News

The construction of the Multi 50 Arkema 4 announced last year by Arkema and Lalou Multi is well underway. Designed by marine architect Romaric Neyhousser, this innovative trimaran will be skippered by Quentin Vlamynck under the watchful eye of Lalou Roucayrol who manages the project and takes on the role of coach. The three men disclose the rationale of the boat and review the progress of its construction, the boat’s launch being scheduled for Spring 2020.

A partner of the Lalou Multi team since 2013 on the Multi50 circuit and later the Mini 6.50 circuit, the Arkema Group last year announced the construction of Arkema 4, a new last generation trimaran due to be launched in 2nd quarter 2020. For 2019, Arkema and Lalou Multi have decided to focus on designing and manufacturing this new boat, while continuing with the training of its skipper-to-be: Quentin Vlamynck, a member of the Team for almost 10 years, and previously the skipper of the innovative Mini 6.50 Arkema 3. The latter prototype, meanwhile, will be skippered by the young sailor Raphaël Lutard in the events of the Mini calendar, with the Mini Transat-La Boulangère as the prime objective, the first solo transatlantic race for the 23 year old skipper.

As soon as the capsize of the Multi50 Arkema was known at around 0630hrs UTC/0730 CET on November 14 approximately 1,000 miles East of Guadeloupe, the whole of Team Arkema Lalou Multi began to organize a rescue operation for Lalou Roucayrol.

Pressure is slowly mounting on the pontoons of Saint-Malo in the run-up to the start of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, a legendary solo transatlantic race, on 4th November. After arriving in the buccaneering town halfway through the week, Lalou Roucayrol and the Multi50 Arkema are now getting into the swing of things. Lalou Roucayrol and his team are making the most of these last few days to present Arkema’s know-how, and offer many skippers the “Kit à Partir “, a repair kit developed through collaboration between the Arkema Group, its adhesives specialist subsidiary Bostik, and Team Lalou Multi.

Lalou Roucayrol, skipper of the Multi50 Arkema, will set off on 4 November in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. For his fourth participation in this race, the skipper’s ambitions are clear: to claim a podium place in this supreme event in solo ocean racing. But to achieve this, mental and physical preparation is essential.

Lalou Roucayrol and his crew of the Multi 50 Arkema won the first edition of the Valdys Trophy, which took place from 1^st to 8^th September, finishing in style the pre-season races 2018 before the ultimate transatlantic and emblematic Route du Rhum- Destination Guadeloupe.