VANNES, France — The 110-foot-long, 56-foot wide Club Med nears the final stages of construction at the Multiplast yard in France as it prepares for the round-the-globe event known as The Race. Fifty employees at the Mulitplast yard have finished the platform and connected the carbon-fiber cross beam. The rudders have yet to be built, as the finish work in the interior remains as does the installation of the boat?s electrical and electronics systems, and its stepping of the 136-foot mast. After launching, the 56-foot wide Club Med will be based in La Trinit?-sur-Mer and will start sea trials and crew training in early May.
New Zealander Grant Dalton plans to launch the vessel in April and his supporters say that additional sponsors have begun clamoring aboard. CEOs for Club Med and the Danone Group announced recently the catamaran Club Med will be a circumnavigating billboard for the Danone Group and its drink "Actmel." The name of the active milk will be prominently displayed on the the mainsail. Crew selection continues under the eyes of New Zealander Grant Dalton and its members could span eight nations.
Dalton who will co-skipper the boat, is in the midst of selecting his crew. He has five round-the-world races behind him, and won The Whitbread Race twice.