These spectacular images and aerial footage of the new Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild have emerged after the boat took to the water for a test sail in Brittany.

Launched on 7 August in Vannes, after an eleven-month build at the Multiplast yard, these amazing pictures were taken during a test sail during challengeing conditions off Lorient.

Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier (his co-skipper for the Transat Jacques Vabre) tested the machine in boisterous conditions with winds topping 35 knots and a 3-metre swell. It proved to be a rather bracing sail which photographer Thierry Martinez and cameraman Christophe Castagne captured in full…

Scroll down for the full story and specifications:

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

At the start of this week, on Monday 24 August, the weather reports announced that a particularly active and deep low was set to roll across Brittany, dishing up 28 to 35 knots of north-westerly breeze accompanied by a 3-metre swell.

Sébastien Josse and Charles Caudrelier saw it as the perfect opportunity to test the Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild’s performance in blustery conditions and get these fantastic images whilst they were sailing:

“It was really interesting to get a chance to sail in these boisterous conditions on what was only our 3rd outing! Our current phase is all about discovering and breaking-in the boat. Even though this type of sailing is giving us some positive signs as to how the boat handles, these outings are just sprints for now so they’re much too short to draw any real conclusions from them. We’ll have to wait till the finish of the Transat Jacques Vabre for that. The very demanding 5,400-mile course (nearly quarter of a round the world circuit) offered up by this double-handed transatlantic race serves as a fantastic trial run,” explained the skipper of Edmond de Rothschild.

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

With a little less than two months till the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, which sets sail on 25 October from Le Havre, the pace is picking up.

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

Indeed, to stand a chance of being ready to set sail for Brazil, the Edmond de Rothschild duo has a very tight schedule to stick to. In this way, the training sessions will intensify, notably including a 1,000 nautical mile qualifier aboard the new boat, and every opportunity for time on the water will be exploited to the full as Sébastien Josse stresses: “ If we get a chance to go sailing, we’re going.”

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

©Th.Martinez/Sea&Co

Technical Specifications:
LOA: 20.10m
Waterline length: 18.28m
Beam: 5.70m

Air draught: 29m
Water draught: 4.50m
Displacement (weight): 7.6 tonnes
Keel bulb weight: 3 tonnes
Maximum upwind and downwind sail area: 290m2 / 490m2
Number of sails permitted aboard: 8 (1 mainsail, 7 headsails)
M2 of living space: 10m2
Number and type of daggerboards: 2 foils
Source of on-board energy production: generators coupled to the diesel engine + hydrogenerators
Naval architects: Guillaume Verdier / VPLP Yacht Design
Yard: Multiplast (Vannes)
Rudders: C3 Technologies
Daggerboards: Heol Composites
Keel: AMPM (La Mothe-Achard)
Mast: Lorima (Lorient)
Start of construction: September 2014
Launch: 7 August 2015