America's Cup Recon: French round out testing block with four day session
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World NZ 17 Aug 03:02 BST
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 10 - August 14, 2026 - Lorient, Frnce © Pierre Bouras/America's Cup Recon
After losing a month following the capsize of their AC75, the French America's Cup team have sailed five days in the past ten.
Sailing from their base in Lorient, La Roche-Posay Racing Team, enjoyed good sailing conditions in summer weather - given that most of Europe is in a heatwave.
The days were typified by a building breeze most days getting to 12kts and on the last day, Friday, they were getting squirts of up to 17kts.
The three teams sailing AC75s have now wound up their current phase of development. La Roche-Posay Racing Team are heading for their new base in Naples, after competing in the second Preliminary Regatta from September 24-27 in Naples.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 10, August 14, 2026 - Lorient, France
Crew List
Recon Unit track - La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 10 - August 14. 2026 - Lorient, France - photo © La Roche-Posay Racing Team Recon Unit
- Starboard Helm: Quentin Delapierre (FRA)
- Port Helm: Diego Botin (ESP)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Jason Saunders (NZL/FRA)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Florian Trittel (ESP)
- Position 5: Maëlenn Lemaitre (FRA)
- Position 6: Enzo Belanger (FRA)
Weather
- Weather: Sunny 24°-26°
- Sea Condition: Flat
- Wind: Early PM 7-10kts 340°; 15-16kts 265°-275°; Last hour 17-18kts 265°-275°
Sailing Statistics:
- Sailing start: 1338hrs Stop: 1458hrs. Sailing time: 26min
- Dock out 1247hrs Dock in: 1705hrs
- Time sailed: 1hr20min. Run time 26min – Sailed 3 runs
- Tacks Total 6. Clear,4 Touch/Go; 2 Touch/Downs 0.
- Gybes Total 7, Clear, 4 Touch/Go; 2 Touch/Downs 1
- Used 1 Mainsail and three jibs J2-2; J3-2; J4-3
Recon Report – Sailing Day 10 – August 14, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team sailed B1 north and northwest of Groix for a short afternoon session that was stopped after three runs. The mast rolled out at 11:01 and the boat at 11:16, in the same configuration as the previous observed day. The item apparent on the previous observed day at half span on the pressure side of the starboard inner wing was still fitted, and before launch shore crew appeared to place a mobile phone into it, which would be consistent with a housing sized for a phone rather than a bespoke camera unit.
The rudder appeared again to be the one first observed on D11, distinguishable from the one used up to D10 by a white mark near the top of the black lower section of the shaft, on the trailing edge side, with no other difference apparent. On the transom, the support seen the previous observed day was still fitted with no camera on it, and an additional support carrying a camera had been added at the starboard corner of the transom deck edge, angled down towards the starboard side of the rudder, which would be consistent with looking at flow and ventilation around it.
Five battery units, several of which appeared damaged, were sitting on the dock. The boat was craned at 11:48 and launched at 11:55, the usual shore team control system checks running through the late morning followed by the sailors' checks. MN2-1, J2-2, J3-2 and J4-3 were apparent at the dock, J3-2 and J4-3 going onto the chase boat, and the J2-2 bag appeared marked J2.5. Dock out 12:47.
The boat arrived on an area northeast of Groix, closer to the mainland than on recent days, in a very light northerly of around 340 deg, with a band of pressure apparent to the west between Groix and the mainland. MN2-1 and J2-2 were hoisted ~13:11 and the boat was bow towed west into that band. Run 1 (13:38 to 13:42) was sailed entirely upwind on port and appeared to be given over to the J2-2 testing, alternating between a high and a low mode with trim changes, at a lower ride height and with marked windward heel especially in the low mode, the slot between mainsail and jib appearing open at moments with the traveller carried high and the jib more open. Run 2 (13:47 to 14:00) was sailed on both tacks, upwind and downwind, and appeared to stay on jib shape focus.
By the end of it the westerly was established and the boat was off the northwest end of Groix. J2-2 was dropped ~14:04 and J3-2 hoisted ~14:15, after which technicians went aboard and the boat waited. Run 3 (14:50 to 14:58) was self started and ended immediately after a gybe, technicians going back aboard straight away; during the wait that followed a hard drive appeared to be handed across to someone on board. J3-2 was dropped ~15:35 and J4-3 hoisted ~15:44, a lighter patch being apparent on its luff from the second batten from the top running down about half the distance to the third sail-shape stripe, but the boat did not sail again. The session was called over the radio to the Marina at 16:15, the sails came down, and B1 was bow towed back without foiling from ~16:27, as on the previous observed day. Sailing ran from 13:38 to 14:58 for a total of 1h20, of which around 26 min was run time. Dock in 17:05, boat back in the shed at 17:53.
The session had been expected to continue the windward leeward and start sequence work seen on the two previous observed days. In the post sailing interview Antoine Carraz, technical director, attributed the short session to an electronics issue and to not wanting to take any risk of a breakage ahead of relocating B1 to Naples, and gave an overview of the summer training block in Lorient.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 9, August 13, 2026 - Lorient, France
Recon Unit track - La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 9 - August 13. 2026 - Lorient, France - photo © La Roche-Posay Racing Team Recon Unit
- Starboard Helm: Quentin Delapierre (FRA)
- Port Helm: Diego Botin (ESP)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Jason Saunders (NZL/FRA)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Florian Trittel (ESP)
- Position 5: Maëlenn Lemaitre (FRA) Position 6: Enzo Belanger (FRA)
Weather
- Weather: Sunny
- Wind: 5-8kts easing 275°; then 283°-290°
- Sea State: Short chop
Session Statistics:
- Sailing start: 1343hrs Stop: 1734hrs. Sailing time: 3hr 51min
- Dock out 1259hrs Dock in: 1825hrs
- Time sailed: 3hr 51min. Run time 2hr 1min – Sailed 8 runs
- Tacks 31 Total 25 Clear,4 Touch/Go; 2Touch/Downs.
- Gybes 29 total, 20 Clear, 4 Touch/Go; 2 Touch/Downs
Recon Report – Sailing Day 9 – August 13, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team sailed B1 off the northeast end of Groix for a full afternoon session, in a mixture of windward-leeward course work with start sequences and jib testing. The mast rolled out at 11:12 with no change apparent, and the boat followed out of the shed at 11:35. The only change apparent on the boat was a new item fitted at mid-span on the pressure side of the starboard inner foil wing, which shore crew spent an extended period working on before launch. A small, separate camera housing was visible on the starboard side of the transom deck, angled in a way consistent with a view of the rudder and elevator. Work continued on the spare mast outside the shed, with the aft face removed.
MN2-1 and J2-2 arrived on the dock through the late morning, and the boat was launched ~12:19. The usual dockside control system checks followed, with a sailors check running shortly before dock out. J4-3 and J3-2 were both loaded onto the chase boat. The boat docked out at 12:59 and was towed to a position northeast of Groix, close to where the previous session had been held. J2-2 was hoisted first, its leech cut appearing slightly different from J2-1, followed by MN2-1, and the shore crew disembarked. The sailing group was the same as the previous observed day, with Enzo Balanger in the starboard aft guest pod. French navy personnel from the neighbouring Lorient base attended in their own RIBs to watch the session.
Sailing started at 13:43. All eight runs started under sail. On some runs, the chase boat gave a short bow tow, apparently only to orient the boat, releasing early with the boat still in displacement mode before it got up on the foils under sail, and one self-sailing take-off was estimated at around 17 kt. Run 1 was short, with no tacks and only two gybes. A jib change followed, J2-2 coming down and J3-2 going up. With MN2-1 back up alongside yesterday's MN3-1 observations, MN2-1 appeared to have the lower aspect ratio of the two, with a longer chord at the head, and appeared to carry more twist.
The mainsail traveller appeared to be worked higher on tack and gybe exits than with MN3-1, coming lower as the breeze built, which would be consistent with the two skins asking for different settings, particularly through manoeuvre exits. Runs 2 to 5 formed the main body of the session, with run 4 running three windward-leeward laps and run 5 a full training course with a start sequence at the beginning, three beats and three runs. The recon vessel followed run 5 closely throughout, and the track shows repeated short-course reversals in the opening minutes, which would be consistent with a start sequence, followed by a settled sequence of beats and runs. A battery change followed run 4, and the sea state had become noticeably choppy by that stage.
J4-3 was hoisted after Run 5 as the breeze appeared to build even more. Run 6 was very short, only two minutes on starboard upwind, after which the jib was dropped with technicians working on deck around the head of the sail, apparently on the head tension sensors. J4-3 was hoisted again after about ten minutes, and runs 7 and 8 followed, both dominated by long straight port tack upwind work with the chase boat taking shots from a range of angles, which would be consistent with sail shape evaluation. Run 7 included a touchdown on port upwind, the boat remaining in the water for around two minutes before taking off again at an estimated 17 kt, and ended on what appeared to be a failed tack after which the boat stopped. Run 8 was a short port upwind leg, and the session ended there, sailing stopping at 17:34 for a total of 3h51.
Sails were dropped, and the tow home started around ten to six. The tow was carried out at low speed with the boat not foiling, which differs from the usual return. Whether that was related to anything on the boat could not be established from the water. The boat docked in at 18:25 and was back in the shed at 19:10.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 8, August 12, 2026 - Lorient, France
Recon Unit track - La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 8 - August 12. 2026 - Lorient, France - photo © La Roche-Posay Racing Team Recon Unit
- Starboard Helm: Quentin Delapierre (FRA)
- Port Helm: Diego Botin (ESP)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Jason Saunders (NZL/FRA)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Florian Trittel (ESP)
- Position 5: Maëlenn Lemaitre (FRA) Position 6: Violette Derange. Enzo Belanger (FRA)
Weather
Weather: Sunny
Wind: 5-7kts 205°; 7-9kts and building steadily then fading to 6-7kts from 280°.
Sea State: Flat
Session Statistics:
- Sailing start: 1440hrs Stop: 1836hrs. Sailing time: 3hr 55min
- Dock out 1328hrs Dock in: 1913hrs
- Time sailed: 3hr 55min. Run time 1hr 57min
- Tacks 31 total 24 clear,7 touchdowns. Gybes 29 total, 20 clear, 4 touchdowns
Recon Report – Sailing Day 8 – August 12, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team sailed B1 off the northeast end of Groix for a full afternoon session, the focus of which appeared to be a new mainsail skin set, MN3-1, hoisted for the first time. The day started late on a big tide coefficient, low water falling at 1113. The spare mast was outside as in the previous week, with a blue marking apparent along the port mainsail skin rail and small white marks added at regular intervals.
The mast rolled out at 10:52, with GoPro supports apparent on top of the spreaders and a patch apparent on the starboard front of the tube just above the "T" of the branding. The sailors and coaches arrived shortly afterwards and the boat came out of the shed at 11:03 with no change apparent. Mast stepping followed from around a quarter past eleven. The morning was hot and cloudless with a light southeasterly of around 3 to 4 kt at the base. The boat was launched ~11:49.
The usual dockside control system checks started, with systems noise and mast rotation through the late morning. MN3-1, J2-1, J3-2 and J4-3 were all apparent on the dock. Measurements were taken by shore crew alongside both sides of the mast tube section at the mast step. The light patch apparent on the mast aft face just below the opening at spreader level on the previous observed day was no longer apparent. Vendée Globe 2024-2025 finisher Violette Dorange was briefed at the dock for the starboard aft guest pod. The MN3-1 starboard skin was loaded onto the boat before the port skin and J2-1, while J4-3 and J3-2 were moved onto the chase boat. The sailors' systems check ran from around one o'clock with the boat captain coordinating. B1 docked out at 13:28.
The boat arrived off the northeast end of Groix and the sails were hoisted, both up around a quarter past two, the preparation appearing longer than usual which would be consistent with a first hoist of a new mainsail. Sailmakers and sail designers were aboard photographing the main skins. Both skins carried the same square sail-shape stripe layout and thin horizontal stripe as the previous observed day on stbd MN2-1, except that the bottom thick stripe of the square appeared to run diagonally, luff side up. The aft patch on J2-1 seen on earlier days was still apparent. Compared with MN2-1 the new mainsail appeared to have a greater aspect ratio, with a shorter chord at the head and an apparently different head cut, and markedly less separation between the two skin leeches, a small separation remaining from the top square sail-shape stripe up to about midway between the top thick stripe and the head. That separation appeared to vary through the session, with more apparent at the top later in the afternoon.
A first tow start on starboard upwind was attempted and the boat did not get up on the foils after the tow line was released, so the tow was re-attached. Sailing ran from 14:41 to 18:36 for a total of 3h55, with eight runs completed for around 1h57 of run time. Through the day the mainsail appeared deeper and the leech tighter and closer than MN2-1, and the boat appeared to be sailed with the traveller lower, notably through tack and gybe exits, with one gybe exited with the mainsail very tight and the traveller hard against the leeward end stop.
The impression was that the mainsail work was being done largely on the traveller and that mainsail traveller adjustment had more impact on the top of the leech than on MN2-1. The new mainsail also appeared to generate more power, which would be consistent with the greater apparent aspect ratio and with the lower traveller position being carried. The boat also appeared to sail with slightly more windward heel than on earlier days, including on manoeuvre exits. Between runs sailmakers and sail designers spent time at the back of the mainsail checking between the skins, and photographs were taken.
A full set battery change was carried out after run 3, and the jib was changed to J3-2. The wind veered steadily through the afternoon and dropped away toward the end of the session, and the boat worked slightly further west while staying in the northeast Groix area. J2-1 was hoisted again before the last two runs. Run 7 was short and closed with two gybes ending in touchdowns.
The last run started on a bow tow, with a touchdown and slow down downwind on starboard shortly after the start and the boat back on the foils straight after, and the later part of it appeared to consist of windward leeward laps together with some start line entry work, the tack and gybe counts rising sharply in that phase. Sails came down at 18:36, the tow home started around ten to seven, dock in was at 19:13 and the boat was back in the shed at 20:20. Delapierre was interviewed at the dock and indicated that the tack and gybe exits were different and that the settings used differed from those on MN2-1, without going into further detail.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 7, August 7, 2026 - Lorient, France
Recon Unit track - La Roche-Posay Racing Team - Sailing Day 7 - August 7. 2026 - Lorient, France - photo © La Roche-Posay Racing Team Recon Unit
- Starboard Helm: Quentin Delapierre (FRA)
- Port Helm: Diego Botin (ESP)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Jason Saunders (NZL/FRA)
- Trimmer/Flight Control: Florian Trittel (ESP)
- Position 5: Maëlenn Lemaitre (FRA) Position 6: Enzo Belanger (FRA)
Wind & Sea Conditions:
- Weather: Sunny
- Wind: 6-7kts 090°; 5-8kts and building steadily through the afternoon 8-12kts 220°-230°.
- Sea State: Flat
Session Statistics:
- Sailing start: 1230hrs Stop: 1605hrs
- Dock In: 1647hrs
- Time sailed: 3hr 45 minutes over eight runs. Foiling time: 84minutes.
Recon Report – Sailing Day 7 – August 7, 2026
La Roche-Posay Racing Team returned B1 to the water at Lorient for its first sailing day since the D7 [Sailing Day 4] incident on 7 July, after what appeared to be an extended repair and rebuild period of close to a month.
La Roche-Posay Racing Team sailed B1 off the northwest end of Groix for a full afternoon session, the third of the block, which started slowly in very light air and improved markedly once the breeze filled after the middle of the session. The mast rolled out at 09:20 and the boat came out of the shed at 09:35, with no change apparent on either. The spare mast was already outside but no work was going on it at that stage. Mast stepping followed the same sequence as the previous days, with the mast stepped shortly before 10:10. The boat was then craned in with no sailors on board, only the boat captain, which would be consistent with no ride height check of the type observed on recent days. A light patch was apparent on the mast aft face just below the opening at spreader level. The boat was launched around 10:20. There appeared to be a brief difficulty during the lift in, with the shore team audibly discussing being short handed, but the boat went afloat without apparent consequence.
Dockside work continued forward of the mast step and around the jib traveller. MN2-1 and J2-1 were loaded onto the dock, and J3-2 was noted on the dock shortly afterwards. The usual dockside foil and mast rotation procedures followed through the morning. Sanding of the spare mast resumed later in the morning, with one person working on the tube at the masthead end. The sailors arrived for systems checks around midday less the two helms, so initially the two forward trimmers and the port aft crew, with the boat captain coordinating on deck, hydraulic noise audible throughout. The briefing was held shortly before dock out, and B1 docked out at 11:56. At dock out the team asked the recon vessel to film the outbound run from alongside so as to capture pitch and ride height, saying they wanted to test some foil control system settings.
The boat arrived on the zone and the mainsail was hoisted, followed by J2-1, with sailing from 12:30. The separation between the two mainsail skins in the upper leech appeared similar to the previous day, running from the head down to about midway between the first and second thick sail-shape stripes. Five short runs followed in quick succession up to around a quarter to two, all bow tow starts, the first three with notably long tows before release, which would be consistent with waiting to build enough apparent wind before letting go. In that phase the boat appeared to sail very bow down and stern up, with the rudder apparently working hard, and the crew were unable to complete a tack or a gybe without touching down; touchdowns also occurred on straight lines, the wind being right at the bottom of the foiling range. Run 4 ended at 13:28 with a straight line touchdown on port downwind, the mainsail traveller fully up at the moment of touchdown, and that run appeared to be sailed lower and with a more level trim than the earlier ones. Little work was visible on jib trim through this phase, with a good deal on the mainsail traveller and on the top of the leech, which would be consistent with sheeting work carrying most of the load.
A pause of around twenty-five minutes followed, all sailors on deck, apparently waiting for the breeze. From the middle of the afternoon the wind filled in and both straight line sailing and manoeuvres appeared markedly easier. On the run that followed the pause the mainsail traveller movements appeared sudden, and when the traveller was static more movement was apparent at the top of the leech, which would be consistent with more of the trimming being done on the mainsheet. A few technicians went aboard during the following break with hydraulic noise audible. The two long runs of the day came next, and appeared to be the first practice windward leeward laps of the campaign, the first of them the fastest of the day. A battery change was carried out between them.
On the last run upwind the boat appeared to sail slightly more heeled than earlier. The last run closed with a series of S turns, alternating downwind and upwind, on the way back toward the channel entrance. Sails came down at 16:05, dock in was at 16:47 and the boat was back in the shed at 17:50. Eight runs were completed for 3h35 of sailing hoist to drop, of which around 1h24 appears to have been on the foils.