“We have one of the most exciting finishes to an ocean race since Ariel and Taeping in 1866, or Mike Birch and Malinovsky in the first Route de Rhum in 1978. Alex’s VMG indicates he will win as it stands at the moment, and he is closing in every new report (I will be glad when it is over so I can get some sleep). […]
The Biscay High Pressure system is the Joker. Is Armel right to head more for the finish line, and lose out on VMG now but rely on being closer when the wind comes on the nose, or is Alex right to maintain a much better speed but give himself more ground to cover, perhaps with a better wind. It depends on when he has to make the final tack for the finish line. This is going to be the decider, and if he holds course, Alex will have a greater distance to sail, but maybe at faster speed. It will all depend on what the winds do tomorrow evening.
Utterly fascinating.
One thing is for certain, the Fat Lady ain’t sung yet!”
Yesterday, IDEC SPORT managed to leave the Doldrums stretching out several hundred miles behind them. Taking a bold route, but which has paid off out to the west, Francis Joyon and his men, who were never entirely stopped have now overcome the final weather hurdle in their round the world voyage.
Speeds are now set to build as they get closer to the coast of Brittany with powerful downwind sailing ahead thanks to an area of low pressure, which should push them towards the finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy in around four days from now.
This morning after 37 days at sea since leaving Brest, the crew on IDEC SPORT is back up to steady speeds of 26-28 knots, allowing them to stepup the pace upwind in the ENE’ly trade winds. Approaching the latitude of the cape Vered Islands, therea re now 2700 miles left to sail, so this is the home strait and everything is looking good.
“This past week seems to have been never-ending, because of the low speeds. We were no longer used to normal speeds,” said Sébastien Audigane. “Fortunately, we’re off again now. We’ll soon be sailing downwind in strong winds and it looks like being a quick run to Ushant. We’re fully motivated,” he added. So the final dash is set to be sailed at high speeds as they make their way towards Brittany.
Slowed down for the past 36 hours around the Equator in a large area of calms associated with the Doldrums, the maxi-trimaran IDEC SPORT should start to feel the effect of a NE’ly wind in the next few hours. The trade winds are not far away and speeds should return to those we have come to expect from Joyon and his men over the five weeks since they set off from Ushant.
Sailing close to the wind, IDEC SPORT will be leaving the sticky equatorial heat behind as they start the final stretch in their round the world voyage, crossing the North Atlantic from west to east. They have a lot to do in the coming hours as they get ready to tackle the weather systems in the North Atlantic, starting with the Azores high and then the lows sweeping across from Labrador. Sailing a long way west to avoid the calms of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, IDEC SPORT is now moving slightly to the east, while gaining as many miles as possible towards the north. In the trade winds, this should get quicker and Joyon, Surtel, Stamm, Gahinet, Audigane and Pella will be giving it their all to try to cross the Jules Verne Trophy finish line on Thursday morning off Ushant.
At 1228hrs UTC on Friday 20th January 2017, the maxi-trimaran IDEC SPORT crossed the Equator. Francis Joyon, Sébastien Audigane, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Alex Pella and Bernard Stamm achieved the best performance ever for the stretch between Ushant and the Equator after rounding the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn) with a time of 35 days, 4 hours and 45 minutes. This is 2 days, 22 hours and 36 minutes better than the previous reference time held since 2012 by Loïck Peyron and the maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V.
This is the fifth intermediate record in this Jules Verne Trophy for Francis Joyon and his men, after the new records set at Cape Leeuwin, in Tasmania, the International Date Line and Cape Horn.
“It is something that completely passed us by,” declared Francis Joyon talking about the return to the Northern Hemisphere. “We have been focusing so much on getting across the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone forcing us to go west of the usual route to the north of Brazil. We are slowly getting around a huge area of high pressure, which although not as powerful as the Doldrums, is slowing us down in very light conditions. The sea is very calm and the sky is grey and it’s very hot. We hope to pick us some wind late this afternoon to get back on track towards Brittany, sailing upwind to start off with, then opening up the sails to finish we hope and to be back at full speed after the Azores.”
On Thursday at 4:37 pm, Armel Le Cléac’h crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe in victory. The sailor from Brittany, on board the monohull Banque Populaire VIII, finished his solo circumnavigation without stops or assistance in 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds. On top of this fine victory, secured after coming second twice in this race in 2009 and 2013, Armel Le Cléac’h has also set a new record for the event, bringing down the time previously established by François Gabart.
“Things come in threes” is a saying that Armel Le Cléac’h obviously didn’t want to have any part in. After taking out second place on two occasions, he set out on the Vendée Globe, on 6 November 2016, with the staunch desire to finally add his name to the list of winners of this solo circumnavigation race. This wish was fulfilled on Thursday, after a little over 74 days at sea.
This much-coveted victory comes to a man who has worked flat out with his team on fine-tuning the perfect monohull for meeting this incredible challenge. The victory also marks the success of a sailor who has given his all, for two and a half months, day and night, in all imaginable climatic and sailing conditions.
A racer named Le Cléac’h
Departing from Les Sables d’Olonnes as the favorite, Armel Le Cléac’h quickly took control of the race… with Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) on his trail. For 74 days, the two sailors engaged in a bitter battle. A consummate racer in the southern oceans, Le Cléac’h went past Cape Horn first, over 800 miles ahead of his main rival, before coming up against less favorable conditions during his climb back up the Atlantic.
For several days, less than 100 miles separated the two men, creating intense suspense around the race’s outcome. But it was finally Armel Le Cléac’h that a horde of sailors would come to welcome as the winner, the atmosphere tremendously warm despite the intense cold off the Vendée.
There was no shortage of emotion this Thursday, and the skipper of the Banque Populaire VIII did not try to hold back his tears. “I don’t really realize what’s happening to me. It’s incredible! I fought out every mile.” Before adding, in reference to Alex Thomson, whose arrival is expected tonight: “He ran a fantastic race. He’s a fearsome rival.”
The IDEC SPORT Maxi trimaran will soon be leaving the South Atlantic. Francis Joyon and his crew of five should be sailing into the Northern Hemisphere early this evening. This morning they are progressing at around 400 miles from the Equator keeping up speeds of around twenty knots as they head north. They should set a new record between Ushant and the Equator shaving just under four days off the 38 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes and 48 seconds it took Loïck Peyron and his men on Banque Populaire V in 2012.
Joyon’s men will have taken around the same time in the South Atlantic as the title-holder, who was particularly quick in this stretch five years ago, when they set the record between Cape Horn and the Equator with a time of 7 days 4 hours and 27 minutes. Rather than these official figures, it is the Doldrums that is currently weighing on the minds of the lads on the big red and grey trimaran. Joyon and his crew have already suffered in this zone before. Conditions could hold them up once again complicating the transition before they get to the steady NE’ly trade winds and the home strait to Ushant.
IDEC SPORT is less than 1000 miles from entering the Northern Hemisphere. At 17°S this morning, the big red and grey trimaran is climbing back up the Atlantic pushed along by the Brazilian trade winds, which are allowing Francis Joyon and his men to keep up an average of 25 knots as they continue in their attempt to grab the Jules Verne Trophy.
After all the hard work, some rest. After racing across the Southern Ocean at speeds which allowed them to enter the history books, the gang on IDEC SPORT is continuing to advance at speed towards the Equator. “The trade winds are from the east and it’s pleasant sailing. We’re making between 25 and 30 knots, without getting drenched. We haven’t forgotten the charms of the South, but we are enjoying what the Tropics have to offer,” the skipper of IDEC SPORT told us. Out on deck, Clément Surtel and Alex Pella are taking advantage of these dream conditions. “It’s a bit like being on holiday. The weather is fine, we’re eating and sleeping well with the boss at the helm,” laughed Alex Pella, who is always in a good mood like the other members of this crew.
Sailing 500 miles off the coast of Brazil, Francis Joyon and his crewmen are making the most of the conditions while attempting to avoid the hurdles along the way. This morning they are 1630 miles ahead of the record pace, even if they have given back a few miles in the past few days to their virtual rival, Banque Populaire V. That is only normal in this section of the race course, where it is hard to clock up high average speeds, remembering they were 4 days and 6 hours ahead of the record at Cape Horn.
After 24 hours in frustrating calms, which nevertheless afforded them the opportunity to recharge their batteries, sailing 800 miles off the coast of Brazil approaching the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, IDEC SPORT is now being pushed along by the trade winds.
With less than 5000 miles to go to the finishing line off Ushant and1500 miles from the Equator, the crew seems to have overcome the hurdles in the South Atlantic and is now heading due north. “For the moment, we are sailing along quietly, without demanding too much from our mighty boat,” declared Sébastien Audigane in his log at the start of the 32nd day of sailing in their quest for the Jules Verne Trophy.
“Towards the Equator, smooth sailing at 25-30 knots on flat calm seas. On board, we take it in turns on watch and everyone is getting some rest and taking advantage of the sunshine. We are able to wash, shave and get back to being something like a human. At least that is what we hope…In four days from now we will have crossed the Equator and it is looking good to get into the Northern Hemisphere.” Seb, 28° S, 800 miles east of Brazil.
Blue skies, sunshine, mild temperatures… It was a quiet fifth Sunday for the crew of the IDEC SPORT Maxi Trimaran, which they used to get some rest and carry out a few odd jobs.
It was slow sailing in an area of light winds off the South of Brazil, but Joyon’s men also needed to remain vigilant and react quickly to any wind shifts. It was in fact a welcome rest after the physically demanding conditions in the violent southern low, which has taken the multihull from the Southern Ocean to the warmth of Brazil in just three days. Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Bernard Stamm, Sébastien Audigane, Alex Pella and Francis Joyon were able to take care of the boat and get some rest in a much more relaxed atmosphere than that they have experienced in the days of high speed sailing. A much appreciated break, but they hoped it would not last too long.
The men on IDEC SPORT are looking ahead to the Equator and the final stretch home. The countdown has begun and they can see each mile being clocked up. Back up to around twenty knots, IDEC SPORT is now moving slightly more to the east trying to find the SE’ly trade winds, which should take them to the Equator. The red and grey trimaran has just completed the 31st day of racing. During their winning attempt in 2012, at this point in their race, Loïck Peyron and his crew on the maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V were just rounding Cape Horn.
And they’re off again! While they had to wait a short while for the low-pressure system to leave Argentina, Francis Joyon and his men sailing to the NW of the Falklands have enjoyed a good morning. The wind has built from the starboard stern of the IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran, which is back up to high speeds again. Joyon, Surtel, Gahinet, Stamm, Audigane and Pella will be trying to get the most out of this disturbed weather system in the next two days.
Making good progress towards the north on a good point of sail, they nevertheless have to avoid the very strong winds by gybing at the right moment this evening. Strong winds and a good angle, with decent seas ahead of the low and a crew that managed to get some rest in the calm conditions off the Falklands… everything is falling into place off Argentina to get back up to the incredible speeds we have seen from the IDEC maxi-trimaran over the past four weeks.
“We’re going along at 27-30 knots on a very easterly bearing, which will gradually swing around to the north.” Clément Surtel, one of the five men in Joyon’s band of warriors, is calmly looking ahead to the next few days aboard IDEC SPORT, as they deal with the various hurdles in the South Atlantic. “With the big gennaker at 140° to the wind, on manageable seas, it’s smooth sailing time again. Yesterday was a day of extremely light airs, allowing the weary foot soldiers to get some rest and carry out an inspection of the boat,” explained the sailor in charge of the technical aspects. “I saw that there was some wear I hadn’t seen before,” he said with some astonishment. This goes to show how hard they have in fact been pushing the boat since 17th December. “We dealt with all these little problems and the boat is back to 100%. We’re pleased to get back up to speed this morning. We’re on our way home now. We are focusing on the boat and looking forward to a positive outcome. We need to remain focused until we get to Ushant.” Incidentally, Clément Surtel is a cousin to Servane Escoffier, Louis Burton’s wife. The skipper taking part in the Vendée Globe is just ahead of them and they were able to exchange a few e-mails.
Clear skies, flat calm seas, favourable winds… the helmsmen have however not yet finished with their gloves and protection. “We’re still down at 50°S and at night, it’s chilly, so we sleep with our wooly hats on,” said the youngest member of the crew, Gwénolé Gahinet, still in awe of the sights around the Falklands yesterday. “We enjoyed rounding the Horn and passing the Falklands. Since this morning we have got back up to high speed. We’re expecting 30-35-40 knot winds in the coming hours. That’s quite windy, but we don’t have that nasty swell that goes with it sometimes. We will turn off to avoid the worst of the low this evening between 1600hrs UTC and 2300hrs UTC.”
6300 miles from the finish and in spite of a plesant day as tourists off the Falklands, IDEC SPORT is now back up to more than 22 knots of VMG, with a lead of just over 1900 miles over the Jules Verne Trophy title-holder.
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