Fabrice Amedeo, ready to take on the Défi Azimut
aboard his new IMOCA Open 60.
The IMOCA racing season kicks off with an exciting competition, the Azimuth Challenge.
Fabrice Amedeo is about to set sail on his brand new yacht, christened "Nexans - Art et Fenêtres".
- - Onet x Amedeo
What is the Azimuth Challenge?
As well as being a challenge in its own right, this race also serves as a qualifier for the prestigious Vendée Globe 2024, attracting 35 skipper duos to an intense confrontation on the high seas. Starting today, these daring sailors will embark on the 48-hour offshore event, braving demanding sea conditions over a course of 626 nautical miles. A real warm-up awaits Fabrice Amedeo and his co-skipper Andreas Baden.
A new IMOCA,
to match Fabrice Amedeo's commitment
Less than eight months after facing shipwreck in the Route du Rhum, Fabrice Amedeo and his team have achieved a remarkable feat by launching their brand new IMOCA. This boat embodies the values rooted in the heart of the sailor and the Onet Group. It is the fruit of a meticulous transformation: during the six-month refit, the team removed the foils, lightened the boat considerably, and modernized all its electronics and autopilots. The result is a new boat with an old hull, ready to face the challenges of the oceans.
This yacht is more than ever in line with our project and its values. Derived from an old IMOCA that we have modernized, it allows us to be in phase with the increasingly pressing need for sobriety in our society. Simple, light and reliable, it's in tune with our humility in the face of the elements and global warming, which is making offshore air masses increasingly unstable and single-handed sailing in the southern seas more and more difficult.
A laboratory boat for environmental research
The IMOCA will play an essential role as a laboratory boat. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art sensors financed by Onet, such as a CO2, salinity and temperature sensor, aimed at better understanding the consequences of global warming on the oceans. In addition, a microplastics sensor will study plastic pollution, while an environmental DNA sensor will help to better understand marine biodiversity. This research will be carried out in collaboration with leading scientific and oceanographic institutes, including Ifremer, the University of Bordeaux, IRD, Geomar and the Max Planck Institute.
Onet and its employees with Fabrice Amedeo
during this first race
Onet, along with its employees, would like to express its support for Fabrice Amedeo and his co-skipper in this first race.
The Group's involvement in numerous shared events(beach clean-ups, school visits, conferences, etc.) reflects a collective commitment to the energy transition, marine scientific research and ocean preservation.
The Azimuth Challenge is the start of an exciting new era for Fabrice Amedeo and his new boat.
Together, they are paving the way for environmentally-friendly navigation and scientific exploration of the oceans, while reminding us of the importance of preserving our planet for future generations.
Happy racing to Fabrice Amedeo and the whole team for this exciting and demanding competition.