Francis Joyon and his crew returned, on Wednesday, to Code Amber during their stand-by wait for appropriate conditions to embark on their new attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record. The IDEC SPORT skipper, along with his onshore router Dutchman Marcel van Triest, is gearing up for a possible departure from Ushant on Saturday 12 November.
Even if the situation in the North Atlantic is deteriorating, it remains favorable enough for the team to make it to the Equator in under 6 days, and – as we write these lines – the Cape of Good Hope in under 13 days. Francis Joyon and Marcel van Triest are continuing to keep a watch on the evolution of major weather patterns in the Atlantic, fine-tuning their analyses day by day to confirm – or reject – the viability of crossing the starting line on Saturday.
After a return to Code Red on Sunday 6 November, following the partial opening of a hopeful weather window in the Atlantic, the whole crew of the maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT – Alex Pella, Gwénolé Gahinet, Boris Herrmann, Bernard Stamm and Clément Surtel – is once again shifting into the pre-departure mode associated with Code Amber, as they envisage the possibility of setting off on their world tour on Saturday. Marcel van Triest notes that a departure on Saturday would offer advantageous sailing conditions in the North Atlantic and the possibility of arriving at the Equator in less than 6 days: an altogether respectful time given that the boat would be making the descent with wind directly astern – a point of sail that does not foster very high speeds for ocean-going giants like IDEC SPORT. The situation in the South Atlantic, which raised problems last week, seems to be gradually evolving in the right direction as the St Helena High rises back up.
On the alert more than ever, with boat and supplies ready to go, the entire IDEC SPORT team continues to wait on the assessments, carried out several times a day, by Marcel and Francis. Watch this space…
Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com
