trimaran manureva

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From Pen Duick IV to Manureva, from records to shipwreck

After some disillusionment with the capabilities of his trimaran - not well prepared to take part in major races - Eric, Tabarly decided to undertake a campaign in the United States to prove the marine qualities of his trimaran. The first records are being set and it is a second "life" awaiting the trimaran in the hands of Alain Colas.

To prove the qualities of his trimaran - which now has a classic rigging - and sell it in the United States, Tabarly began a crewed Atlantic crossing (La Trinité - Martinique ) four months later with Alain Colas and Olivier de Kersauson . Forced to take shelter in the Canaries to avoid gusts to 70 knots, he nevertheless shattered all records with a transatlantic race of 10 days and 11 hours, sailing at an average speed of 11 knots on this 2640 mile route.

Pen Duick IV then competed in parallel in the Los Angeles - Honolulu race, trimarans not being accepted. Once again, it left its mark by breaking the record by more than 24 hours, surpassing by more than 20 hours the great monohull Windward Passag, one of the fastest boats of its time. A record that is sure to interest the owner of Windward Passag, who will finally give up buying the trimaran because of the rusticity of the arrangements. After Panama and California, Pen Duick IV continues his cruise in the Pacific.

It was on his return to France - a stopover in Nouméa in the autumn of 1969 - that Tabarly sold Pen Duick IV to Alain Colas , one of his crew members. The visionary skipper had to part with one of these boats to settle unexpected debts and preferred to the trimaran Pen Duick III, capable of taking part in classic races.

After a few sailings in Polynesia and a Sydney/Hobart out of the race (multihulls not being allowed) he returned to mainland France in 76 days (Tahiti - Reunion Island - Reunion Island - Trinidad). Back in France, Alain Colas participates in the 4 e edition of La Transat (1972) which he won brilliantly in 20 days and 13 hours, spraying all the times in the process. He will try to return in Atlantic record mode, but fails with a race time of 17 days and 8 hours.

In 1973, he decided to sail around the world by the 3 capes alone. To this end, he revised Pen Duick IV within his original site. It reinforces the forward buoyancy of the 3 hulls, adds steps under the floats to reduce loading, replaces the masts with new ones and expands the sail area. The boat was renamed Manureva. He set off on his circumnavigation at the same time as the Whitbread's competitors and completed his round the world trip as a hero on 8 September 1973, after 10,000 miles covered in 169 days!

Leaving the trimaran for the 5 e edition of La Transat in 1976 for the giant monohull Club Méditerranée (72 m), he lost to Eric Tabarly at the helm of Pen Duick VI.

For the next edition - 1978 -, the English limited the size of the boats to 60 feet (18.28 m), but a new race appeared in France, the Route du Rhum, launched by Michel Etevenon. A new challenge for Alain Colas who will start aboard Manureva . A race on which the skipper and his boat disappeared off the Azores on 16 November 1978... Many tracks have been mentioned: waterway , disintegration of a link arm or even collision, but the reasons for this sinking will remain unresolved.

RB&I 1974

The third rb&i – the observer/express two-handed round britain & ireland race.

This Round Britain Race achieved 61 starters from six different nations, three times the number in the previous race, and saw multihull success and lots of wind.

The formidable combination of Robin Knox-Johnston and Leslie Williams, who had driven Ocean Spirit to victory in 1970, separated, to other boats. Robin Knox-Johnston teamed up with Gerald Boxall to sail the 70ft catamaran British Oxygen while Leslie Williams and Peter Blake sailed the 80ft Burton Cutter, a yacht normally with a crew of fifteen. She had competed in the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race and had the fastest time on the Portsmouth to Cape Town leg of that race. Philip Weld was back with a new 60 foot trimaran, Gulf Streamer, and Alain Colas entered the 70 foot trimaran Manureva, built by Eric Tabarly for the 1968 OSTAR, as Pen Duick IV, and sailed to victory in the 1972 OSTAR by Colas. After that race Alain Colas took her on a record-breaking round the world voyage with only one stop in which he covered 29,600 miles in 168 days. He pointed out that the yacht was a direct result of the Round Britain Race because Tabarly, having seen what Toria could do in the 1966 Round Britain, ordered her for the 1968 OSTAR in preference to a monohull. He went on to say “these two races have done everything for the development of multihulls”. Mike McMullen entered his Newick designed Three Cheers, which Tom Follet had sailed so successfully in the 1972 OSTAR, and there was a new Kelsall designed 35ft trimaran called F.T. sailed by David Palmer (then news editor of The Financial Times). This boat was built not only for this race but with the 1976 OSTAR in mind in which David had his sights on the Jester Trophy. Nick Keig had a new Kelsall designed trimaran called Three Legs of Mann which he had built himself. Also in the fleet were the old faithfuls Snow Goose, this time sailed by John Hart and John Bennett, and Toria, now Gancia Girl, sailed by Tony Bullimore and Arthur Ellis.

Of great interest to everyone was the entry of Donald Parr’s Quailo III, a thoroughbred Class I ocean racer which had been in the 1973 Admiral’s Cup team and in the highly successful British team for the Southern Cross Cup in Australia. Here was a chance to see how a top flight conventional ocean racer would fare against her miscellaneous competitors, albeit only two-handed. It was also of interest to have a dedicated RORC ocean racing skipper wanting to try another form of the sport when many of the yacht racing “establishment” were scornfully describing these sort of races as “stunt races”. The chairman of the Racing Rules Committee of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU) spoke of the rules being “bent if not blatantly disregarded”. So blinkered was the vision of some sections of the establishment, that they could not conceive of any sailing race being conducted other than in accordance with the IRYU rules. The chairman went on to recommend that clubs who organized events, such as the Whitbread Round the World Race, should be refused affiliation by their national authorities. Fortunately for sailing, this suggestion did not find widespread support.

There were other conventional ocean racers in the fleet: Robin Aisher lent his Frigate to John Holmes, one of Donald Parr’s regular crew, and Alan Goodfellow entered his Hippokampus.

Among small boats were a 25ft Folkboat sailed by Richard and Edmund Gatehouse, Richard Clifford’s Contessa 26, Shamaal II, the Royal Engineers Yacht Club’s Contessa 26 Contessa Caroline, sailed by Roger Justice and Chris Haskell, the Tankard 24 Windsor Life, sailed by Royal Marines Sergeant Gerry Norman, Ewen Southby-Tailyour’s Hurley 24, Black Velvet and Rod White’s Halcyon 24 Bluff.

Richard Clifford did well to bring Shamaal II home in 24th place overall but perhaps the most remarkable feat was that of the two Swiss boys, Beat Guttinger and Albert Schiess, who sailed their 24ft Quarter Tonner Petit Suisse into 20th place. Their handling of their tiny boat in a succession of gales and very heavy seas won everyone’s admiration. A film made about the race had some remarkable shots of them sailing Petit Suisse, dinghy fashion, around Muckle Flugga, the northernmost point of the course. Colin Forbes, who made the film must have been delighted to be rewarded with these shots, having humped his gear over hill and bog to be there at the time.

The first leg of the race was sailed as usual in quiet conditions with the main problems being fog and light winds. This proved to be the undoing of Alain Colas who only managed 10th place, nearly ten hours behind the leader, British Oxygen. He subsequently admitted that he had seriously underestimated his competitors and should ‘have removed a lot of the heavy radio equipment, and stocks of spare parts he had onboard for his circumnavigation. Multihulls lead the fleet into Crosshaven and Quailo III was the first monohull, in 8th place, followed by Slithy Tove 9th, and Burton Cutter 11th. On the second leg, to Barra, the four leaders, British Oxygen, Three Cheers, Triple Arrow and Gulf Streamer, maintained their positions but Mike McMullen brought his Three Cheers in only just over an hour behind British Oxygen. This was the leg which took the greatest toll of the yachts: Battle Royal, Mantis , Tane Nui and Tehini all retired in, or just after leaving, Crosshaven and several other boats sought refuge in ports and anchorages up the Irish coast and in the Scottish islands. Once again the Wharram polynesian catamarans had failed to get further than Crosshaven. Black Velvet, having battled up the Irish coast almost to Barra, turned and headed south because it was evident his crew would not go beyond Barra, he had had enough. It was said that whereas Ewen could keep going on a diet of sardines and whisky, his crew couldn’t! Ewen took Black Velvet all the way back to Plymouth, mostly singlehanded, changed crew and then sailed up the Channel to Lowestoft to do the last leg of the race as an honorary competitor. Jeremy Hurlbatt and Malcolm Bird retired into Oban and then took Fidget through the Caledonian Canal, into the North Sea, and thence home via Lowestoft.

A fascinating race within the race took place, on the second leg, between F.T. and Quailo. David Palmer describes it in his book The Atlantic Challenge: “In mid-afternoon, Quailo III, the only real thoroughbred ocean racer in the whole fleet of 61 boats, heaves into view, half a mile away from us on our port beam. It is the beginning of a race that lasts for the next 36 hours. Every time the wind goes a little ahead of the beam, Quailo, with her 39½ feet waterline and heavy displacement, inches ahead. Whenever the wind backs to abaft the beam, F.T. slides past Quailo. At dusk, Quailo is pulling away from us as the wind moves slightly north of east. But the following day, having cleared Black Rock and Eagle Island in the small hours of the morning, we overhaul Quailo again, and again start racing each other, changing positions all day. With sunset approaching, the dark and brooding shape of Barra Head comes up ahead of us. As it does so, the wind begins to die, and backs through 10 degrees and we start edging away from Quailo. Darkness sets in and Quailo’s lights recede behind us, until we can no longer see them. Our little race is won – at least for this leg.

As we approach the entrance to Castle Bay Harbour, we pass too close to a mass of rock known as Muldoanich and lose our wind. We drift past Muldoanich, and beat towards the finishing line. The wind is all over the place, and I make two bad tacks. With 50 yards to go I look over my shoulder. Quailo’s lights are moving fast up behind me. She has held her speed past Muldoanich, and is pointing high towards the finishing line. I tack on to starboard, and force her to tack too. I try and hold her on past the line, so that I can tack onto port and cross ahead of her. But she points too high, she just steers across my bow. Two more tacks, faultlessly executed, and Quailo crosses the line 15 seconds ahead of us. Where else in the world would two boats as totally different as Quailo, the thoroughbred ocean racer, and F.T. the brash little trimaran, have a race like this – for 36 hours we have been within a few miles of each other.”

There were various dramas on the leg to Lerwick and the committee allowed a degree of indulgence to some competitors which was appreciated by those concerned, but considered over the odds by those who were not. Basically the concept was that following a mishap – even including a capsize – the competitor was allowed to sail back to the point where he had received assistance and then pick up the race again from there. The elasticity in the rules was not repeated in subsequent races. The chief beneficiary of this liberalism was Brian Cooke, who, when approaching Lerwick, was lying becalmed and virtually still in the water, when a terrific gust came down from the high cliff to the north of him, and simply flipped Triple Arrow over before anything could be done. Fortunately the capsize was seen by Mrs Angela Hawkins who was watching through binoculars. She immediately alerted the Coastguards. Eric Jensen the crew was soon on the upturned bottom of the yacht but Brian was trapped under the netting which joins the hulls. However he was finally extricated with a cut eye. The yacht was salvaged and, as soon as the repairs were sufficiently advanced, Brian and Eric sailed out to the position of the capsize, under jury rig, and back to complete the leg. Then started their compulsory 48 hour stopover during which repairs were completed. She resumed the race and managed to climb back up the fleet to finish in Plymouth in 8th place overall.

Croda Way was dismasted off Barra, managed to get back in there and, with virtually no local resources, repaired the mast and rejoined the race – a remarkable feat. Probably most disappointed of all those who were forced to retire were Michael Pipe and Ian Porter in Slithy Tove, a revolutionary designed monohull of 48 feet. They had managed to get one place ahead of the Nicholson 55, Quailo, by Barra, and were then forced to retire and take a short cut into Lerwick with rigging problems. An unusual casualty on the third leg was Tower Casper. The owner and skipper, Martin Wills, was, in his working life, mate of a small merchant ship, belonging to Tower Shipping Line, whose Master was Colin Hoare, now his crew. As the only two officers in the ship one would have expected that they knew each other fairly well, and that they would be able to face life at sea together with equanimity. However, maybe the boot being on the other foot, so to speak, had something to do with the fundamental disagreement which arose after they left Barra, in stinking awful weather, to sail to Lerwick.

Somewhere near St Kilda, not the most hospitable place in the best of weather, Colin Hoare decided that they were mad to be at sea in such weather in Tower Casper and said he would like to be put ashore. They therefore returned to Barra and he disembarked. Martin sailed again, on his own, for Lerwick. There was some surprise when he arrived in Lerwick with no crew, and of course, he had, by sailing without a crew, disqualified himself from the race.

As British Oxygen left Lerwick, F.T. appeared after having had a wretched passage from Barra. They had suffered problems with their main beams and with leaks, and the weather had been awful, they had spent some hours hove-to and were just beginning to think things were getting better when the bottom hinge fitting of the rudder broke. This had happened on the first leg but they thought the repair, done in Crosshaven would have solved the problem. They were some 130 miles south-west of Muckle Flugga at the time, a bad place in which to have steering failure.

They decided that they must ship the spare rudder they had brought with them and started to do this. In removing the old one it slipped and drifted away. They shipped the outboard motor and tried to get back to it but a sea broke the engine bracket and the engine was swamped. Abandoning the old rudder, they set about fitting the spare one, not an easy thing to do in the open, heaving ocean and as they struggled they fractured the top hinge fitting. Mercifully it did not break completely and after two and a half hours they were able to get under way again, nursing the boat along, under reduced sail, in order to impose the minimum strain on the rudder fittings.

Leslie Dyball, whose 67 years made him the oldest competitor in the race, arrived in good shape with fly fishing rods, with which to enjoy his visit to Shetland. By Lerwick he was well placed in the handicap order and on the next leg, to Lowestoft he improved his position so much that on arrival in Plymouth he was first on handicap. There is a tendency to think of the course from Lerwick as being all downhill, if only because it looks that way on the chart. True the most northerly and exposed part of the course is behind, but the North Sea can be very violent. On the passage south, to Lowestoft, John Westell and Bill Cherry, in their trimaran John Willie suddenly found that their boat had become a proa! One float had broken off. Unlike other proas however, they could not go about and they felt there was no future for them on the one tack they could sail. They therefore sent out a distress call which was soon answered by the German Trawler Junger Pioneer. They abandoned the yacht and were taken in to Lerwick. The main hull, and its one float, was towed in to an east coast port and a call some days later to the Royal Western Yacht Club by the Coastguards, gave news that the other float was being towed into Stavanger, in Norway.

Disaster very nearly struck Mike McMullen on the leg south. He went forward in Three Cheers to change headsails, in a fresh wind and rough sea, and was simply bounced overboard from the heaving deck. The boat was moving fast and, although he managed to grasp a lifeline, he could not hold on to it as he was dragged through the water. He let go and the yacht went over him almost breaking one of his legs as she did so. He surfaced some 50 yards from the yacht. Fully clothed, with foul weather gear complete with seaboots, he soon became waterlogged. Meanwhile Martin Read had luffed the boat up into the wind and she drifted back towards Mike who was able to grab hold of the yacht, though maintaining his grip with great difficulty. To enable him to do this Martin had to get all the sail off the boat. Mike was quite unable to hoist himself back on board, nor could this be achieved with Martin’s help. Martin therefore grabbed a halyard, attached it to Mike and winched him aboard. History does not recall how long this episode took, from the moment they were sailing until they were able to proceed, but when one considers that Three Cheers finished only an hour and eleven minutes after British Oxygen, in Plymouth, one is bound to ask who would have been the winner if it had not happened.

British Oxygen was the leader into Lowestoft by a little over 9 hours and this coupled with the fact that she had the tides right for her departure, put her in a very strong position. Lowestoft, as a stopover port in this race, can be extremely frustrating. Many is the time when a yacht has reached within spitting distance of the finishing line there only to have the wind fail and the tidal stream turn against them. Or conversely when it is their time to go out to restart a rushing northerly stream and a light wind make it impossible to make any progress. One gets becalmed in a foul tide in lots of other places, but do so at, or near a finishing line is frustrating if handicapping is in use. By Lowestoft, Burton Cutter had worked out a lead of 8 hours over Quailo and they were 6th and 7th respectively. After Lowestoft there was no change in the positions of the first ten yachts. Robin Knox­Johnston and Gerry Boxall brought British Oxygen in to Plymouth a few minutes before 4.00 p.m. on 24 July with an elapsed time of 18 days 4 hours 26 minutes, which knocked a day and a half off Toria’s 1966 record time.

Before the race Philip Weld had been up to a bit of predicting, and had reckoned that Gulf Streamer would need 254 hours sailing to complete the course and that she would be beaten by Manureva who would need 240 hours. In the event the winner was not Manureva but British Oxygen who actually took 244¼ hours (only 4½ hours different to Philip Weld’s predicted winner’s time), and he himself in Gulf Streamer bettered his predicted time by 6½ hours – remarkably accurate. It must have been a great disappointment for Phil Weld to come third again but there was a marvellous quote from him after the race which gave an insight of what a sportsman he was. He said “It has been such terrific fun; the point of the whole thing is the marvellous people you meet, the other contestants, the camp followers and the locals in each port. The Round Britain is a wonderful race.”

Due to the yachts concerned being in different weather patterns, there were some interesting comparisons to be made between the elapsed time for different yachts on the last leg. The fastest time was put up by Croda Way who did it in 1 day 21¾ hours, against the winner’s time of 2 days 9¼ hours. On the last leg Manureva very nearly came to grief when a Greek merchant ship hit her, causing damage which, though she was able to finish the race, was, structurally serious. Any account of a race inevitably highlights the winners and the disasters, but in a race like the Round Britain, and particularly when the weather is as bad as it was in 1974, at least for most of the competitors, all those who finish have, in a sense, won. Those who study the tables of results will pick out the ones they think did particularly well. Leslie Dyball and Larry Pardey sailed consistently well to be worthy winners on handicap, and 13th overall. Petit Suisse was a popular taker of the second place on handicap. Clare Francis and Eve Bonham in Cherry Blossom, after a slow first leg in light winds, clawed their way up the fleet, doing particularly well between Barra and Lerwick to finish 22nd overall, and 3rd on handicap.

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Éric Tabarly – His Yachts

Three of the Pen Duick yachts were built in the Perrière shipyards in Lorient : Pen Duick III the schooner, Pen Duick IV the trimaran and the first large multihull (which would become Manureva) and Pen Duick V, a 10.70m monohull, the precursor of today’s 60’ monohulls (such as the Vendée Globe yachts).

5 Pen Duick yachts

are still sailing

On view at the pontoon at

the Cité de la Voile

during a stopover

Pen Duick Éric Tabarly's first sailing boat

A 15m auric cutter designed in 1898 by the Scottish architect W.Fife III, Jr. and built in Ireland under the name of Yum. Guy Tabarly, Eric’s father, purchased her in 1938 and the family sailed on board until 1947, when she required extensive work. Éric Tabarly purchases her from his father in 1952, virtually a wreck. He would save her by laminating a mould of her hull with a polyester resin, a first at the time for a hull of its size. From 1959 to 1962, he completed numerous sailing tours and regattas aboard Pen Duick. She was restored once again between 1983 and 1989 by the R Labbé shipyard. It was aboard this boat that Éric Tabarly disappeared at sea during the night of the 12th of June 1998 off the coast of Wales.

Architect : William Fife III junior, Scottish architect Shipyard : Gridiron and Workers in Carigaloe near Crosshaven, Ireland

Pen Duick II The Transat Bakerley 1964

This is the first yacht that Eric Tabarly designed specifically for a race: the 2 nd edition of the English solo Trans-Atlantic in 1964.

A plan by G. Costantini conceived in his shipyard in Saint-Philibert. Éric Tabarly won the race in 27 days ahead of F. Chichester, the winner of the previous edition. Pen Duick II then received two new riggings to improve performances when sailing with a crew and light winds and to be more competitive in the CCA in America. The yacht was sold to the National Sailing School in Quiberon in 1967. Pen Duick II helped Éric Tabarly accumulate considerable experience in just two years and served as a design basis for the Pen Duick III. She was partly built in 1994 at the Pichavant shipyard. She now sails from the ENV (National School of Sailing).

Architect : Gilles Costantini and Éric Tabarly Shipyard : Costantini in Saint-Philibert

Pen Duick III the largest aluminium hull

Éric Tabarly’s Pen Duick III has received the most racing awards. An extrapolation of Pen Duick II, designed for the solo Trans-Atlantic race in 1968, but also for crewed races.

The year of its launch in 1967, Tabarly became the RORC champion by winning all the races in which he participated. A progression of Pen Duick II, constructed in aluminium and whose hull and keel were tested in a towing tank. It was a first for its time as were the sponsorships deals required to achieve the construction budget. Since then, she continues to ride the seas of the world, crewed or solo; the Vendée Globe Trans-Atlantic, the Whitbread, the Route du Rhum and the

Trans-Atlantic Lorient-Saint-Barthélemy-Lorient. In 2000, Pen Duick III joined the Pen Duick Cruising Club under the management of Arnaud Dhallenne.

Architect : Éric Tabarly and the Perrière shipyard Shipyard : Chantiers et Ateliers de la Perrière in Lorient

Pen Duick IV the first racing trimaran

A revolutionary trimaran in 1968 but unfortunately was not launched in time to conduct her final adjustments before the Transat due to the events of May 1968.

André Allègre and the Perrière shipyards designed an extremely light 20m yacht destined for the high seas. Built in aluminium, it incorporated many innovative features: pivoting masts with a ketch rig and fully battened mainsails, connecting arms in aluminium tubes joining symmetric floats to the central hull. A collision and autopilot problems meant that the Pen Duick IV failed to finish the Transat in 1968 but went on to win it in 1972 with Alain Colas.
 Manureva (its new name) disappeared during the 1 st Route du Rhum with Alain Colas the 16th of November 1978.

Architect: André Allègre and the Perrière shipyard Shipyard : Chantiers et Ateliers de la Perrière in Lorient

Pen Duick V thes first ocean racing yacht to feature ballast thanks

A 35’ prototype specially designed for the solo race in 1969: The Trans-Pacific San Francisco to Tokyo organised by the Slocum Society.

Pen Duick V was the precursor for current 60’ monohulls with her ballasts, deep and fine keel, her minimised rake and broad rear lines. The gliding hull featured the same redan style as motorboats. Éric Tabarly brilliantly won the race in 39 days and 15 hours, 11 days ahead of his nearest rival. The yacht was financed by the Port of St. Raphael who put her up for sale after the race.

Architect : Michel Bigoin, Daniel Duvergie and the Perrière shipyard Shipyard : Chantiers et Ateliers de la Perrière in Lorient

Pen Duick VI The solo Trans-Atlantic 1976

Éric Tabarly’s first Class 1, he had a soft spot for this yacht designed especially for the first round the world race, the Whitbread 1973-1974. Pen Duick VI had to be built in record time by the naval shipyard in Brest to make it to the starting line. All his chances of winning were, however, ruined by two dismastings during the 1 st and 3 rd legs. In 1974, the Bermuda - Plymouth was the first of many races that would be won by the ketch, in 1976, the Atlantic Triangle and the solo Trans-Atlantic in June. This race is undoubtedly the hardest Eric Tabarly ever participated in, confronting five consecutive storms aboard a yacht designed for a crew of 14, without autopilot (broke down four days after the start).
The grand maxi would set off again in 1981 for the race around the world under the name of Euromarché. She finished 5 th out of 27 although surpassed by her competitors.
 In the 21 st century, Pen Duick VI continues to ride the world’s oceans as part of an educational sailing programme visiting Iceland, Greenland, the Caribbean, Patagonia, Antarctica.

Architect : André Mauric Shipyard : Naval Shipyard Brest

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Il y a 45 ans, Alain Colas et son Manureva perdus à jamais

ARCHIVES. En 1978, Alain Colas, à bord de son bateau Manureva, disparaissait en mer alors qu'il naviguait en tête de la première édition de la Route du Rhum. 

Une liaison radio et puis plus rien... Il y a 45 ans, Alain Colas, à bord de son bateau Manureva, disparaissait en mer alors qu'il naviguait en tête de la première édition de la Route du Rhum. Un marin, une chanson et une légende à jamais. C'est au large des Açores et au coeur de la tempête qu'Alain Colas a dit ses derniers mots, le 16 novembre 1978, après 11 jours de mer: "Je suis dans l'œil du cyclone. Il n'y a plus de ciel, tout est amalgame d'éléments, il y a des montagnes d'eau autour de moi". Alain Colas n'a jamais été retrouvé. Ni son bateau Manureva (qui signifie "Oiseau des îles" en tahitien). Ce drame de la mer a provoqué une émotion si forte que le marin visionnaire est entré dans la légende, lui qui a écrit les premières et belles pages de la course au large française avec son mentor Eric Tabarly, disparu en mer il y a 25 ans. Alain Colas avait 35 ans, une femme et 3 enfants. Teura, sa veuve, vit chaque jour avec cette disparition. Leur fille Vaimiti avait 4 ans quand le navigateur a disparu. Les jumeaux, Tereva et Torea, étaient âgés de 8 mois. Ils ont aujourd'hui 45 ans.

"J'ai vécu si intensément toutes ces années, j'ai fait des dépressions, ça fait partie de ma vie. C'est mon vécu", avait confié Teura Colas à l'AFP. "C'est spécial une disparition en mer, tu ne peux rien faire, tu ne le revois plus". Pour la Tahitienne, "Alain n'est pas mort, Alain a disparu corps et biens". "Les enfants souffrent énormément, ils disent: notre papa c'est un fantôme, on ne veut plus en entendre parler", avait expliqué Teura, qui, dès sa rencontre en 1971 avec Alain Colas, savait qu'il pouvait périr en mer. Mais elle aussi avait des rêves de grand large et comprenait la passion qui animait le navigateur qui n'avait pas peur. "Je lui disais souvent: 'quand tu ne seras plus là, qu'est-ce que je deviendrais ?' Il me répondait: 'tu verras le temps fait bien les choses'. La veille du départ, on s'est aimé pour la dernière fois. Il avait son petit sourire charmant au coin des lèvres", se souvenait Teura. "'Reste heureuse': c'est ce qu'il m'a dit avant de partir à Saint-Malo", avait-elle raconté, avec des grands sourires et des éclats de rire. "C'est un macho-marin-skipper-gentleman. Avec ce côté anglais que j'adorais".

Voici le reportage de Paris Match consacré à la disparition d'Alain Colas en 1978, ainsi que notre rencontre avec Teura, pour  son premier Noël  sans Alain...

Découvrez  Rétro Match, l'actualité à travers les archives de Match...

Paris Match n°1542, 15 décembre 1978

Alain Colas, l'Océan lui a refusé sa revanche 

par Guy Lagorce

C'était pour lui la course de la dernière chance Depuis son accident atroce survenu en 1975, Colas, après 20 opérations chirurgicales, luttait toujours pour éviter l'amputation de son pied droit devenu complètement insensible. II luttait aussi pour rembourser les dettes contractées après son échec dans la «Transat» 1976. II avait réarmé son bateau géant «Club Méditerranée», un monstre dispendieux de 72 mètres de long pour en faire un voilier de croisière, à bord duquel il convoyait des touristes américains en Polynésie. II luttait aussi pour Teura, une Tahitienne, sa compagne, maman de Vaïmiti et de Tremu et To Rea, deux jumeaux nés au printemps dernier qui ressemblent à leur père. II luttait enfin pour lui, pour redevenir le n°1. Tous les siens étaient venus à Saint- Malo l'encourager de leur présence et de leur affection pour cette course de la revanche et de la dernière chance

C'était le 5 novembre dernier à Saint-Malo. Dans quelques instants Alain Colas, installé dans son cockpit, va s'élancer sur l'Océan à bord de son « Manureva », un trimaran de 20 mètres de long, qui est l'ancien «Pen Duick IV» réaménagé avec lequel en 1972 il était né à la gloire en remportant la Transat en solitaire. Colas est alors confiant en dépit de sa très grave blessure au pied droit qui fait de lui un demi-infirme, car il connaît son trimaran par coeur. En plus de la Transat, il a bouclé deux tours du monde à son bord dont un en solitaire par le cap Horn. Victime du sort contraire, endetté, Alain Colas comptait beaucoup sur cette Route du Rhum pour prendre une revanche sur le destin. Le mauvais sort, encore une fois, s'est acharné sur cet homme de fer. Son absence à l'arrivée à Pointe-à-Pitre a jeté une grande ombre sur une belle course jusque-là heureuse.

Depuis le 16 novembre, depuis que sa radio a cessé d'émettre, on sait qu'Alain Colas grand vainqueur de la Transat en 1972, a perdu son formidable pari : redevenir malgré son infirmité le meilleur navigateur du monde. Aussi belle qu'elle ait été, cette Course du Rhum vers la Guadeloupe gardera le goût amer de l'angoisse, de l'atroce attente.

L'absence à Pointe-à- Pitre d'Alain Colas, héros de notre temps, étend une grande ombre sur cette aventure de mer, de solitude et de soleil. Du danger qu'il y a à courir les mers en solitaire, Colas avait dit un jour : « De même qu'en automobile le bon pilote de formule 1 est celui qui laisse la plus faible marge au hasard, le bon navigateur est celui qui aura su le mieux armer son bateau en fonction de la course et qui aura assez de sang-froid et de technique pour naviguer au plus juste. Cela dit, le danger existe toujours. Le bonheur dans la vie est de faire ce que l'on a envie de faire. Le faire sans regrets et ne jamais se retourner sur ses pas. Je ne conçois pas la vie autrement...» Le voilà bien le romantisme. Le vrai.

C'est en 1972 que Colas naît à la gloire. La nouvelle embrase toutes les «Une» des journaux du monde : huit ans après Eric Tabarly, un autre Français - et quel personnage ! - vient de gagner la «Transat », la course la plus célèbre et la plus rigoureuse du monde. II n'est pas alors de trompettes assez puissantes pour sonner la renommée de ce mince jeune homme de 29 ans, ancien coéquipier de Tabarly auquel, pour réussir son exploit, il a racheté le fameux trimaran « Pen Duick IV ». Puis, peu à peu, le silence se fait autour de Colas. II agace. On le trouve un peu trop brillant dans le monde alors volontiers taciturne des coureurs des mers. En fait, ce licencié ès-lettres n'a besoin de personne pour se faire entendre : ses conférences, ses films, son livre, il les faits seul. II parle haut et fort. Et puis ce terrien né à Clamecy, dans la Nièvre, très loin de la mer, a tout appris tellement vite… «Trop vite » disent les marins qui ne comprennent guère cette âme brûlante et vive. Pour eux, Alain Colas c'est le «barbare».

En 1965, à l'âge de 21 ans, il part pour l'Australie. Pour payer son voyage, il travaille sur un cargo et se fait embaucher comme professeur à l'université de Sydney. «J'avais envie d'être autre. Mon père, ouvrier tourneur, est devenu le patron d'une faïencerie à force de volonté. Son exemple m'a marqué. Comme lui, je voulais sortir de ma peau. De ma chambre, je voyais la baie de Sydney, une splendeur qui, durant le week-end, devenait un mur de voiles. Alors, comme je ne tenais pas en place, j'ai réussi à me faire embarquer, pour voir. C'est alors, mais alors seulement, que j'ai eu le coup de foudre pour la mer. J'avais 22 ans. »

Dès lors, tout ira très vite. Colas devient en quelques mois un as de la régate. Aussitôt, il brûle d'impatience, il veut déjà prendre le large. Signe du destin, Tabarly fait escale à Sydney et cherche des équipiers. Colas embarque avec lui pour la course Sydney-Hobart et, d'entrée de jeu, essuie son premier cyclone. II apprend à vivre ce qui va devenir sa vie. En 1968, Colas veut revenir en France, passer d'autres examens pour devenir traducteur. II arrive à Paris en mai 1968. «Je débarquais du bout du monde, j’ai été incapable de m'intéresser à ce qui se passait en France. Ça me paraissait être une tempête dans un verre d'eau. Moi, je me sentais citoyen du monde alors... je suis parti retrouver Tabarly et la mer pour toujours. »

La suite, on la connaît : traversée de l'Atlantique, et la course San Francisco - Honolulu - Los Angeles - Tahiti. Puis c'est l'achat du « Pen Duick IV », la victoire dans la Transat, le tour du monde, la gloire. Le licencié Alain Colas est devenu l'agrégé de la voile, le maître fulgurant.

L'astre Colas est à son zénith. II va brutalement décliner. Le 19 mai 1975, c'est l'imbécile et horrible accident: une chaîne d'ancre s'enroule autour de sa cheville droite. Son pied au bout de la jambe ne tient plus que par les tendons. Colas refuse l'amputation et reste six mois à l'hôpital de Nantes où il subit 20 interventions chirurgicales. II endure un martyre et participe quand même à la Transat 1976. Il est battu par Tabarly avec lequel ses rapports se sont dégradés. Fatigué et amer, son pied nécessitant des soins constants, Colas croule sous les dettes, car il a vu très grand. Trop grand. Pour rentabiliser son monstrueux bateau (72 mètres de long, 10 millions de francs), le «Club Méditerranée», il commande des travaux à Marseille. Ils seront très lourds. En outre, le 26 septembre 1977, le bateau est victime d'un grave incendie qui détruit la timonerie. On se demande alors s'il s'agit d'un acte criminel de plus dans la série d'attentats qui frappe cet été-là tout ce qui porte le nom de Club Méditerranée.

C'est la série noire. Quatre mois plus tard, tout est réparé, le bateau est transformé ; la bête de course est devenue un animal domestique apte aux promenades en mer, apte à gagner de l'argent à défaut de courses et de rêves...

Colas se loue en Polynésie aux riches Américains qu'il promène à travers les îles. II faut vivre, il vit demi-solde de la gloire une existence presque bourgeoise entre sa compagne Teura, une Tahitienne, leurs jumeaux Tremu et ToRea et Vaïmiti, la première fille de Teura. Son pied privé de toute sensibilité nerveuse lui cause toujours des soucis ; des médecins et même des amis lui conseillent de se laisser amputer pour éviter les risques d'une septicémie toujours possible. Volontaire, obstiné, Colas refuse. II parvient même, parfois, à marcher sans boiter. C'est qu'il prépare ce qu'il veut être son grand retour: la Route du Rhum. II veut en faire sa grande revanche sur le mauvais destin, sa «renaissance». Son projet soulève des objections. « Un marin solitaire ne peut être un assisté, or Colas est un assisté, son pied nécessite des soins constants», disent certains médecins. Rien n'y fait. Colas veut courir, il veut «jouer le coup». Mûri dans son orgueil rien ni personne ne l'arrêtera. Son bateau s'appelle « Manureva », « l'oiseau du voyage». En vérité, c'est l'ex- « Pen Duick IV » aménagé et rebaptisé depuis longtemps avec lequel il avait, en 1972, gagné la Transat. C'est un monumental coup de poker, un quitte ou double qui surexcite Colas. Plus que la mer, il aime la compétition, l'affrontement, le duel. On lui avait demandé : « Quelle est la qualité que vous n'aimeriez pas avoir ? » ll avait répondu du tac au tac : « Le sens de l'épargne ». Un mot qui le résume tout entier. II demeure solitaire parmi les solitaires. Mais il y aura toujours de la solitude pour ceux qui en sont dignes.

Paris Match n°1545, 5 janvier 1979

Alain et Teura, c'était leur dernier baiser

Alain n'est pas rentré pour Noël et sa compagne tahitienne Teura, qui lui a donné des jumeaux, vit dans une angoisse chaque jour plus insupportable. Depuis le 16 novembre, Alain Colas à bord du «Manureva» (Oiseau de voyage en tahitien) n'a plus donné signe de vie et toutes les recherches sont demeurées vaines. Sur ce document, pris au départ de Saint-Malo, Teura, qui serre Alain dans ses bras une dernière fois, ne savait pas qu'avec ce baiser échangé dans les embruns, commençait pour elle et ses enfants l'attente la plus longue d'un jour d'automne.

Teura regarde les images des jours heureux 

« II faut qu'on me le trouve. II n'a plus la maîtrise de son bateau et se laisse dériver sur l'océan, j'en suis sûre... Cet océan qui est si grand ! Oui, je suis en souci... » Dans son « faré » (maison) de Tahiti Teura attend et continue d'espérer en écoutant la radio et en feuilletant l'album des jours heureux. «Oui, j'espérais qu'il serait là pour Noël. C'est ici que tout a commencé il y a sept ans, dans ce faré qui est notre repaire. Nous l'avons d'abord allongé en terrasse, puis nous avons eu les jumeaux. II a fallu faire un boudoir sur la plage, la salle à manger, qui n'est pas finie, et enfin le faré des enfants : ma fille Vaimiti et les jumeaux Trému et To Rea. Nous marier? Oui, nous y pensions... Mais nous sommes mariés à la polynésienne. Nous sommes souvent séparés. Alain est absent six mois sur douze. II n'arrête jamais. Je suis habituée à avoir un homme qui court, au bureau ou sur la mer. Quand Alain vient ici, il ne fait rien pendant une semaine. C'est moi qui suis obligée de lui rappeler ses obligations. II a toujours une multitude de projets, certains plus ou moins fous... Nous allons de temps en temps à la pêche sur les récifs. Avant son accident, Alain adorait la pêche sous-marine. Son pied l'empêche désormais de la pratiquer aussi souvent. Mais sur la terre, il ne boite presque plus ; sur mer ou sur les récifs il se débrouille. Ici la Mer, on l'appelle Vahinité. La grande hantise du solitaire, c'est de tomber à la mer... Vahinité».

" Mes trois enfants et moi l'attendons toujours "

« Quand j'ai connu Alain, tout de suite je l'ai amené à la maison, dit Teura. A Tahiti quand on se plaît, rien ne vous empêche de partager tout de suite la vie de l'être aimé : il n'y a pas de tabou, pas de reproches des parents, ou de la famille, tout se fait très naturellement. Au matin de nos épousailles tahitiennes, j'ai simplement dit à ma mère : « II faut faire un café parce que je veux te présenter quelqu'un. II faut faire du café, du thé, des toasts et tout ce qu'il aime. Allez, vas-y. » On a pris le café en famille. Alain n'était pas trop dans son assiette... «Je suis très liée avec la famille d'Alain. Une famille qui est presque un clan familial. Ils s'aiment énormément et s'entraident beaucoup. Les parents d'Alain sont déjà venus deux fois nous rendre visite ici, à Tahiti. Ils m'ont mieux comprise. A Paris Alain m'emmenait derrière lui partout. II me tenait par la main et je le suivais à ses rendez-vous, ses déjeuners. Au début, je pensais trop à Tahiti, à me mettre en paréo, en maillot de bain, à aller à la mer, à manger comme j'en avais envie, à faire ce que je voulais. Mais on ne peut pas vivre comme ça. Alors, je me suis habituée. J'ai appris à aimer l'Europe. Alain écrivait peu. II m'appelait au téléphone. II y a plus d'un mois que je ne l'ai pas entendu, alors je n'arrive à rien faire. Je ne peux plus fixer mon attention, même sur mes enfants. Pourtant, ils lui ressemblent tellement. »

À lire aussi :   Le clan d'Alain Colas dévoile sa Polynésie intime

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Manureva Explained

Manureva (originally named Pen Duick IV ) was a custom-built racing trimaran famous for being the first oceangoing multihull racing sailboat, opening the path to the supremacy in speed of this kind of boat over monohulls. She won the 1972 Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race, skippered by Alain Colas , and was lost at sea with Colas during the first “ Route du Rhum ” transatlantic solo race in 1978.

Construction

Pen Duick IV was the brainchild of Éric Tabarly , who had sailed in 1966 on a small trimaran designed by architect Derek Kelsall and had become convinced that multihulls had finally made decisive progress in being competitive in all wind situations. Looking to repeat his 1964 win, Tabarly commissioned Pen Duick IV for the 1968 Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) on a design by French architect André Allègre.

With composite materials still in their infancy, Pen Duick IV s hulls were made of AG4 aluminium alloy. Unlike the present multihull s, which have flotation compartments or materials in the hulls to make them unsinkable, Pen Duick IV only featured foam filling in some of its compartments. This setup nonetheless proved adequate to keep the boat afloat when Tabarly collided with a cargo on the first night of the 1968 OSTAR and managed to limp back to England with structural damage. The hulls were linked by a tubular steel frame. Pen Duick IV was a pure racing machine, with Spartan amenities and even an unpainted hull that soon earned her the nickname "la pieuvre d’aluminium" (the aluminum octopus). It was designed for single-handed sailing and could be raced at its full potential with as few as three crew.

Tabarly rigged the boat as a Marconi ketch ( Bermuda rig ) on the basis of his 1964 win with the same rig on Pen Duick II . However, Pen Duick IV featured another radical innovation in the form of swiveling masts, decades before the technology became mainstream. These masts did eventually prove too weak and were soon replaced with conventional ones.

Construction started in 1967 at La Perrière shipyard in Lorient , France. [1] Work was slowed down by the social unrest of May 1968 and the boat was finished only two weeks before the start of the OSTAR.

After Alain Colas bought Pen Duick IV from Tabarly in 1970, he eventually carried out extensive modifications in 1973 to better handle the Southern Ocean in his upcoming round-the-world record attempt. Larger masts and a second forward cross-member were fitted, the front hulls were widened, the boat was painted for the first time and was renamed Manureva . No other major modifications would be carried out before the boat was lost at sea.

Racing history

Despite its lack of readiness, Pen Duick IV showed such speed in its accelerated trials before the 1968 OSTAR that Tabarly had high hopes of a win. However, a collision with a cargo on the first night put an early end to the dream. Tabarly ran a few other Atlantic races that year but had to retire after dismasting. He then decided to participate in two Pacific races in 1969: San Francisco to Tokyo on a new Pen Duick V and the Transpacific Yacht Race immediately afterwards on Pen Duick IV . To this end, he sailed the trimaran to San Francisco through the Panama Canal in the spring of 1969. Tabarly was not aware that multihulls were not eligible to participate in the Transpac but shadowed the race anyway, starting with the official participants. With Alain Colas and Olivier de Kersauson as crew, he finished more than 20 hours ahead of official winner Blackfin and set an unofficial course record of 8 days, 13 hours.

Colas bought Pen Duick IV from Tabarly in 1970 and sailed it back to France single-handed in order to gain experience for the 1972 Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race. The preparation paid off, Colas and Pen Duick IV won the OSTAR handily. On the way back to France, Colas attempted to break the record set in 1905 by Atlantic but fell short with a time of 17 days and 8 hours, more than five days off the mark. [2]

After refitting the boat and renaming her Manureva , Colas embarked in 1973 on an attempt to break the record for a single-handed circumnavigation with a stop in Sydney and succeeded, completing the journey in 169 days at sea.

For the 1976 OSTAR, Colas commissioned the purpose-built Club Méditerranée . His brother Jean-François entered to run on Manureva but was unable to participate due to damage to one of the hulls. [3]

Disappearance

Colas returned to Manureva for the first edition of the Route du Rhum in 1978. This race runs 3510miles on a great circle route from Saint-Malo (France) to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe, France) and takes place every four years, in the month of November. After the start on 5 November, and after having passed the Azores on the 16th, the skipper sent his last radio message in which he reported that he was having a good trip. He was sailing at the head of the race, among the leaders, but was lost at sea with his boat.

A song "" was written by Serge Gainsbourg in French and interpreted by Alain Chamfort , in tribute to the trimaran and its skipper. The song was released as a single on 15 September 1979, and on the album later the same year. It is one of Alain Chamfort’s greatest successes. The song also boosted the fame of the trimaran.

• Éric Tabarly http://www.citevoile-tabarly.com/eric-tabarly
• Alain Colas http://adelaitre.pagesperso-orange.fr/Colas.htm
• List of multihulls

Notes and References

• Web site: Eric Tabarly : Biographie du navigateur .
• Web site: Pen duick .
• Web site: Alain Colas, le grand bateau . www.alain-colas.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221908/http://www.alain-colas.com/Alain-Colas/Bateau.html . 2014-06-06.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License . It uses material from the Wikipedia article " Manureva ".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy .

Escale de nuit

Chroniques d'un voyageur ordinaire.

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Le tragique destin de Manureva (ex – Pen Duick IV)

Posted By Blog Voyage - Escale de nuit on 27/10/2020

Le Pen Puick IV est le voilier quatrième du nom. Racheté par Alain Colas, un ancien professeur un peu idéaliste qui rebaptisera ce voilier Manureva. Ce multicoque en acier est fiable et robuste

La naissance d’un multicoque performant

Lorsque Pen Duick IV est mis à l’eau, les records tombent. Ce multicoque en alliage est assez étrange est surnommée la pieuvre géante. Mais comment Eric Tabarly a pu imaginer un tel bateau?

Alors qu’il effectuait un convoyage sur un trimaran avec l’architecte Dereck Kelsall, il comprend l’avantage de ce type de voilier. Pour financer le voilier, Eric Tabarly vend les droits des interviews à venir à Paris Match et à RTL (radio Luxembourg).

Dès la mise à l’eau, Eric Tabarly est convaincu de la réussite de son voilier. En effet lors des essais Pen Duick 4 se montre jusqu’à deux fois plus rapide que Pen Duick 3.

Des débuts compliqués

La mise à l’eau du navire à lieu le 11 mai 1968. Il sort en mer la première fois le 15 mai. Mais le vrai problème c’est que l’Ostar, la course qu’Eric Tabarly a remporté en 1964 à bord de Pen Duick 2 part le 1er juin.

En quinze jours, il lui sera malheureusement très difficile de faire les réglages qui s’imposent sur ce type de multicoque qui est en plus un prototype. Contre toute attente Eric Tabarly réussira donc à prendre le départ. Mais dans la nuit du 1er au 2 juin, il heurte un cargo. Il revient donc à Plymouth pour faire réparer son voilier. Il repart après quatre jours de réparation. Puis lors de son nouveau départ c’est le pilote automatique qui tombera en panne, il revient à Plymouth pour le faire réparer. En repartant, le pilote automatique lâche de nouveau. Eric Tabarly décide donc d’abandonner.

Après cet abandon, Pen Duick IV retourne dans les chantiers La Perrière pour être réparée.

Eric Tabarly s’inscrit pour une nouvelle course, le Crystal Trophy. Malheureusement il connaît de nouvelles fortunes de mer. Le mât d’artimon démâte et le mât à l’avant subit un cintrage. De tous les Pen Duick ce voiler sera celui qui aura causé le plus de problèmes à Eric Tabarly.

Les records de Pen Duick IV

Les courses n’ayant pas réussi à ce multicoques révolutionnaire, son skipper décide de l’emmener aux Etat-Unis pour le vendre. Pour ce faire, il embarque avec lui son fidèle second, Olivier de Kersauson et Alain Colas. Lors de la traversée les trois compères sont obligés de s’arrêter sur l’archipel de Canaries. Une violente tempête balaye l’Atlantique Nord, les vents dépassent les 70 noeuds et il serait inconscient de se jeter dans la gueule du loup. Surtout lorsque l’on souhaite vendre le navire. Cette escale forcée ne l’empêchera pas d’établir un nouveau record pour la traversée de l’Atlantique soit 2 640 miles nautiques. Avec 10 jours et 11 heures, ce trimaran boucle le parcours avec une moyenne de 11 noeuds.

A la suite de la traversée Eric s’engage sur la course Los Angeles – Honolulu . Les multicoques n’étant effectivement pas acceptés sur la course. Cela n’empêche pas Eric Tabarly de « s’imposer » avec 20 heures d’avance sur le maxi-yacht Windward Passag. Et au passage il bat le record avec plus de 24 heures d’avance.

En 1969, Alain Colas décide de racheter à Eric Tabarly Pen Duick IV. A la suite de cette transaction et au vu de la fin tragique de l’histoire Eric Tabarly décidera ne ne plus jamais vendre de voilier à ses équipiers.

La disparition de Manureva

Alors que le skipper de cet (ex-Pen Duick IV) se lance dans la route du Rhum en 1978, il décide de passer en force sur la route du nord. La route la plus directe mais également la plus compliquée. En effet l’orthodromie est sur la route des dépressions qui déboulent de Terre Neuve ou d’Islande. Généralement ce sont les monocoques qui emprûntent cette route. Mais Alain Colas en a vu d’autres. D’ailleurs son baptême du feu se fera à bord de Pen Duick III, un solide ketch. A son bord il survivra à un terrible cyclone au large de la Polynésie. Mais voilà l’Atlantique Nord c’est une mer qui n’a pas forcément besoin d’un ouragan ou d’un cyclone pour être dangereuse. D’autre part un trimaran se comporte différemment qu’un  monocoque, surtout dans le très mauvais temps.

Au large de l’archipel des Açores, le comité de course perdra définitivement la trace de Manureva (ex-Pen Duick 4) et de son skipper atypique Alain Colas.

La fiche technique du Pen Duick IV (Manureva)

Informations sur la coque du navire.

Longueur: 20,80 mètres

largeur : 10,70 mètres (maître bau)

tirant d’eau : entre 80 centimètres et 2,40 mètres

année de construction: 1968

matériau : alliage d’aluminium (de type AG4MC)

déplacement : 8 tonnes

architecte: André Allégre

chantier naval: Chantiers et Ateliers de la Perrière (Lorient)

Voilure de Manureva (ex-Pen Duick IV)

type de gréement : ketch Marconi (deux mats et voiles avec la chute arrondie)

surface au près : 107 mètres carrés

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"Manureva", un tube qui vient de loin

En ce jour de départ du vendée globe, j’ai eu envie de vous raconter l’histoire d’un tube improbable, sorti en 1979, qui donne envie d’embarquer vers le grand large : "manureva" d'alain chamfort..

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Pourquoi définir Manureva comme un « tube improbable » ?

Tout simplement parce qu’en écoutant cette chanson, on a autant envie de danser que de pleurer. D’un côté, il y une mélodie « lancinante et dynamique » , selon les mots de son compositeur, Alain Chamfort, et de l’autre il y a des paroles assez tristes, signées Serge Gainsbourg. Elles évoquent un trimaran nommé Manureva, un terme tahitien qui signifie « l'oiseau du voyage ». C’est avec ce bateau que le navigateur Alain Colas a embarqué, en 1978, pour la Première Route du Rhum. Alors qu’il voguait parmi les premiers, soudainement, il n’a plus donné plus de nouvelles.

Ce qui, sur le moment, inquiétait le présentateur du JT d’Antenne 2, Patrick Poivre d'Arvor dans ce journal à partir de 8'45. 

Finalement, on n’a jamais retrouvé Alain Colas et son Manureva, c’est bien ça ?

Oui, et, évidemment il n’y a pas de fin pour tragique pour un skippeur. C’est pourquoi cette chanson qui raconte l’histoire, je cite, « d’un bateau fantôme », a quelque chose de glaçant. D’ailleurs, au départ, Chamfort était un peu gêné à l’idée de chanter un morceau consacré à Manureva. Mais Gaisbourg lui a répondu : 

T’inquiète pas Alain, c’est un hommage ». 

Et Chamfort a finalement accepté ces paroles, d’autant plus facilement qu’il détestait le premier texte que son complice lui avait envoyé pour accompagner sa mélodie.

Il y a donc eu une première version de Manureva ?

En fait à l’origine la chanson devait s’appeler Adieu California et elle ressassait des clichés associés à la culture américaine : il était question de Marilyn Monroe et de bouteilles de coca. Chamfort n’était pas convaincu et n’arrêtait pas de répéter à Gainsbourg qu’il devait retravailler sa copie, comme il l’a raconté à la SACEM en 2011 : 

Pourquoi L’homme à la tête de chou a-t-il finalement accepté d’écrire de nouvelles paroles ?

A cette époque, Serge Gainsbourg dîne un soir chez le marin Eugène Riguidel, qui navigue alors sur un trimaran dont Jane Birkin est la marraine. Le nom d’Alain Colas s’invite dans la conversation. Pour Gainsbarre, c’est la révélation : la chanson sur laquelle il travaille avec Chamfort s’appellera Manureva . Et, comme souvent, il a vu juste, car ce single va finalement s’écouler à un million d’exemplaires à travers le monde. Un succès inespéré pour une chanson de deuil, qui a failli faire l’apologie du coca-cola.

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De Pen Duick IV à Manureva, des records au naufrage

Après quelques désillusions sur les capacités de son trimaran - peu préparés pour participer aux grandes courses - Éric, Tabarly décide d'entreprendre une campagne aux États-Unis pour prouver les qualités marine de son trimaran. Les premiers records s'enchainent et c'est une deuxième "vie" qui attend le trimaran entre les mains d'Alain Colas.

Pour prouver les qualités de son trimaran – qui possède désormais un gréement classique – et le vendre aux États-Unis, Tabarly entame une traversée de l'Atlantique (La Trinité – Martinique ) quatre mois plus tard en équipage avec Alain Colas et Olivier de Kersauson . Obligé de s'abriter aux Canaries pour éviter des rafales à 70 nœuds, il pulvérise néanmoins tous les records avec une transatlantique de 10 jours et 11 heures, navigant à la vitesse moyenne de 11 nœuds sur cette route de 2640 milles.

Pen Duick IV participe ensuite de manière parallèle à la course Los Angeles – Honolulu, les trimarans n'y étant pas acceptés. Encore une fois, il marque les esprits en battant le record de plus de 24 heures, dépassant de plus de 20 heures le grand monocoque Windward Passag, l'un des bateaux les plus rapides de son époque. Un record qui ne manque pas d'intéresser le propriétaire de Windward Passag, qui finalement renoncera à l'achat du trimaran en raison de la rusticité des aménagements. Après le Panama et la Californie, Pen Duick IV continue donc sa croisière dans le Pacifique.

C'est lors de son retour vers la France – une escale à Nouméa à l'automne 1969 – que Tabarly vend Pen Duick IV à Alain Colas , un de ses équipiers. Le skipper visionnaire doit se séparer de l'un de ces bateaux pour solder des dettes imprévues et préfère au trimaran Pen Duick III, capable de participer à des courses classiques.

Après quelques navigations en Polynésie et un Sydney/Hobart hors course (les multicoques n'étant pas admis) il revient en métropole en 76 jours (Tahiti – La Réunion – La Réunion – LA Trinité). De retour en France, Alain Colas participe à la 4 e  édition de La Transat (1972) qu'il remporte magistralement en 20 jours et 13 heures, pulvérisant au passage tous les chronos. Il tentera le retour en mode record de l'Atlantique, mais échoue avec un temps de course de 17 jours et 8 heures.

En 1973, il décide de faire un tour du monde par les 3 caps en solitaire. A cet effet, il révise Pen Duick IV au sein de son chantier d'origine. Il renforce la flottabilité avant des 3 coques, ajoute des redans sous les flotteurs pour diminuer l'enfournement, remplace les mâts par des nouveaux et agrandie la surface de voile. Le bateau est rebaptisé Manureva. Il part pour sa circumnavigation en même temps que les concurrents de la Whitbread et boucle son tour du monde en héros, le 8 septembre 1973, après 10 000 milles parcourus en 169 jours !

Délaissant le trimaran pour la 5 e  édition de La Transat en 1976 pour le monocoque géant Club Méditerranée (72 m), il s'incline devant Éric Tabarly, à la barre de Pen Duick VI.

Pour l'édition suivante – 1978 –, les Anglais limitent la taille des bateaux à 60 pieds (18,28 m), mais une nouvelle course fait son apparition en France, la Route du Rhum, lancée par Michel Etevenon. Un nouveau défi pour Alain Colas qui prendra le départ à bord de Manureva . Une course sur laquelle disparaitront le skipper et son bateau au large des Açores le 16 novembre 1978… De nombreuses pistes ont été évoquées : voie d'eau , désintégration d'un bras de liaison ou encore abordage, mais les raisons de ce naufrage resteront irrésolues.

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Match : cat vs trimaran

Article published on 20/06/2020

By Dick Sawyer

published in n°14 aug. / sept.

Catamaran: Catamarans represent nearly 90% of the cruising multihulls that exist, and almost all of the multihulls that are over 40 feet in length. A simple glance at our Buyer’s Guide (MW169) will confirm this. Why are they so much more successful? We take a look at a few of the reasons.

Trimaran: If there was one area where the trimaran was trying to take its revenge, it was in two sectors: that of small craft and that of very high performance multihulls... but now there’s a new player – and of course this is Neel! They’ve come along and are reshuffling the cards in a game we thought had already been played...

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The catamaran’s geometry is very favorable for providing comfortable accommodation: two hulls wide enough to be habitable and the possibility of creating a large nacelle between the two. This central living area is directly connected with an enormous cockpit. As for the cabins, they are arranged at either end of each hull. This is the perfect configuration to find peace and quiet if the party is still going on in the saloon. And then there’s the fact that you can welcome friends or family in delightful conditions. For relaxation, you can count on beautiful sugarscoops, trampolines (or a forward deck) and why not a flybridge - from 40 feet and upwards. Maximum deck area that is perfectly safe – great for kids. Maneuvering in port? Having two off-center engines is very practical: you just invert the throttles and spin round on the spot! And if you suffer an engine failure, the other motor is there for you to continue on your route. The catamaran also has advantages in terms of load capacity. The two relatively load-bearing hulls - especially if their hull sections are semi-circular - are able to support a reasonable load. Some 45-foot cruising catamarans are capable of carrying nearly three tons of payload, whereas a trimaran of the same size will barely hold half that amount. If you’re heading off far away for a long time, stocking up on food and equipment with few or no restrictions is very appreciable

The fun of helming: that’s the expression that comes back on the lips of everyone who has sailed a trimaran. It’s true that most light trimarans respond wonderfully to the helm - especially if it’s tiller-steered. Their slight heel is somewhat reminiscent of a monohull in terms of feel - but the angle is limited to a few degrees. Tris are fun to helm, but also very fast. Usually lighter than catamarans, they require less sail area to lengthen their wake and post double-digit averages. If they’re equipped with a daggerboard, they keep a formidable course to windward. In terms of safety, three hulls are better than two that linked by a nacelle in the event of a hard blow: in fact, no trimarans (excepting the famous aluminum Manureva), can sink to the bottom... And as for maintenance? It’s easier of course to ...

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