La Roche-Posay Racing Team Chases a Dying Morning Breeze in Naples
La Roche-Posay Racing Team recorded its earliest dock-out of the Naples campaign on November 5, 2026, rolling its AC75 B1 out of the shed at 08:00 and leaving the dock at 09:27 to catch a morning breeze of just 6 to 8 knots — even as the day’s weather log recorded the wind later gusting to 15 to 16 knots, Sail-World reported. The French team spent 1 hour 55 minutes on the water across five runs, but the detailed session log shows actual sailing time of just 1 hour 8 minutes, from 09:53 to 11:50, before the breeze turned southerly and died.
The contrast defined the day: the crew compressed its morning checks to sail in light air, only to find the strongest wind of the day arriving after the sails were dropped around 12:00.
Crew Performs Five Runs with Foiling Tactics
B1 sailed with the MN3-1 mainsail, while the J2-1 and J4-3 jibs were loaded on the chase boat and hoisted just outside the marina at 09:42. The crew was Diego Botin and Quentin Delapierre on helm, Jason Saunders and Florian Trittel on trim and flight control, Maelenn Lemaitre in position five, and electronics engineer Thibaut Campas in position six, with Leigh McMillan riding in the starboard aft guest pod.
Across five tow-started runs, the team logged 9 tacks — 6 fully foiling and 3 touch-and-go, with no touch-downs — and 9 gybes, of which 5 were fully foiling, 3 touch-and-go and 1 ended in a touch-down. Run 2 was sailed as windward-leeward laps between gates roughly 1.75 nautical miles apart south-west of Nisida, completing three and a half laps with upwind legs of 5 to 6.5 minutes and downwind legs of 4 to 5 minutes. From around 11:00 the breeze softened and became patchy, bringing B1 close to the foiling limit; some tack exits were sailed very low and some gybe exits very high to keep the boat on its foils, and average leg speeds dropped on run 3. Run 4 lasted two minutes in a dying breeze, and run 5 was a short upwind in 3 to 4 knots after a long tow east toward Bagnoli in search of wind.
Rucard on Dock Tune Numbers and Heel
Boat captain Antoine Rucard told Sail-World the early dock-out was a test of the technical team’s process, with morning checks compressed to make use of the morning breeze. He said the dock tune requires accurate numbers, describing a complex setup with fibre optics and load cells throughout the boat, and said the team was “trying to match the target numbers and getting closer.”
He quipped that he no longer rides as a guest after the last time he was aboard the boat flipped, adding that he joins the crew when something new and risky is being tested. From the chase boat, he explained that heel concerns him most because it brings the rudder close to the surface, risking its loss.
Afternoon Rig Session Targets Lower Shrouds
After B1 docked in at 12:16 and the lift-out was delayed by an issue with the forward lifting support of the trailer, the shore team held the boat on the crane to inspect and clean the hull section resting on the aft trailer support. From around 14:10, with the mast still stepped and B1 on the trailer, the team began a new rig session focused on the lower shrouds: the forestay was eased, the mast held on jib halyard tensioned with the hydraulic pump, and a shore crew member was hoisted up the mast to fit a sensor at the starboard lower-shroud-to-mast fitting, most plausibly to measure lower shroud load. Campas was on deck. B1 was back in the shed at 14:30.
The afternoon work follows cap shroud load readings taken during the Day 20 rig tune and is consistent with rig characterization still under way, now extended to the lower shrouds.
Team Confirms Sailing Duration Mismatch
Which boat did La Roche-Posay Racing Team sail in Naples on November 5, 2026?
The team sailed B1, its AC75, with the MN3-1 mainsail and the J2-1 jib hoisted outside the marina.
How long did the team actually spend sailing that day?
The session summary lists 1 hour 55 minutes, but the recon log records sailing from 09:53 to 11:50, or 1 hour 8 minutes, across five runs.
Why did the team dock out so early?
Boat captain Antoine Rucard said it was the team’s earliest dock-out so far, a test of compressing the technical team’s morning checks to sail in the morning breeze before it died.
What rig work happened after sailing ended?
From around 14:10 the team worked on the lower shrouds, fitting a sensor at the starboard lower-shroud-to-mast fitting, most plausibly to measure shroud load.
After Day 19 in Naples, the team was still trying to match its dock-tune target numbers, with lower-shroud work extending the rig characterization.
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