Origin of Apparent Wind Activities
AWA : Apparent Wind Activities
We love to work and naviguate on a variety of watercraft, including offshore racing trimarans, fast sailboats, foilers, wingfoils and kiteboards. Conducting computational fluid dynamics calculations for large racing sailboats, designing and producing ultra-small quantities of surfoils for renowned brands, or small prototypes in our barn workshop.
As a result, every drawer, every bunk, every piece of equipment is designed with the same level of care as the foil that lift a 10tons+ boat, just because we love doing that.
This just makes us better at what we do, and surround our creations of a productive and creative ecosystem.
Central to all our pursuits is the generation of apparent wind, a phenomenon that empowers us to achieve speeds far exceeding the actual wind.
The velocity of our watercraft produces its own wind, which we skillfully harness to enhance our performance. A design that is optimized for apparent wind angles not only facilitates remarkable speeds, but also unrivaled flexibility on the water. This allows for sailing exceptionally close to the wind and swiftly downwind under contemporary sailplans.
The apparent wind and its angle can be easily located on any boat's instrument panel, denoted by the acronym AWA (Apparent Wind Angle).
Loïc & Julien
Loïc Goepfert
Naval architect
His academic background consists of a double degree completed in 1995 at UTC Compiègne and prestigious Southampton University, which allowed him to acquire solid technical expertise and a capacity to innovate.
Founder and CEO of Alibi catamarans from 2005 to 2020. He created a new state of the art in the luxury catamaran segment by combining speed, stability, and comfort, offering unique sailing experiences. The Alibi 54' and 65' catamarans are still among the most sought after by experienced sailors today.
He is currently working as part of Guillaume Verdier team for the GITANA Ultim, Ferrari Hypersail,11th Hour Ocean Race and Magic Carpet E
Former professional sailor on SOPRA trimaran, participated in the French Match Racing Championship and the Tour Voile.
Julien Boucher
Designer
Graduated from the renowned Institut Superieur de Design for product design and from Polytechnico di Genova for naval architecture in 2012.
He began his career as a design leader at the Alibi Catamaran shipyard, under the direction of Loïc Goepfert and then take the design lead at Decathlon Kiteboarding.
Currently supporting several startups in the naval tech sector (Alloy, Accwing, Taaroa...)
Julien is also developping a new innovative design approaches on several offshore racing projects, including the Gitana Ultim trimaran and Ferrari Hypersail alongside Loïc and Guillaume Verdier.
Julien was a student athlete from the age of 12 to 19. He spent his youth racing in catamarans up to the international level.