Innovative Rig
Jean-Pierre Dick and Loïck Peyron have won the Barcelona World Race on Virbac-Paprec 3, completing the 25,200 miles round the world race in 93 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes and 36 seconds. For Jean-Pierre Dick the victory repeats his triumph in the inaugural edition of the round the world race for crews of two. Southern Spars was one of their main suppliers. Photo Courtesy of Nico Martinez / Barcelona World Race.
The latest win also adds an elusive round the world victory to Peyron’s two previous podium finishes, each ten years apart – second in 1989-90 in the inaugural Vendée Globe solo round the world race, and second in The Race in 2000, for fully crewed giant multihulls.
Minimum Weight
Southern Spars would like to acknowledge the outstanding performance, and note they supplied the mast and EC6 Continuous rigging for Virbac-Paprec 3 with a design brief to keep weight to an absolute minimum while providing maximum performance. The result was a classic 29m mast with two sets of spreaders and utilising one backstay cable rather than three as in the past. This innovation was as a result of the desire to save weight and expose a smaller surface to the wind.
Expert Design
The VP3 team comments, “This has been our third build with Southern Spars who once again stood out as our preferred mast and rigging supplier. A lot of development has gone into our new rig; made possible by the expert design, project management and build skills that Southern has on hand.
Mark Hauser from Southern Spars comments, “We’re delighted for the Virbac-Paprec 3 team and what they have achieved. It’s also great to see a Southern Spars mast and EC6 rigging package once again be part of the winning formula, racing 25,000 miles and performing in every condition possible.”