''Daedalus'' is a maxi-

catamaran A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a watercraft with two parallel hull (watercraft), hulls of equal size. The wide distance between a catamaran's hulls imparts stability through resistance to rolling and overturning; no ballast is requi ...

, that participated in numerous open-ocean races under various owners and names.

History

Originally named ''Formule Tag'', this maxi-catamaran was built by

Canadair Canadair Ltd. was a Canadian civil and military aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1944 to 1986. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace, the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc. Canadai ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, Canada in 1983, under the supervision of

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

skipper Mike Birch and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

designer Nigel Irens. The yacht was built to compete in the inaugural

Transat Québec-Saint-Malo Transat may refer to: * Transat A.T., Canadian tour and travel agency ** Air Transat, Canadian airline owned by Transat A.T. * Concept Composites MD03 Transat, French ultralight aircraft * "The Transat", also called the Single-Handed Trans-Atlant ...

—a trans-

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

sailing race celebrating

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

's 1534 voyage from

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to present day

Québec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a population of 839,311. It is the twelfth -lar ...

. It was the largest sailing catamaran of its time, with a length of 85 feet, and participated in a number of races. In 1984 Birch and crew sailed her to a new record for a Day's run, sailing 512

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

s in 24 hours. In 1993, ''Formule Tag'' was purchased by

Robin Knox-Johnston Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston CBE RD* (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won in 1994 the s ...

and future two-time

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

winner Peter Blake. The two skippers renamed her ''ENZA New Zealand'' (ENZA an acronym for Eat New Zealand Apples). The two launched a 1993 attempt (thwarted by damage) on the

Jules Verne Trophy The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding t ...

for the fastest sail circumnavigation of the world. They captured the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994, circling the globe in 74 days 22 hours 17 minutes and 22 seconds. By 1998, British skipper

Tracy Edwards Tracy Edwards, MBE (born 5 September 1962) is a British sailor. In 1989 she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race, becoming the first woman to receive the Yachtsman of the Year Trophy and was appointed ...

had bought the yacht and renamed her ''Royal & SunAlliance''. Edwards and crew set a new record for an all-female crew sailing across the North Atlantic, at 9 days 11 hours 21 minutes and 55 seconds. Tracy and her crew broke a total of seven world records with the ''Royal & SunAlliance'', including a Channel Record that stood for three years. During their attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy, the ''Royal & SunAlliance'' was dismasted in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

. In 2000, Tony Bullimore purchased the yacht, renamed her ''Team Legato'', and lengthened her to 100 feet. ''Team Legato'' participated in the 2000/2001 circumnavigation sailing competition The Race, finishing fifth of the seven teams entered. By 2005, Bullimore had renamed her ''Daedalus''. While ''Daedalus'' finished second, of four yachts, in the 2005

Oryx Quest Oryx Quest was the name of the first round-the-world yacht race to start and finish in the Middle East and was held in February 2005 in Qatar. The race, organised by British sailor Tracy Edwards, was regarded as a follow-up to The Race of 2000 ...

circumnavigation sailing competition, Bullimore set a record during the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

leg at 11 days 10 hours 22 minutes and 13 seconds. In 2006, Tony Bullimore renamed her again to ''Doha'', and took her into another attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy – abandoning the attempt due to mechanical failure. By 2009, skipper Bullimore had renamed the yacht ''Spirit of Antigua''. The catamaran was entirely renovated in 2000 for The Race. It received new stems, making the hulls 4.6 metres longer. Another renovation in 2017 converted the boat to a hydrogen-powered vessel, the

Energy Observer Energy Observer, launched in April 2017, is the first vessel autonomous in energy thanks to a mix of renewable energy and renewable hydrogen produced onboard. Onboard hydrogeneration while sailing is possible, because 12 meter high Oceanwings have ...

Records and races

*Under the name ''Enza'' in 1994 :

(new record around the World), skippered by Peter Blake and

, in 74 days, 22 hours, 17 minutes et 22 seconds, with an average speed of 12 knots.WSSRC records
*Under the name ''Team Legato'' in 2000 : 5th position of The Race. *Under the name ''Daedalus'' in 2005 : 2nd position of the

References

{{s-end Individual catamarans Individual sailing vessels Sailing yachts built in Canada 1980s sailing yachts The Race yachts Oryx Quest yachts Oceanic Racing Multihulls