Guillaume Verdier is a French

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

noted for his designs of high performance sailboats.

Life

Verdier was born 28 September 1970. From 1990 to 1993 he studied at MSc in Yacht and Powercraft Design at what is now Southampton Solent University before moving to do a post graduate master at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

in Naval Architecture from 1994 to 1995. On completing his degree and then became a member f Naval Architecture Research Department of the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

developing design tools.

Awards

In 2016, the Solent University, his alma mater, awarded him with an honorary doctorate of engineering degree.

Career

Verdier was recruited in 1997 by the company Finot-Conq, Which is known for its designs of 60-foot sailboats. He worked notably on the development of

Christophe Auguin Christophe Auguin, (born 10 December 1959 in Granville, Manche), is a French yachtsman. He is the only one sailor to have won three single-handled sailing races around the globe: the BOC Challenge twice (1990-1991 and 1994-1995) and the Vendée Glob ...

's Geodis,

Yves Parlier Yves Parlier (born 14 November 1960) is a French sailor. He is very well known in the offshore sailing world and generally in France, where he waFrance's top sports personality in 2002. Nicknamed "The extra-terrestrial" for his amazing exploit ...

's Aquitaine Innovations and on the conception of ''Sodebo'', ''Somewhere'' and on ''PRB 3'' as well, the winner of the

Vendée Globe --> The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, w ...

in 2000–2001 with

Michel Desjoyeaux Michel Desjoyeaux (born 16 July 1965 in Concarneau) is a French sailor, known for competing successfully in several long-distance single-handed races. He won the Vendée Globe race in 2000-01 and 2008–09, making him the only person to win t ...

. In 2001, he founded his own company, whose first design was the Yves Parlier's ''Hydraplaneur''. In 2004, he was part of the design team for the Areva Challenge, which participated in 2007

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

. From 2006, he began working with naval architects

Marc Van Peteghem Marc Van Peteghem is a French naval architect, co-founder of VPLP (Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost) a French based naval architectural firm, since 1983. Studies Born on January 9, 1957, in Paris, Marc Van Peteghem studied at Southampton Solent Uni ...

et Vincent Lauriot-Prévost of

VPLP design VPLP design (Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost) is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently ...

. Together, they created numerous 60-foot boats: * ''Safran'' * ''Groupe Bel'' for the Vendée Globe 2006–2007, * ''PRB 5'', * ''Virbac Paprec 3'', * ''Banque populaire'' and * ''Macif'' In 2010, he joined the

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

to design the

AC72 The AC72 (America's Cup 72 class) is a class of wingsail catamarans built to a box rule, which governs the construction and operation of yachts competing in the 2013 Louis Vuitton and the America's Cup races. The class was subsequently replaced ...

with the team of

Grant Dalton Grant Stanley Dalton (born 1 July 1957) is a New Zealand sailor who has competed in five Whitbread Round the World Races and currently manages Team New Zealand. Background Dalton is a professional sailor who started sailing at the age 8 in th ...

for the

in 2013. He contributed to the development of foils that permitted the sailboat to leave the surface of the water and to attain speeds in excess of 40

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot may also refer to: Places * Knot, Nancowry, a village in India Archaeology * Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life. * Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot Arts, entertainme ...

. In 2014, he designed the

monohull image:monohull.svg, right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull (watercraft), hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple ...

''Comanche'' with the intention of creating the fastest monohull in the world. Following his experience with ETNZ, Verdier worked on ''Banque populaire VIII'' of Armel Le Cléac'h, a 60-foot monohull launched in 2015. In 2017 the

trimaran A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...

Maxi, designed for Edmond de Rothschild, was launched.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdier, Guillaume 1970 births Living people French naval architects Alumni of Solent University Alumni of the University of Southampton University of Copenhagen alumni 21st-century French architects French yacht designers