Author: Grégoire Chéron

YANN GUICHARD AND HIS CREW STARTED THEIR WORLD TOUR AT USHANT TODAY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16 AT 11H 47MIN 27SEC UTC.  TO WIN THE JULES VERNE TROPHY THEY HAVE TO RECROSS THE LINE BY FEBRUARY 26 AT 11H 16M 57SEC UTC TO BREAK THE RECORD, HELD SINCE 2017 BY FRANCIS JOYON AND HIS CREW, OF 40 DAYS 23H 30M 30S.

The weather conditions were favourable at the Créac’h lighthouse, which marks one end of the start and finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy course,  the round the world sailing record via the three Capes.  A southwesterly breeze of 20 knots and calm seas allowed the giant black and gold trimaran to head quickly towards a front off Ushant and pick a good system from the north-west. It is these strong winds that Spindrift 2 will be able to pick up to take them quickly down to Madeira, the Canaries and the Cape Verde archipelago.

A record at the equator?
According to the routing of the team’s onshore weather router, Jean-Yves Bernot, the team could reach the equator during the night of Sunday to Monday, January 21, after less than five days at sea.  Once over this imaginary line between the two hemispheres, Yann Guichard and his crew must continue to speed on, with the aim of crossing the longitude at the Cape of Good Hope in about twelve days.  This challenge is very possible as Francis Joyon and his crew reached the African cape in 12d 21h 22m.

By adding all the best reference times since the first attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy in 1993, the crewed world tour from Ushant to Ushant could potentially be completed in 38 days.

The first stretch towards the equator looks very favourable, but it is still too early to anticipate what follows. If a depression moves away from Brazil during the passage off Salvador de Bahia, the weather configuration could allow the team more options to sail more directly towards the South without having to go around the St. Helena anticyclone.

Afterwards it will be the depressions to the south, their trajectories, north-south positioning and speed that will determine if the Indian Ocean can be crossed in less than 5d 21h 08m and the Pacific in less than 7d 21h 13m.

Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift 2:
“It looks good up to the equator! The trade winds are well established: it should take less than five days. Then there are still the unknowns in the southern Atlantic but we hope to reach South Africa in around twelve to twelve and a half days.
This world tour is also a passing of the seasons at high speed!  We start in the north-west with drizzle, then in the Canaries we will be in the trade winds with 30°C, at the equator it will be 40°C and three days later, we are in the Forties, in the Southern Ocean with three fairly steady and fresh weeks. It’s a nice trip.
One of the difficulties is the Saint Helena High in the southern Atlantic, which can sometimes block the road. It is not a problem to go round it if there is wind because because latest boats are going fast. In the Southern Ocean, it is still at least a fortnight of cold, wet weather but there are also magical landscapes and an incredible place to experience as a team.
We are a slightly lighter than the last time, which is why we are only twelve onboard. Below twenty knots we have a very slight speed deficit, but anything above that Spindrift 2 is faster than before! We can keep our average speed above 35 knots, if the sea remains manageable.“

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

After two and a half months of stand-by, Spindrift 2 is preparing to leave for a new attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy.  The crewed round the world sailing record has been held since 2017 by Francis Joyon, who completed the non-stop course in 40d 23h 30m.  Spindrift 2, the giant black and gold 40 metre trimaran, is planning to leave the port of Brest for the start line off Ushant on Tuesday afternoon.

The time of just over 40 days achieved by IDEC Sport in 2017 could be broken by Spindrift 2, if the weather conditions remain favourable.

“We have been on stand-by since November 5 and there has been no real opportunity to get around the world quickly: I have never experienced  a winter like this!  We need to cross the equator in about five days: but we risk getting ahead of a front and having to sail to port, which is not very typical. But if we wait for this front to pass, we would then suffer at the hands of the Azores anticyclone.  We are anticipating leaving the dock in Brest on Tuesday afternoon to reach the line off Ushant, and look to start in the early hours of the Wednesday morning, between midnight and three o’clock, but this is to be confirmed” comments Yann Guichard.

By starting on Tuesday/Wednesday, the crew projects crossing the equator after five days and then hooking into a system in the South Atlantic, which could allow the team to cross the longitude at the Cape of Good Hope in less than twelve days …  This is the system preferred by the land-based weather router, Jean-Yves Bernot, for the team to reach the Indian Ocean in good time.

“The Doldrums remain unknown, but at this time [of year] they are often not too bad and we can see that the trade winds are running parallel between North and South.  Also the Southern Atlantic is not blocked, but after ten days, the forecasts are less reliable. We aim to be in time to catch a depression off Brazil. It would be nice to have a day in the bag at the entrance to the Indian Ocean.  Francis completed this part of the course very quickly, and it will be difficult to do better” states the skipper of Spindrift 2.

A crew of twelve 

Yann Guichard has selected eleven crew, which includes the core of his team – Christophe Espagnon, Francois Morvan, Xavier Revil, Jacques Guichard and Erwan Israel.  With Thierry Chabagny, the Briton Sam Goodchild, Erwan Le Roux and Lyonnais Benjamin Schwartz, Australian Jackson Bouttell and Switzerland’s Duncan Späth completing the onboard team.

“We are twelve aboard on this attempt compared to fourteen in 2015, but we also have a smaller mast. Below twenty knots of wind, we are less efficient in VMG*, so we therefore need to have sustained conditions, which might make the transition phases a little more difficult. On paper, the trimaran has the potential of Joyon’s multihull and perhaps, under certain conditions with a weather similar to his, we will be able to break the record. However, all the stars must be aligned… ”

The team has already gathered in Brest today, Monday, and is making final preparations for the giant trimaran’s round the world attempt.

* VMG: speed in a downwind or upwind direction

Crew of Spindrift 2 :
Yann Guichard (skipper)
Erwan Israel (navigator)
Jacques Guichard (watch leader / helm)
Christophe Espagnon (watch leader / helm)
Xavier Revil (watch leader / helm)
François Morvan (helm)
Thierry Chabagny (helm)
Sam Goodchild ((helm / bow)
Erwan Le Roux (helm)
Duncan Späth (helm)
Benjamin Schwartz (helm / bow)
Jackson Bouttell (helm / bow)
—
Jean-Yves Bernot (onshore router)

Yann Guichard and the crew of Spindrift 2 have been waiting since the 5 november for a favourable weather window to start the Jules Verne Trophy. Despite november being windy and the Atlantic experiencing a series of lows, the conditions have not been favourable enough for the team to reach the equator in good time. This first reference point in a world tours is also the only part of the course where the 7/8 day weather projection makes it possible calculate exactly how long it would take to reach it.

Jean-Yves Bernot, the maxi trimaran’s weather router, comments: “The situation is currently blocked by a low pressure system coming from the US coast to northern Europe. This creates strong southwesterly to westerly winds that remove any chance of reaching the equator within an interesting timeframe.  In addition the sea state is very unsettled – conditions synonymous with damage to the boat.   We therefore have to wait for the weather to develop and anticipate that, once the winds shift to the north-west or north-east and the weather pattern evolves, we can leave.”

Without these conditions no start is envisaged for Spindrift 2, however the crew is ready to take advantage of any change in the situation.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

A few weeks before the start of the Jules Verne Trophy stand-by, the Spindrift racing team found themselves isolated at an altitude of several thousand meters, taking on one final challenge before attacking the one around the world.  During a remarkable four-days of preparation in the Alps, the crew of the maxi trimaran, accompanied by Dona Bertarelli, climbed Mont Blanc via the historic Saint Gervais route.  It was an unprecedented climb, that strengthened the team dynamics with every metre climbed towards the summit and further reinforced the team spirit that has been the cornerstone of Spindrift racing since it was founded by Yann Guichard and Dona Bertarelli.

© Edouard Elias / Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing

The setting may seem unusual for sailors more accustomed to the unpredictable oceans around the globe, however this was all part of the aspiration. Climbing Mont Blanc was amongst the list of challenges to be accomplished by each member of the Spindrift team. In the same way as preparing for a sailing record, the team spent the first two days meticulously getting acclimatised in readiness for the challenge. With the support of an excellent team of mountain guides brought together by Eric Loizeau, they became familiar with how to use mountaineering equipment on a variety of terrains, even testing their ice axes and crampons on ice sheets.

Early the following morning the sailors-turned-mountaineers made their first steps towards the Tête Rousse glacier and then on to the Refuge du Gouter. The weather conditions were superb and the physical efforts of the first day’s 2000 metre climb where a foretaste of what was to come.

After a brief overnight rest, the team donned their crampons and headed out on the last stretch to the roof of Europe.  Far from being a normal walk, the climb was challenging yet precise. Each roped team was made up of a guide and two crew (who will be on the same watch for the Jules Verne Trophy attempt).  They climbed at their own pace along ridges, which at certain points were only the width of two feet, and scaled walls of ice and crevasses. The effort was intense, but the enjoyment of this climb was directly proportional to the beauty of the landscape that surrounded them. Once at the peak, then came the long descent back to Saint-Gervais where the mind began  to take on over the physical strain.

With the 4,810 metre climb completed, everyone agreed that it was an incredible human adventure and, for many, one of the hardest physical exercises they had taken part in.
“If the sea and the mountain seem to have a lot in common, it is not sailing and mountaineering,” commented Yann Guichard on his arrival back at the foot of Mont Blanc. “Climbing is a very extreme sport where there is no room for the slightest mistake. Risk management is paramount and, as a team leader, something that I am very aware of.  I have great admiration and respect for the guides who accompanied us. They left nothing to chance, be that in the choice of equipment or routes taken.“

But more than a sporting challenge it was also the balance, strength and stability of the group that Yann Guichard wanted to confirm during this ascent.  And as Dona added “being a team, is being able to count on one another, help each other, accept the ups and downs and strive to find the right balance to succeed together. This is what we did during this climb, we did it independently, in conditions close to those aboard Spindrift 2; namely minimal comfort and very limited means of communication. This change of scenery has been beneficial to us all and further reinforced the choice of this team that are ready to take on a new record attempt around the world. “

Back in Brittany the crew, whose will be announced shortly, will return to training before the start of the official stand-by period for a favourable weather slot to start the Jules Verne Trophy.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

As the giant trimaran made its way to the Créac’h Lighthouse (isle of Ouessant) for a second attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy, Spindrift 2 dismasted at about 16:15 today (monday 15 january 2018), south of pointe Saint-Mathieu in a strong 30 knot westerly breeze and rough seas.

Spindrift 2 was ready for this new attempt around the world with a relatively favourable weather window, after a long two-month stand-by at La Trinité sur Mer and then in Brest, Brittany.

With strong winds around Brest, the start from the pontoon was delayed to 1430h. Once Spindrift was into the Iroise, an area of open sea in front of Brest between the Atlantic and the Channel, the sea state was already well formed and the wind blowing at more than 30 knots with strong gusts. As the boat tacked towards the Ouessant Channel, with no warning suddenly Spindrift 2 dismasted. No crew member was injured in the incident.

© Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing

“Everything happened very fast! In a few seconds, the mast was down. We have been waiting for two months for this new attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy: this window was our last chance. It is a big disappointment for the whole team, both at sea, and on land as we were all ready. We have spent a lot of time optimising the boat, and everything collapses in a few moments” said Yann Guichard.

“We were heading to the start line: there were relatively strong conditions with 30 knots of wind and three metre troughs. A few moments before we were going to tack towards Pointe Saint-Mathieu, the mast broke for some unknown reason. The most important thing is that there were no injuries on board. Unfortunately we had to drop the mast into the sea as we did not want to take any unnecessary risks for the crew because we were very close to the rocks at Toulinguet. Operations are currently underway to recover the mast and rigging as quickly as possible, as the weather is set to deteriorate early tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. We will now start the process of understanding what has happened” he concluded.

© Chris Schmid / Spindrift racing