Owners' Gathering - Terribly Smart in Martinique

Marsaudon Composites shipyard is an exception to the rule in the French marine industry. Racing boatbuilder, prototype-restorer, subcontractor to renowned shipyards, respected mold-maker, they are also the creators of a family of catamarans among the fastest in the world: the TS. Multihulls World first started telling you about them when we tested the TS5 (in MW160) and the TS42 (in MW142) in Brittany following their respective launches at the yard. Their fun event back in January, in the warm and breezy waters of the Lesser Antilles was an opportunity to further our knowledge of these two seductive boats - thanks to the crews of Addictive Sailing, Amalia, Baie du Monde 2, Elektra, Flotte, Halucine, Liman, One Way, Passion and Sea Fox.

Full-on trade winds

Bringing together nine TS out of a fleet of around thirty for this first meeting of owners in Martinique was quite a challenge, but one that the team from Lorient in western France was keen to take up for its second year at the helm. The result? Undoubtedly a real success in terms of conviviality, but also a memorable gathering of sailors on the water. The trade winds were already well-established. Between Le Marin, Sainte Anne, the Anses d’Arlet, the bay of Fort-de-France and with legs which cut very close to the emblematic Diamond Rock, the courses prepared by Fred Blandin and Régis Guillemot provided a life-size fast test-track for our speed machines. On the short courses, the difference between the TS5 and the 42 remained surprisingly modest, as the virtuosity of these 12.98m (42’7”) cats seemed able to rival their bigger sisterships. During the more open races and in stronger conditions (25 to 38 knots), the stride of the TS5s under mainsail with one reef and gennaker proved unstoppable. Never less than 15 knots shown on the GPS, often between 17 and 21 with peaks in excess of 24: the TS5s really bring out the big guns! However, the 52 Bay of World 2 was never very far away. Our TS5 Addictive Sailing, launched in November and sailed across the Atlantic in December, was a beautiful version (carbon bulkheads and floors) and despite being slightly overweight due to her charter vocation (paddleboards, large watermaker and other charter kit) and hedonistic victualling, there were times we were able to compete with the undisputed favorite of the fleet, Halucine. This TS5, perfectly optimized for performance, already winner in her class of the 2019 Multihull Trophy, was crewed by the Guillemot cousins and their crew. The technical uniformity of the fleet, in these tough conditions, favored close racing, to the benefit of the solo sailors. And the general motivation, in invigorating and generously gusty trade winds, enabled them to demonstrate both the skippers' mastery, and the tolerance of the machines, which were sometimes pushed to the limit. At 25 to 30 knots, all the catamarans were under full mainsail. During the last race (From Anse d'Arlet to Le Marin, passing inside Diamond ...