THE NEW FIGARO 3

Will be a VPLP design, probably with a big hand from Verdier. The boat seems very elegant with a sharp bow, a considerable beam all pulled back a fixed keel and "conventional" foils, a beautiful boat.

But I have to say that I would have preferred any of the two other designs that made to the final. They did not identified the other two finalists, just posted the photos, but I would say that it is clear that this one  from Manuard/Conq and the one that I would have preferred:

Yes, certainly less elegant but offering a lot more spay protection, a view to the outside from the interior (allowing  sleeping on the interior while keeping an eye on the traffic) a more rounded bow (with lots of buoyancy)  and a more advanced kind of foils featuring DSS and adding more lift. It features also a fixed keel. The VPLP design will probably offer a better upwind performance but I would say that this one will smoke it downwind while offering also a decent upwind performance. Certainly the best design in what regards Transats.

Finally the one that I guess is from Mer Forte ( Desjoyeaux), the only one featuring a canting keel with foils not very different from the ones proposed by VPLP. The bow seems to be just a bit more rounded than on the winner proposition but a lot less than on the Manuard/Conq design. Also a very beautiful boat.

I would love to see a canting keel on this boats not only for performance but also in what regards development of simpler and very reliable systems whose technology could be transferred later to performance cruisers. The price of this boat, ready to sail (and with all tax paid) has to cost between 150 000 and 200 000 euros and that would have implied the development of an inexpensive canting keel mechanism.