Pen Duick VI - 250,000 nautical miles in the logbook

The sixth Pen Duick was designed for IOR (International Offshore Rule) races, in particular the first Whitbread, the fully-crewed round-the-world race held in 1973/74. Nevertheless, however strange it may seem, the large aluminium ketch measuring 22 metres would enjoy her greatest moment of glory after her historic victory in the single-handed transatlantic race in 1976. Eric Tabarly himself stated that it was his finest ever victory. She would then go on to have a formidable career sailing on all the oceans of the world teaching deep-sea navigation to countless crewmen and women, some of whom would become famous. She is now based in St-Malo and continues to introduce people to the joys of oceanic sailing throughout the world.

An original finance package.
In 1973, the date of the creation of the Whitbread race, no large "classic" boat had ever crossed into the southern hemisphere in competition. Eric Tabarly designed Pen Duick VI specifically for this programme, as well as the other IOR races. The race offered a complete route through calms, trades and downwind in storms.
The construction of such a large yacht in aluminium alloy at the Brest arsenal –almost thirty tonnes- required a considerable budget. Tabarly had no real personal fortune. At the beginning of the 70s, sponsorship had not yet been developed and the Breton yachtsman wished to keep the name Pen Duick. The financial package put together for the sixth Pen Duick marked its time through its originality and prefigured the sponsorship deals of the 80s. The package was devised by Michel Leberre, advertising executive, and Gérard Petipas, who had sailed for many years with Tabarly. A pool of suppliers united with a common goal would participate in the primary expenses.

1973. Unlucky Whitbread.
André Mauric, an architect from Marseilles and rule boat specialist, particularly attentive to the delicate problem of the equilibrium of vessels, was selected for the design of Pen Duick VI. With her 32 tonnes of weight, 25-metre high main mast, 150 m2 jibs and 350m2 spinnakers, Pen Duick VI is one of the most beautiful boats in the world. From her first trials on she proved to be particularly fast, powerful and balanced. But against all expectations two dismastings ruined any hopes of her winning the round-the-world race that set off from Portsmouth in September 1973. On her way back to Europe, Pen Duick VI rounded Cape Horn on 2 March 1974. Nevertheless, as two ocean crossings reveal, from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town and Cape Town to Sydney, the ruthlessly manned large class 1 yacht was capable of performances never seen before in the history of offshore racing. Even though the yacht was not classified, the crew of Pen Duick VI enjoyed some exceptional moments. For the first time, Éric and his crew were able to stare at the rocky mass of Cape Horn which peaks et 400 metres. Bernard Rubinstein, Bernard Deguy, Marc Pajot, Mikaël Leberre, and the “veterans” like Olivier de Kersauson took part in the voyage. Three of Tabarly’s boats would successfully round the infamous Cape in 1974. Pen Duick III skippered by Marc Linsky left Tahiti in her trail and headed back to Europe after a long voyage in the Pacific. Manuréva, ex-Pen Duick IV, manned by Alain Colas, also set off from Sydney on her return journey to France via the Horn.

The large yacht then took part in other events. She raced in the classic 1974 Bermuda race and the 1975 Fastnet. That year she won the Atlantic Triangle, a large loop starting in St-Malo, heading down the Atlantic, stopping over in Cape Town, on to Rio and back to Portsmouth. Eric took a young crew on board whose lives would be changed forever. Eric Loizeau, Philippe Poupon and Pierre Lenormand all remember magic moments aboard.
During the Rio stopover, Tabarly learned that it would be impossible to build the multihull he was dreaming of for the next OSTAR in June 76. He took the huge gamble of entering the race on Pen Duick VI which underwent a few small modifications. Given that competitors have to perform a qualification route of 500 nautical miles with their yacht, Tabarly disembarked his crew for a few days in Brazil and headed out to sea alone to complete the formality.
More obstinate than ever, Tabarly won his bet. A few months later he sailed to Plymouth to take part in a single-handed transatlantic race on board a yacht designed for a crew of fourteen. 1976 was the year of extravagance. One hundred and twenty boats took part in the event. Vendredi 13 (40m) was one of the starters. But the favourite was the 72-metre long four-master Club Méditerranée, skippered by Alain Colas, the winner in 1972.

1976. Triumphant Transat.
Against all expectations, with some people even thinking she had disappeared, Pen Duick VI came out of the fog in Newport on the morning of the 23rd day of racing. She had crossed through four strong depressions, turned back and then continued. She finished ahead of Club Méditerranée who had to call into port in Newfoundland for sail repairs. Nobody noticed the yacht as she crossed the finish line and she sailed on into port. It was only then that Éric Tabarly learned he had won his second Transat.
He told the first journalists who stepped on board how difficult the race had been with five violent depressions and autopilot failure which almost led him to retire. "The fifth depression was the worst. The wind wasn’t very strong, but the waves were very sheer. There was an abyss that opened in front of the boat. She went into freefall. It made an awful noise. The boat had never been hit so hard. She had never been so shaken before. My wind gauge which goes up to 60 knots was blocked for several hours. It’s a lovely sight when you see the sea white with foam swell up volleys of spray on the crest of waves. It’s also a sign that the wind is really blowing hard.” Of the 120 boats at the start, 40 did not finish and two competitors were tragically lost at sea.

Playing Hooky.
The crew of Pen Duick VI played hooky in the Pacific. In order to get to Auckland for the round-the-world race in 78, Tabarly and his merry men crossed the Pacific from Los Angeles to Tahiti. They danced the Tamouré in the Marquise islands, played football against the natives of the Tuamotu Isles and picked bananas and coconuts in Gambiers. It was a fantastic learning experience for the young crew who included Titouan Lamazou, Jean-Louis Etienne, Jean-François Coste, Philippe Poupon and Olivier Petit...
In 1981, Pen Duick VI was renamed Euromarché for the third Whitbread. The yacht was given a complete overhaul at the Pouvreau de Vix shipyard in the Vendée department of France: a new keel weighing twelve tonnes with a draft of 3.90 m, a new engine, remodeling of the hull bodywork disfigured by thousands of miles, rewiring of the electrical circuits, modernization of part of the upper works, and, more generally, a serious attempt to reduce the weight of the yacht by about 4 tonnes. But the other yachts had also progressed architecturally and Euromarché only finished in tenth place out of the 20 classified boats.

Today
Successive rule changes and constant technological improvements borrowed from the aeronautical domain mean the performance of Pen Duick VI is obsolete today. But her marine qualities make her a fine offshore cruising vessel. From Greenland to the Antarctic, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, she never stops teaching life at sea to her young apprentices. She mainly belongs to the Tabarly family, as well as to the « Pen Duick Cruising Club ». The winner of the 76 OSTAR performs cruises around the world under the management of Arnaud Dhallenne. Since 1986 the large black ketch has crossed the Atlantic each year to spend the winter in the West Indies, returning to St-Malo in the spring. This means that for the last fifteen years she has logged about 10,000 nautical miles a year. In 2002, after accompanying the competitors at the start of the Route du Rhum in St-Malo, she again headed for the West Indies for the winter. She is due back in France at Easter and will be sailing in the English Channel until early summer. She will then be based in the Mediterranean before leaving Europe again for the cold climate of the Antarctic and finally heading back up to the Pacific. (Info: www.club-penduick.com)

On board Pen Duick VI
“In 1981, for her third round-the-world race, she was fairly out of date. She was much heavier than the other yachts. The foresails weighed tonnes and everything was so tight it could break under maximum tension. Maneuvers were really physical and every time Eric was on the deck. During the second leg (Indian Ocean), we tore our nine spinnakers. But just feeling the monster hurtle down the slopes was really impressive. There was no way Eric was going to ease up, even though the equipment was breaking around us.”
Jean Le Cam / Extract from Bateaux Magazine