Command station - IMOCA60 cockpit

In the centre of most IMOCA60 cockpits is a mass of control lines and coloured balls that look more like a weaving loom than the command station of an offshore 60footer.
Team Malizia co-skipper Will Harris talked us through what the lines do and what life is like drving an IMOCA60 at speed from inside the greenhouse.

[@rg3412]

I hope your channel explodes in popularity because the stuff you put out is always high quality and frankly largely ignored by other sailing media out there.

[@josedacunhafilho]

Couldn't agree more.

[@tm502010]

Wow! Cruising community needs to take a lesson from this. Protected single handed control. Remarkable!

[@edwardtupper6374]

I have long thought on bringing all my lines underfloor aft to the helm and adding an enclosed watch house but crikey she's a lot of work

[@weatheranddarkness]

@@edwardtupper6374 even for an IMOCA teams it makes way more sense to build the boat with this sort of thing in mind, rather than retrofitting. Bumped into a story last month maybe about a team that were going to do this but they went and did a new hull instead, unless it was rebuilding the entire deck from scratch?

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

Brilliant explanation! Thank you!

[@jeffyonkus2149]

Amazing bit of technology. Thanks for sharing

[@moefoemonkey]

These things are on another level

[@TomSnyder--theJaz]

Impressive the sailor can understand the control lines. All I see is a pile of spaghetti! Cheers

[@multihullminion9201]

Man these guys need rotary windshield wipers

[@WojciechP915]

I love running all the lines to one central area, but those release lines on beads are kind of dumb. I would rather just have some kind of lever lock. Also what happens when the hatch is closed and pinches all those release lines?

[@keithc5729]

Nice! A tour of an imoa 60 in the English language. I am a big fan of the French sailors but I can't understand a word they are saying.

[@skyak4493]

This was excellent, but hearing it from Samantha Davies is the best -Beautiful voice in english or french. Seriously,we are lucky to have her in sailing 'cause I am sure she could make bigger bucks doing voice-overs.

[@giant3dorangutanmodel89]

Apparently Alex Thomson hit about 50kts in the 2020 Globe race Which is pretty scary

[@GregoryVeizades]

Jesus, that's AC75 boat speed.... That is incredible.

[@giant3dorangutanmodel89]

@@GregoryVeizades Yep, couldn't imagine doing that solo haha

[@philippesails4973]

50 kn WS, not SOG

[@k.a.davison9897]

Each to his own I guess. Never have understood the desire to race. At 7 knots I still get there and have enjoyed the passage, thank you. Still interesting to see how others go about it.

[@AlexandreAubrey]

It is said that boat racing has been around ever since the second boat was launched ;)

[@k.a.davison9897]

@@AlexandreAubrey Yes, I imagine so. I have heard that the second woman said, "Eve, I'm prettier than you." Competition has always existed for some. Me? I'll be keeping it at 7 and keeping the old blood pressure in check. But I'll keep an eye out for you entertaining racer boys.

[@johnmartlew5897]

K. A. Davison .....what I enjoyed most about racing around the marks with our local club was how much I learned about my boat in general, and fast response boat handling. All of it made cruising much safer when things go even a little wrong. This kind of racing is rarely over 5-6 knots anyway.

[@ppapdddar6159]

K. A. Davison, if you like it at 7 knots... you will love it at 40+ knots.

[@edwardtupper6374]

What if you had all your tails running through self retractable reels like a seat belt or a vacuum cleaner, a bit of extra weight but practically guarantee you'll never have a birds nest on your hands.

[@jazldazl9193]

next version

[@ttgy6957]

Sci-fi sailing yatch :- O

[@michaelkeaton5394]

are you going to talk about the imoca fruit the only two time winner of Le vandée globe in the world sadly rotting in brest's harbor ?

[@user-vd4uj6bb9k]

Формула-1 )))

[@cotedazure]

you'd think the grinder would be designed as bike pedals

[@phpn99]

Pretty soon you won't need humans inside boats. Drive this ship from your PlayStation console.

[@Owenlightowler]

seamanship out the window... they haven't got a clue what's infront of them.

[@freefinancialadvice]

They’ve got cameras on the bow and mast and monitors in the cockpit.

[@Owenlightowler]

@@freefinancialadvice just remind you that the organisers of the volvo ocean race had no idea how many fishermen were plowed over and killed in Hong Kong harbour. Staring at a screen might work on flat water less than 10 knots. These push 40 knots, anything under 10 knots is practically stationary. I am genuinely impressed by these boats but as a sailor myself I think it should be better recognised the dangers these boats pose.

[@Daytonaman675]

@@Owenlightowler The nighttime accident occurred Friday during the round-the-world competition's fourth leg between Melbourne and Hong Kong, when the Vestas 11th Hour Racing team of United States competitor Mark Towill and Spaniard Roberto Bermúdez de Castro collided with the fishing boat in Chinese waters outside Hong Kong. Likely no running lights -