A window named desire!

To take on the Jules Verne Trophy, you obviously need an excellent boat, an equally exceptional crew to drive her at her true potential, as well as a certain composure and nerves of steel to endure the wait for the right weather window. Since Monday, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been on the alert, ready to climb aboard and cast off on a 40-day sea passage the moment the Gitana Team’s router, Marcel van Triest, gives the green light. In this way, the lives of the six sailors and all the team have been coloured by the rhythm of the weather analysis and their twice-daily updates. Now, after a five-day wait, the planets seem to be in alignment and everything is coming together for the crew to leave the dock in Lorient tomorrow afternoon. At that point, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier, David Boileau, Morgan Lagravière, Erwan Israël and Yann Riou will make for the north-west tip of Brittany with a view to crossing the line offshore of Ushant some time on Saturday 9 through into Sunday 10 January.

 

 

A sliding code yellow 

On Tuesday 4 January, the five-arrow team switched to code yellow, a chromatic change synonymous with a possible departure within the next 24 to 48 hours. Since then though, the departure window has been constantly sliding and ultimately it is on Saturday night through into Sunday that the situation looks set to become clearer. “Code yellow is extending but for just reason!” assures Cyril Dardashti, director of the racing stable founded by Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild: “After a period of standby spanning over two months and an initial fruitless attempt, we’re all looking forward to seeing the crew set sail. However, the record we’re hunting down is so demanding that this departure window is crucial. Together with Marcel van Triest we’ve been watching things play out in the right direction since Monday. We’re lucky in that the window in the North Atlantic is a long one, which has enabled us to play for time and let things in the south evolve so we can better position ourselves in relation to the weather sequence we want to hook up with offshore of Brazil. Today things are taking shape and it’s absolutely thrilling to be ready to tackle the Jules Verne Trophy again according to the timing criteria we’d set ourselves.

 

Exiting the Bay of Biscay with a NE’ly

Tomorrow morning, if everything goes according to plan, the Gitana Team will switch to code green. From that moment, everything will link together very quickly for the six sailors, who are preparing to secure the outright round the world record under sail, from loading the bags of personal effects to bidding farewell to their families, to the final weather briefing with Marcel van Triest. It will then be time to cast off, bound for Ushant and Le Créac’h lighthouse. As was the case in late November, during their first attempt, the night-time rendez-vous with this point will be their final contact with the French coast as the 32-metre giant turns her bows southwards: “According to our latest forecasts, we’ll likely set sail with a 15-20-knot NE’ly wind in the area in question on very manageable seas. The wind is set to fill out to 25-30 knots as we approach Cape Finisterre and the descent along the length of the Iberian peninsula will be bracing. However, the advantage of a NE’ly breeze is that we’ll have good seas. There’s a low-pressure system at Cape St Vincent which we’ll be hunting down before gybing towards the Azores High. Below the zone of high pressure, we’ll have to put in another gybe before setting a course for the equator,” explained Charles Caudrelier.

 

Though this weather configuration finally seems to be playing out as the crew wants after weeks of waiting, the descent towards the southern hemisphere will be far from restful as the timing is tight: “With this weather window we’re aiming for a sub-5-day time to the equator and a sub-12-day time to Cape Agulhas. If we were solely aiming to break the record to the equator, our departure timing is not the best, but it’s a compromise to ensure we have the best possible window in the Atlantic as a whole. For now, the latter seems quite favourable with a route that isn’t too extreme in the south, but we’ll have to adjust our trajectory again during our descent as that’s still a long way off and there’s time for things to evolve before then”, concluded the co-skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild.

Patience and concentration

For several days, the succession of grib files which Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier have been studying with the router and 7th man, Marcel van Triest, have been in agreement that it will soon be time for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild to cast off and set sail. This Thursday, all the lights are taking on a strong yellow hue as they prepare to switch to green. All the members of the five-arrow racing stable have been on the alert for the past few days so as not to let slide this fine opportunity taking shape ahead of the offshore charger’s bows. This Saturday 9 January 2021, the six sailors on this trimaran designed for oceanic flight could well make for the start zone off the island of Ushant with a view to setting sail on this outright round the world record attempt.

 

 

Erwan Israël

We’re attacking the start of the 3rd month of standby… It’s a long time, but there have been times where we’ve been certain that nothing interesting would happen in terms of the weather. During that time, we can turn our thoughts to other things and practice some sport. And then there are situations, like those of recent days, where we’re eyeing up a departure and hesitating… That involves a bit of travelling around and a series of PCR tests… And then in the end we don’t leave. These more uncertain periods are a bit less fun. We’re on the alert and it’s more complicated for the nerves, especially with regards family. We say goodbye to the children, but we don’t know if it’s going to be for 3 days… or 40 days. The ideal standby occurs when it doesn’t take too long and an extraordinary window presents itself after a week or a fortnight. Unfortunately, that’s not the way things have played out.

Right now, there’s a departure situation settling into place with a lot of downwind conditions and N’ly winds generated by a zone of high pressure. That’s giving us a slightly broader target window. However, there’s also a zone of low pressure, which is blocking the way a little at the start. It’s fairly violent, so we’d like it to roll across to the east so we have a clearer passage through to the trade wind. We’d like to set off as late as possible, but waiting around also carries the risk of us ending up in a position where we don’t have any breeze at all on the start line.

 

 

Morgan Lagravière 

It’s my first standby. I’ve never experienced this type of preparation and this waiting period before. It’s a special time, but I’m lucky to be in contact with people who have already had to negotiate this type of experience. It’s part and parcel of such a challenge. For the past two months, we’ve had several situations where we were ready to leave and we even set sail once before quickly turning back. These attempts within an attempt are good training and help us ready ourselves in terms of gear and also on a more psychological level, to ensure we’re in race mode the minute we cast off and bid farewell. These are demanding boats after all and an error is never far away. You really have to concentrate from the get-go. That said, it’s fair to say that as time goes on, the more eager you are to set sail… At that point it’ll be time to go for it, which is fortunate as now’s the right time! 

Since Tuesday evening, a variety of possible options have opened up, with a fairly long window in the North Atlantic, which enables us to wait and see how things evolve in the South Atlantic. We’re going to gradually increase the pressure and finish off the final preparations. The boat is ready to go. She’s loaded with provisions and all that remains is to add a little fresh produce and head towards the start line!

Lining up for a fresh departure

Things are taking shape… at last! After over two months on standby and an initial attempt interrupted as a result of technical issues in late November, the sailors aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild make no secret of how keen they are to pull on their boots and foulies and set about securing the Jules Verne Trophy.

 

 

Their wishes could well be granted and their patience rewarded by the end of the week. Since Monday, the Gitana Team’s weather cell comprising Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their router Marcel van Triest, have been observing two major trends some 48 hours apart. Following the honing of the forecasts, it’s the second option which has been retained, namely a departure offshore of Ushant on Friday or Saturday at the latest. Discover the explanations voiced by the skippers of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and two of the crew, Morgan Lagravière and Erwan Israël, who will be accompanying them on the bid for the outright round the world record under sail.

 

In Lorient, the shore team is busying itself with the final details and everything is in position so that the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild can set sail on the Jules Verne Trophy in 48 hours’ time

 

Code yellow, the window appears to be taking shape

The weather scenario is becoming clearer now for the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, who are keener than ever to make the switch to code green and cast off for the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy offshore of the north-west tip of Brittany. As such, the latest update on the grib forecast files this Tuesday evening is eagerly awaited. Indeed, upon receipt of the latter, the weather cell for the five-arrow racing stable will refine their analysis in a bid to pinpoint the right moment for the 32-metre giant to leave Lorient and set a course for Ushant. Two major trends are currently being weighed up: a departure in the early hours of tomorrow, Wednesday 6 January or some 48 hours later to round off this first week of 2021 in style.

 

 

Update on the evening of 5 January

The grib files are converging to indicate a better departure window on Friday 8 January. For that reason, following an analysis of the latest forecasts, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild’s weather cell has this evening chosen to remain on code yellow to await this favourable scenario. The two skippers, Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier, together with their router Marcel van Triest, are observing the situation several times a day and the window will need to be adjusted right to the last moment in order to optimise the initially targeted passage times (equator and Cape Agulhas). The six sailors on the latest Gitana are poised for action and ready to cast off and could leave their home port of Lorient from Thursday if need be.

 

Pinpointing a target window

At the briefing this Monday morning at 09:30 UTC, Marcel van Triest gave the team the low-down: “2021 seems to want to offer us more opportunities and the coming week should enable us to envisage an initial passage time within the timeframe we’d set ourselves as departure criteria, namely a sub-5-day time to the equator and around 11 days to get below South Africa.”The tone was set then, but the team still had to adjust the timing for crossing the line as best they could to ensure the team manages to follow the sequence of weather systems that is such an essential part of this first third of the record attempt.

 

Indeed, when the crews set sail from the tip of Brittany, they’re not only seeking a favourable departure window to give them as speedy a passage as possible to the equator, above all they’re aiming for a transition of millimetre precision offshore of Brazil to enable them to hook onto the right wagon to glide down towards the Southern Ocean. It is this exacting coordination, which Gitana Team’s weather cell is currently trying to pinpoint.

 

Ready for action 

This afternoon, at the heart of Gitana Team’s technical base and aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, both the team and the sailors are busying themselves with the final details: loading the provisions, filling the tanks with water and ‘diesel’ and installing the six sailors’ personal gear… At dawn tomorrow, the latest of the Gitanas will be ready to take on its latest challenge at which point it is the weather that will decide if the first crewed round the world attempt aboard a flying maxi-trimaran will set sail straight away or benefit from a few hours’ respite to hone their weapons.