Author: Grégoire Chéron

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Yann Guichard and his eleven crew left the dock in La Trinité-sur-Mer today (Tuesday) at 1130hCET to make their way to the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy. It is anticipated that the maxi trimaran will cross the line off the Créac’h Lighthouse (Ushant) at about 2100hCET this evening. With the current moderate easterly sea breeze, Spindrift should take between six to seven hours to reach the start line area.

© Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing

There were some emotional scenes when the twelve-strong Spindrift 2 crew said their goodbyes to relatives and friends on the pontoon at La Trinité-sur-Mer, before setting off for their forty-day record-breaking attempt around the world.  As black and gold trimaran eased its way out of the harbour in bright sunshine and a steady easterly breeze, they hoisted their mainsail at the mouth of the river and setting their bows toward the start line at the Créac’h Lighthouse at Ushant, some six to seven hours away.  It was a peaceful start and this same tempo looks set to accompany them, as the conditions in the Bay of Biscay look calm and flat for the first few hours of this third attempt on the record.



Five days and dust …

“There is a good weather window that shows us reaching the equator in a little over five days and the South Atlantic seems to be improving so, hopefully the first section of this record will be good. Spindrift 2 has two new rudders that will allow us to further improve on performance but nevertheless, the record will be difficult to beat! Whatever happens, it is an incredible voyage, and it’s still a human, technical and sports adventure. The crew is really motivated and my core team that has been part of this journey before. So we will leave the Bay of Biscay in relatively quiet conditions before accelerating significantly after Cape Finisterre… ” said Yann Guichard before leaving the dock.

Spindrift 2 is due to start the 21,600 mile course on Tuesday, December 3 at 2100h CET. The course is marked by three legendary capes: Good Hope (south of the African continent), Leeuwin (south-west of Australia), Horn (south of the American continent). This is the team’s third attempt at targeting the 40d 23h 30 ’30’ record around the world.

“You have to be persistent in the Jules Verne Trophy! First you need a good, well-prepared boat, good chemistry amongst the crew and of course, favourable weather conditions. The conditions look to be relatively easy at first, which will give us a nice descent to the Equator.  We anticipate that we should be able to reach the Cape of Good Hope in twelve days, which is a very good time compared to the reference time.”  Says Erwan Israel (navigator).



Cape of Good Hope:  a Focus

“I am very happy with this rather peaceful and calm departure from La Trinité-sur- Mer: it is good way to start a world tour for the first time, so it will be a really big adventure! I do not know the Southern Ocean or the Southern Hemisphere… You experience four seasons during this Jules Verne Trophy: we leave in the autumn, we enter the South Atlantic in the spring, we complete the Southern Ocean in early summer and finish in Brittany in the middle of winter… ” notes the novice Grégory Gendron.

The round-the-world record, which in a quarter of a century has been reduced from 79 days (Commodore Explorer in 1993) to a little over 40 days (IDEC Sport in 2017), usually requires two or three attempts before it is broken. The record has been successfully won by Peter Blake and Robin Knox-Johnston (Enza New Zealand in 1994), Olivier de Kersauson (Sport Elec in 1997), Bruno Peyron (Orange in 2002), Steve Fossett (Cheyenne in 2004), Bruno Peyron (Orange 2 in 2005), Franck Cammas (Groupama 3 in 2010), Loïck Peyron (Banque Populaire V in 2012) …

“I’m not the only one onboard to already have the record, there is also Xavier Revil! Six out of twelve of us have already completed the round the world in a multihull but a coordinated crew, that works well together and knows the boat that, we have optimised over the years, is a key ingredient. Spindrift 2 is now lighter, so more able to get airborne with the added advantage of being able to adjust the thrust with rudders, so it more efficient, and more sensitive. We are trying for a third time, but the Jules Verne Trophy becomes a bit of a habit because as a crew you get hooked after the first attempt! “Says Thierry Chabagny (helmsman).

The crew of Spindrift 2 has changed very little with only Corentin Horeau and Grégory Gendron joining the core team, which made a previous attempt at the beginning of this year. Under the leadership of Yann Guichard, the black and gold trimaran is, once again, ready to face Neptune’s moods as they attempt to beat forty days on this world tour.

“When we arrive back in Brest, I will have completed my first world tour, my first passing of Cape Leeuwin and my first Cape Horn.  Last time I only reached the Indian Ocean before we broke our rudder… The conditions for the start are calm, which feels bittersweet as we leave our ‘home’ for the start. The key now is to get a good time to the Equator and on to the Cape of Good Hope. ” Concludes Erwan Le Roux (boat-captain).

Spindrift 2 is preparing for a new attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy, the round the world record that starts and finishes in Ushant, leaving the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn) to port. The reference time is the current record set by Francis Joyon and his crew in 2017, of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. With their optimised maxi trimaran and a crew of eleven, skipper Yann Guichard is aiming to start this new attempt on the night of Tuesday 3 to Wednesday, 4 December.

© Maxime Horlaville / Polaryse / Spindrift racing

Yann Guichard and crew will cross the line during the night of December 4th,  in front of the Créac’h lighthouse (Ushant) to begin the 21,600 mile route (following the Great Circle, which is the direct route chosen by the WSSRC, the international organisation that ratifies sailing records), with the aim of beating the record of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.  Based on its performance on a previous attempt, the black and gold trimaran could have the record on target, especially given recent technical improvements to the trimaran, including setting rudder fins to better sustain the Spindrift 2 at high speed.

A third attempt
Yann Guichard and his crew have tried to beat the record on two previous occasions: in 2015 (47d 10h 59 ‘) with Dona Bertarelli, who became the fastest woman around the world, and in 2018 (where the team was forced to abandon their attempt following rudder failure close to the Kergulen Islands). However now, once again, the North Atlantic has a favourable weather window that could allow a passage to the equator in about five days.
“We will start from La Trinité on Tuesday morning to cross the starting line of the Jules Verne Trophy at Ushant between 18:00 on Tuesday and 6:00 on Wednesday: once we see how the weather is evolving, we will be able to refine this window. The conditions are quite good, with a time at the equator of around five days.  We should be able to leave the eastern sector in the Bay of Biscay with a moderate breeze and then we will benefit from trade winds that ill strengthen to the north of Portugal. We will have make some gybes to get to Madeira before performing our swoop down into the doldrums.” Says Yann Guichard.
But if the descent to the Equator looks favourable, the round the world record can still be lost at the Cape of Good Hope. Spindrift 2 already holds the fastest time between Ushant and the Equator made during the second attempt in early 2019 (4d 20h 07 ‘), but it is the ability to improve the reference time to the Cape of Good Hope and arrive at the Indian Ocean with time in hand that is critical. Francis Joyon had an extremely fast crossing of this second ocean in 2017 (5d 21h 07 ‘). Spindrift 2 must therefore keep to an average speed of about 23 knots to South Africa, to ensure that there is enough margin on the reference time to start the next section.

© Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing

North-South sequence 
“The doldrums seem more favourable to the East as we have seen during the recent Transat Jacques Vabre and Brest Atlantiques. To get into the Southern Hemisphere in good shape: we hope to pass the Cape of Good Hope in less than thirteen days, which would allow us to be ahead of Francis Joyon’s time. While it is still a bit far out, we can already see that the South Atlantic is not closed and we could hook into a depression off Brazil to arrive on South Africa quite quickly.” Says the skipper of the black and gold trimaran.
Spindrift 2 is ready for this new attempt with a total crew of twelve, including two newcomers: Grégory Gendron and Corentin Horeau., who know the boat well and are already well integrated into the team. “We will leave with conditions more pleasant than usual, and the day after the start, it will not be as cold … It is a fairly standard route but we hope it will be rather fast –  to the equator at least!” Concludes Yann Guichard.

© Maxime Horlaville / Polaryse / Spindrift racing

© Maxime Horlaville / Polaryse / Spindrift racing

Yann Guichard and his crew will be back on standby early next week, awaiting a favourable weather window to set sail on their third Jules Verne Trophy record attempt.
Since October 29th, the team had been focused exclusively on repairing Spindrift 2’s rudder ever since a problem was detected while training offshore. “We have experienced another race against the clock, here at Spindrift racing. For the past 3 weeks, we have been focused exclusively on finding solutions to fix the multihull’s rudder. I would like to thank the entire technical team for their hard work. We’re now ready to set sail, and our eyes are turned on the weather forecasts. Our standby is extended until mid December ”explained Yann Guichard.
The objective? Beat the existing round the world non-stop sailing record of 40-days, 23-hours, 30-minutes set by Francis Joyon in 2017. If the weather conditions along the route are favourable, it is an achievable goal. “We would like to be a day ahead of the record by the time we reach the Indian Ocean. Francis Joyon crossed this stretch of ocean in a record time and it will be difficult to beat,” says Yann Guichard.



SPINDRIFT 2 – JULES VERNE TROPHY SQUAD:
Yann Guichard – skipper
Erwan Israël – navigator
Jacques Guichard – watch leader / helm
Jackson Bouttell –  helm / bow
Thierry Chabagny – helm
Grégory Gendron – helm
Xavier Revil – watch leader / helm
Corentin Horeau – helm / bow
François Morvan – helm
Duncan Späth – helm
Erwan Le Roux – watch leader / helm
Benjamin Schwartz – helm / bow

Jean-Yves Bernot – router



THE JULES VERNE TROPHY:
Start and finish: an imaginary line between Créac’h lighthouse (Isle of Ushant) and Lizard Point (England)
Course: non-stop around-the-world tour travelling without assistance via three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council, www.sailspeedrecords.com
Time to beat: 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds
Average speed: 22,84 knots
Date of current record: January 2017

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

AT 1900H UTC YANN GUICHARD, THE SKIPPER OF SPINDRIFT 2, CONTACTED HIS TECHNICAL TEAM ASHORE TO REPORT DAMAGE TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE STARBOARD RUDDER. SPINDRIFT RACING IS CHALLENGING FOR THE JULES VERNE TROPHY.

Having made a full assessment of the damage and possible repairs, the team has reluctantly concluded that they are unable to make the necessary repairs without compromising the safety and performance of the 40m trimaran.

“Because of this technical problem we have no choice but to stop this record attempt.  It is a huge disappointment to all of the crew. We are now heading to the south west coast of Australia and expect to reach there in the next four days” confirmed Yann Guichard.

AFTER 12 DAYS, 14 HOURS, 58 MINUTES, SPINDRIFT 2 REACHED THE LONGITUDE OF CAPE AGULHAS ON TUESDAY AT 0240 UTC (0340 FRENCH TIME), SAILING FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE INDIAN OCEAN. WHILST MAINTAINING THE LEAD ON FRANCIS JOYON AND HIS TEAMS’ WORLD RECORD OF 6 HOURS 43 MINUTES. IN ORDER TO REACH THIS POINT OF AFRICA, YANN GUICHARD AND HIS ELEVEN CREW MEMBERS HAD TO SAIL AROUND THE SAINT HELENA ANTICYCLONE TO BE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THE DOWNWIND SAILING OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN, IN OTHER WORDS, A 700-MILES ROUND TOUR…

The first of the three symbolic Capes of this round the world sailing race, the Cape of Good Hope, was reached after just 12 days 13 hours 8 minutes: one of the best ever times of the Trophée Jules Verne, which first started in 1993. But it was several miles away to the South East, at Cape Agulhas, where the time reference comes into its own as this point of Africa marks the entrance into the Indian Ocean. However, in order to reach it, Spindrift 2 had to navigate around the Saint Helena anticyclone, go through an oceanic ridge and finally, take a left before heading towards Cape Agulhas.

Despite this detour, which forced the black and gold trimaran to dive South up to 43°, Yann Guichard and his 11 crew members keep a lead: 6 hours and 43 minutes, (equivalent to 300 miles) on the reference time of IDEC Sport, the current record holder. As a result, Spindrift 2 took 12 days, 14 hours, 58 minutes from Ushant to reach Cape Angulhas, and from the equator, 7 days 17 hours to go beyond this point in Africa.

A FAVOURABLE INDIAN OCEAN?

“We had to take a large detour to get around the Saint Helena anticyclone: we had to go down to 40° South before turning left! It was pretty extreme, but we didn’t have any other way of  cutting across: we just had to grin and bear it, especially as we had had a crosswind and head seas which weren’t easy to navigate through… For three days we’ve been stepping up the pace and it feels good: we’ve just reached the Cape of Good Hope and we’re sticking to the targets we set out for ourselves.” said Yann Guichard after reaching Cape Angulhas.

Taking confidence from this reference time entering the Indian Ocean, which remains the third best time in the Trophée Jules Verne, the skipper, his crew and their onshore router, Jean-Yves Bernot, are pretty comfortable about the next stage as the Mascareignes Anticyclone (Southern Madagascar) is well placed on Crozet Island and will start to head North over the next few days towards the Kerguelen archipelago, pushed by a southern depression. At an average speed of over 35 knots for 3 days, the black and gold trimaran will be able to hold this steady pace through a relatively manageable ocean heading to south of the Kerguelen!

“The sun has been up for a couple of hours and we really know we’re in the Indian Ocean! We’ll be reaching 50° South soon, the weather’s grey and temperature of the water is 2°C… But with albatross at our side, it’s amazing! The conditions are on our side to help us reach Kerguelen quickly. We’ll leave the Kerguelen to the North as we’ll undoubtedly go down to 53-54° south. However, we’ll also have icebergs ahead of us from Wednesday: we’ll need to  keep watch on the radar and with our infrared glasses. It’s looking a bit tense… We should sail the length of the anticyclone while being powered along by the southern winds: it’s looking pretty good up to the Kerguelen, but after that, we’ll have several gybes to go which will slow us down a little. We should still get through the Indian Ocean quickly without wasting too much time and hope to get to the Pacific, South of Tasmania with too much delay.” Mentioned the skipper on Spindrift 2.

If this southerly course enables the team to shorten their route while benefiting from a sustained current, going down to 53° South would present them with the problem of drifting ice and where a number of icebergs have been clearly located by the CLS satellites. On this stretch of the route, Spindirft 2 needs to be very fast because Francis Joyon and his crew made the Indian Ocean crossing extremely quickly as they still hold the WSSRC record (5d 21h 8m)! Having said that, the capabilities of the black and gold trimaran in the breeze give hope that it will retain the lead on IDEC Sport’s timing to South of Tasmania, the hot spot between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

ON MONDAY 21 JANUARY AT 07H45 UTC, SPINDRIFT 2 BROKE HER OWN RECORD BY JUST OVER AN HOUR, BY CROSSING THE EQUATOR IN 4 DAYS 19 HOURS 57 MINUTES.  THIS ALSO GAVE THE BLACK AND GOLD TEAM AN ADVANTAGE OF MORE THAN 23 HOURS (180 MILES) OVER THE CURRENT HOLDERS OF THE TROPHY JULES VERNE, IDEC SPORT.  THIS IS THE FIRST CHALLENGE IN THE TEAM’S QUEST TO BEAT THE ROUND THE WORLD RECORD.  THE TIME FOR THE PASSAGE FROM USHANT TO THE EQUATOR STILL HAS TO BE OFFICIALLY RATIFIED BY THE WSSRC (THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION THAT OVERSEES RECORDS), BUT YANN GUICHARD AND HIS CREW CAN BE PLEASED WITH THIS FIRST SECTION OF THE COURSE, AND BETTERING THEIR OWN RECORD TIME, SET IN 2015 (4D 21H 45′), BY 1 HOUR AND 48 MINUTES.

Spindrift 2 crossed the line in front of the Créac’h lighthouse on Wednesday 16 January at 11h 47 ’27’ UTC and quickly took advantage of the favourable conditions.  The crew had to gybe the 40m trimaran about a dozen times to ensure that they stayed in the trade winds as they passed through the Canary Islands and and the island of Hierro.

Full moon!

“We entered the Doldrums at 2° North: they were not very active, so we had to get through in relatively little breeze, but it was especially nice to have the full moon when we crossed the equator: we even saw the eclipse! It was beautiful for a good hour … Everyone has really been on the pace and the modifications that we made to the coach roof have been a real bonus – we are definitely less exposed. The route to the equator was not easy: we had quite lumpy seas in the lead up to the islands, then we had to gybe a lot and pass right through the Canaries and Cape Verde archipelagos.”  Commented Yann Guichard, a few moments after crossing the equator, the ‘line’ separating the north and south hemispheres.

However, the team is not out of the Doldrums yet, as they are currently stretching some 120 miles to the south of the Equator.  The team will have a challenging six hours or so before they can hook into the south easterly trade winds blowing off Brazil. But the good news is that a strong front is due to leave Cape Frio (off Rio de Janeiro) on Tuesday.

“We will leave the Doldrums at about 2° South, and then we will have to get around St. Helena anticyclone that is forming to the East, so we will have to go to about 37° South before turning left towards the Indian Ocean. It makes the route longer, especially as we will have to cross a light weather area in three days, but we should then reach favourable NW winds. It will be a relatively slow descent … but we should be a little ahead of Francis Joyon and his crew by the time we reach Cape Aiguilles,” continued the skipper of Spindrift 2.

The next goal is the tip of South Africa: Francis Joyon and his crew crossed the longitude of the Cape Aiguilles after 12d 21h 22′ at sea. So, with a 23 hour advantage on this first stretch, Yann Guichard and his crew can hope to stay half a day ahead before entering the Indian Ocean.  This same trimaran, when it was Banque Populaire in 2012, took less than twelve days from Ushant (11d 23h 50′).

Spindrift 2 still has some 3,200 miles to reach this longitude but the black and gold trimaran has been averaging 26 knots since leaving Ushant, and covering more than 620 miles a day – including the passage through the Doldrums!

Crew of Spindrift 2
Yann Guichard (skipper)
Erwan Israel (navigator)
Jacques Guichard (watch leader / helmsman)
Christophe Espagnon (watch leader / helmsman)
Xavier Revil (watch leader / helmsman)
François Morvan (helmsman)
Thierry Chabagny (helmsman)
Sam Goodchild ((helmsman / bow)
Erwan Le Roux (helmsman)
Duncan Späth (helmsman)
Benjamin Schwartz (helmsman / bow)
Jackson Bouttell (helmsman / bow)

Jean-Yves Bernot (onshore router)

Crew Split Times References
Ushant-Equator: 4d 19h 57 ‘(Spindrift 2 in 2019)
Equator-Cape Aiguilles: 6d 08h 55 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Cape Aiguilles -Cape Leeuwin: 4d 09h 32 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Leuuwin-Cape Horn: 9d 08h 46 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Horn-Equator: 7d 04h 27 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Equator-Ushant: 5d 19h 21 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)

WSSRC crewed records
Crossing the North Atlantic (Ushant-Equator): 4d 19h 57 ‘(Spindrift 2 in 2019) *
Crossing the Indian Ocean (Cape Aiguilles-S Tasmania) : 5d 21h 07’ 45’’ (IDEC Sport in 2017)
Crossing Pacific Ocean (S Tasmania-Cape Horn) : 7d 21h 13’ 31’’ (IDEC Sport in 2017)
Equator-Equator- : 29d 09h 10’ 55’’ (IDEC Sport in 2017)
Around the World (Jules Verne Trophy) : 40d 23h 30’ 30’’ (IDEC Sport in 2017)

*Waiting for ratification by WSSRC