiting to see this boat," he said. "We think it will be very stable and we are hoping that will mean it flies a little earlier too. We will have to wait a little while to find out."
Also in Lorient, last week, Team Malizia celebrated the launch of the Antoine Koch/Finot-Conq-designed Malizia 4. If the new DMG MORI boat can be described as a revolution, then its German rival is very much about evolution.
Herrmann's new IMOCA is the second of three boats built as part of a unique three-way collaboration between the German skipper and France's Thomas Ruyant (TR Racing) and Loïs Berrehar (Banque Populaire). Ruyant's boat was launched in Lorient on June 19, with Berrehar's yacht scheduled to be ready in early 2027. All three boats share identical hull shapes but will differ internally to suit the ergonomic requirements of the three individual skippers.
Herrmann described himself as being as happy as a child given a new toy, but was quick to point out that the launch of the new boat came at the end of a two-year period of intense work by everyone in the team.
Asked about the differences between his new Koch boat and Shiraishi's Verdier design, Herrmann said the differences were vast.
"The design philosophies are very different," he said. "Their boat is large, wide, powerful, while our one is pointy and narrow. They are completely different: the Verdier boat has a bustle. If you put them next to each other, you would think they were two different classes."
Herrmann said he chose to work with Koch for his third IMOCA after seeing the impressive open-ocean performances of Ruyant and fellow French skipper Yoann Richomme in the 2024-25 Vendée Globe. Particularly of interest was the way the Koch designs coped so well with the big waves of the Southern Ocean because of their chined bow sections.
It's no surprise, then, to see Malizia 4 sport a pronounced double chine bow to help it in fast running downwind conditions. However, according to Team Malizia co-skipper Will Harris (GBR), the new German boat has been designed to be more of an all-rounder than the previous iteration.
"What we have got is the next generation of IMOCA design. We are trying to keep that downwind speed and power with those big chines on the bow to help us get through the waves, but then also we've got more power in the boat, which is going to help us upwind in the medium and the light conditions."
At the time of writing this story, Malizia 4 had sailed twice last week. The first outing was a seven-knot shakedown sail - which the team used to take a look at the new sail inventory - but the second sail a couple of days later saw the boat up and fully foiling on a flat sea in 12 knots of wind.
The Malizia skipper said he could not be happier with how the first week had gone with the new boat.
"Everything is working, so congratulations to the team and to the architect," he said. "We managed stable flight and the boat feels really nice on the helm. The steering feels super nice and we can control the boat longitudinally more than the last one. It's nicely balanced and everything feels good. We knew after five minutes of flight that this is something spectacular - the boat is amazing."
Both teams are now tightly focused on getting their individual boats ready for their first transatlantic crossings from Lorient to New York ahead of the start of the first-ever edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic on September 1.
"You totally shouldn't underestimate what we've got to do to achieve that," Malizia's Harris said. "Launching one of these new boats is really hard. To make sure every system is working reliably enough to go and send it across the Atlantic - where you've got no technical assistance less than a week away - that's a big thing we've got to be ready for."