Spindrift, one of seven MOD70s built to date, flipped during one of the La Route des Princes inshore races off Dun Lagohaire. It was the first time a MOD70 has flipped. Unlike the tragic flipping of the AC72 Artemis on San Francisco Bay, skipper Yann Guichard didn't hesitate to explain exactly what happened:
"We had 22 to 24 knots of wind at the start line with gusts up to 30 knots at the lower end of the course. We were at the limit of weather conditions for our boats, and it was not great for racing. All the MODs had one reef in the main and staysail. We started a bit below and behind the fleet, and found ourselves slightly in a wind shadow. When our rivals had moved away, we had a sudden gust that flattened us. I was unable to do anything at the helm, the boat was turned over in a single blow. We let out the staysail immediately, but it was too late as it all happened in a split second. The boat was lifted onto the port float and went over. Jacques [Yann's brother] was with me in the cockpit and we found ourselves in the net. We managed to get out and then were airlifted. The mast broke in two when Spindrift turned over. The frame of the trimaran was towed away to port."Because the MOD70s have soft sails and are a strict one design, they can be built and maintained for a fraction of the cost of just the wing sail for an AC72 catamaran. MOD70s are longer, depowered versions of the ORMA 60 tris and, because they have safely raced across the Atlantic at higher speeds than any vessel under 100 feet, they would se
em to be less likely to flip than the 72s.
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