Author: José Lamazou

On Thursday 8 December 2016 at 02 hours 20 minutes (French time), Thomas Coville, skipper of the trimaran Sodebo Ultim’, reached Cape Horn 4 days and 59 minutes ahead of the time set by Francis Joyon, holder of the solo round-the-world record since 2007.

 

Record solo Pacific crossing

This is the first time that a sailor has singlehandedly crossed the Pacific Ocean so quickly. Thomas Coville therefore set a new speed record this morning by achieving a solo Pacific crossing in 8 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds (subject to approval and ratification by the WSSRC – World Sailing Speed Record Council).

He crossed the ocean’s 5,429 miles – in other words, 10,064 kilometers – at an average of 25.8 knots.

To get from the southern tip of Tasmania to Cape Horn, the skipper of Sodebo Ultim’ needed only 10 minutes more than Orange II, Bruno Peyron’s catamaran measuring nearly 40 meters which, in 2005, took 8 days and 18 hours with 14 men on board. And 39 minutes less than Groupama 3 in 2010, whose 10-man crew included Thomas Coville at the time.

Ushant – Cap Horn at high speed: a new reference time

Departing from Ushant on Sunday 6 November, Thomas Coville took 31 days, 11 hours, 30 minutes and 8 seconds to round the last of the three major capes on this circumnavigation route, after the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin in Australia’s south.

With an average speed of 25.33 knots, the Sodebo Ultim’ skipper has set a new solo reference time between Ushant and Cape Horn. He has sailed 19,142 miles since his departure – in other words, 35,450 km. He now has a straight-line distance of 7,000 miles to cover until Ushant. To beat Francis Joyon’s record, he’ll need to get back to Brest by 3 January 2017 at 04 hour 23 min 57 seconds (French time).

 

Source : www.sodebo.com

Turning back after only one week into the race has in no way dented the morale or determination of Francis Joyon and his five fellow crewmembers. The Idec Sport team arrived back in Brest on Saturday afternoon, and is now waiting for favorable weather conditions so that it can set off in pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy once again.

 

Last Sunday, after a promising start to their race attempt, the crew’s six sailors decided to backtrack after coming across a mighty setback in the Doldrums, which lost them precious hours in their attempt to set a new record on the course. Less than one week later, the crew is back at the port of Brest, once again on stand-by for an encouraging weather window.

Remember that their first attempt, starting on 20 November, wagered on a strategy, jointly concocted by Francis Joyon and Marcel Van Triest, Idec Sport’s router and weatherman. After a difficult departure from Ushant, the team sped to the Bay of Biscay, then along the Moroccan coast. But the Doldrums would finally get the better of Francis Joyon, Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Gwénolé Gahinet, Clément Surtel and Boris Herrmann, forcing them to turn back.

When conditions point their way, the six men will once again attack the record set by Loïck Peyron in 2012 (45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds).

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

Over the past 48 hours, the crew of IDEC SPORT has been heading home. In the early stage of their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy, Francis Joyon and his crew of five took the decision to abandon their attempt as they reached the Equator after suffering a slowdown in the Doldrums. Francis, Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet and Boris Herrmann are heading for Brest, which they should reach on Sunday to set off again when an opportunity arises. For the moment, off the Cape Verde Islands, as Francis Joyon tell us, the crew of IDEC SPORT are already getting ready to set off again.

 

What are conditions like as you head back up?
F.J: “Today we have light winds. We are leeward of the Cape Verde Islands and it’s very hot. The sky is very blue and we’re tidying up the boat to do things as efficiently as possible once back in Brest. We are in a transition zone with weakening trade winds. But after this period of calm, we should pick up the winds from a low further north and get back up fairly quickly. We hope to be back in Brest on Sunday morning or on Saturday night, if conditions are really favourable.”

You seem to have gone through the Doldrums which were very active…
“The six of us have been through the Doldrums many times. I remember on one occasion it was fairly violent with severe squalls and winds going from 0 to 40 in just a few moments, but that is rare. This time, in fact, it lasted twenty hours or so before continuing with a long period of calm. In the Doldrums, it’s all a bit mysterious… None of this was forecast on the charts nor by observations. We decided to turn back and go through it again wondering what would hit us this time. But on the way back up it went very quickly in steady winds and we weren’t held up. Astonishing!”

How do you feel 48 hours after that episode?
“Today’s Bernard’s birthday. We don’t have all the ingredients for a cake, but we’ll do it one day. The crew is in a good mood again after everyone took it badly. Now, the usual mood has returned. We’re already looking at possible weather opportunities. There don’t seem to be any for the time being, but we’ll be ready. We just have to get a fortnight’s worth of food on board  and we can go.”

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

In full agreement with his crew and Marcel van Triest, his router, Francis Joyon decided this morning to stop his attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy round the world record. He has turned back and is heading for Brest to wait for a more favourable weather opportunity.

 

The Doldrums were particularly active and moving with the IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran preventing Francis Joyon and his men from making it to the South Atlantic low and achieving a decent time to the Cape of Good Hope, and in good stead to beat the record held by Banque Populaire V.

IDEC SPORT is heading back to Brest in Brittany, which Francis Joyon hopes to reach next weekend. He will then begin another stand-by phase for another attempt. “With extremely violent squalls and long periods of calm, I thought about it for a long time before asking Marcel van Triest about whether it was worth continuing our attempt,” explained Francis. “It seems that this unforeseen delay in getting to the Equator, means we won’t be able to hop onto the lows forming off Cape Frio in Brazil. If we continued on our route, we would probably reach the Cape of Good Hope too far behind the record.”

“We’re not giving up. The idea of turning back is always part of this challenge and we had talked about it before the start in Brest last weekend. We shall be heading back into the squalls in the Doldrums and hope to reach Brest next Sunday to go on stand by again.”

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

After cutting their way through the Atlantic Ocean thanks to very favorable weather conditions before reaching the Cape Verde Islands, Francis Joyon and his team experienced a slowdown on Friday. But the crew remains confident as they continue their way to the Equator.

 

Twenty-four hours ago, the maxi-trimaran Idec Sport was a little ahead of the record set by Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire V in 2012. But their passage through the Cape Verde Islands has once again reversed the situation. Put the blame on the wind shadow of two small islands in the archipelago. As a result, Joyon and his five teammates have had to fight their hearts out, with plenty of gybing, to pull away from it. During the night, Idec Sport left Cape Verde behind it, but the stopwatch is no longer ticking in its favor.

As every day brings a new challenge, the six sailors will have the doldrums to deal with next. Also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, this area preceding the Equator is always dreaded by sailors who fear getting stuck there. The challenge will be to get out quick for Francis Joyon who still hopes to reach the Equator in a decent time. “We’re not aiming for a sensational time to the Equator,” reminds the sailor originating from Eure-et-Loir. “We wish to keep down our lag behind the reference time and are counting on more favorable weather in the South Atlantic to see us through to the Cape of Good Hope.”

The maxi-trimaran Idec Sport is currently advancing at an average of 15 knots or so, well down from the average established yesterday which allowed it to literally chomp up miles. The Equator is less than 500 miles away, and the coming hours will be crucial for the team. It’s clear: getting through in good time would undoubtedly cheer up the six men, allowing them to attack the Southern Hemisphere in the best possible way.

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

On Thursday, Francis Joyon and his five teammates went past the enchanting Cape Verde Islands after 3 days and 15 hours of sailing. A fine performance given the conditions in which the IDEC crew started out their Jules Verne Trophy attempt on Sunday.

 

They sailed through the center of a low, with winds ranging from strong to calm. But after 3 days and 15 hours at sea, Francis Joyon, Bernard Stamm, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Alex Pella and Boris Herrmann have been rewarded for their efforts and strategy. The six sailors have covered 2,290 miles at an average of 26.3 knots. An extremely satisfying start to the race because tonight they’re ahead – if only slightly – of the record set by Loïck Peyron in 2012.

https://twitter.com/FrancisJoyon/status/801749958298836992

Francis Joyon does not hide that the crew had to sweat and toil to gain this advance: “I steered like a madman yesterday, at 35 knots and over. But we haven’t yet exploited the boat’s full potential. The wind was too irregular, in terms of both strength and direction. It was challenging (…) In such conditions, the boat demands so much concentration from the helmsman that it’s necessary to change over after 30 minutes. Conditions really need to be easy to stay more than half an hour at the helm.”

In the space of almost 4 days of racing, the team has managed to test out the maxi-trimaran a little, and the verdict is good. “The boat seems faster,” declares Francis Joyon. “All day today and all day yesterday, under full mainsail and gennaker, we went at 7 to 8 % faster than last year. We’ve learned lessons from our previous attempt, and we’re trying to do better in every domain, including supplies.”

With Cape Verde behind them, the Idec Sport crew is now focusing on its next objective: the Equator. Let’s remember that in 2012, Loïck Peyron, at the helm of Banque Populaire V, crossed this line in 5 days, 14 hours and 55 minutes.

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

After a somewhat chaotic start in variable weather conditions, Francis Joyon and his five crewmembers picked up their pace and are shooting ahead to the southwest of the Canaries.

 

Before the team’s departure last Sunday, Marcel Van Triest and Francis Joyon formulated a plan, which was meant to start bearing fruit from the Equator onwards. But they didn’t need to wait that far: after three grueling days, the Idec Sport team has established a good position and can finally breathe a little.

“A departure is always very emotional, and this one was brutal,” reported Clément Surtel on Wednesday. “We’re doing well. We’ve avoided much of the wind. The sea is calming down. We’re on track and dealing with a few minor squalls. We’re fighting to get out of the squalls. We’re happy with our average. We need to make a few repairs but nothing serious. We’re just starting to have normal meals – eggs and bacon for me this morning.”

Conditions are improving and the sun has appeared to the delight of the six sailors on board the maxi-trimaran, now heading south at a very decent average of 30 knots. For now, Clément Surtel says that he’s “not paying too much attention to time gaps”. Idec Sport nonetheless has reason to rejoice because it is now only 11 miles behind Loïck Peyron’s 2012 time for this leg.

But while things look positive, Francis Joyon and his team don’t intend to rest on their laurels: the Cape Verde islands stand in their firing line.

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

When they crossed the start line at Ushant last Sunday, Francis Joyon and his 5 crew members knew one thing: the start of their adventure was not going to be one smooth ride. After nearly 48 hours on a multifaceted sea, offering them both calmness and strong winds, the Idec Sport team has started to get into its stride.

 

“We were a little shaken up when we went through the center of the low about twelve hours after we left Ushant,” explained Francis Joyon this morning.“We went through many maneuvers that didn’t encourage high speeds, including a dozen or so sail changes. This was exhausting because there are only six of us on this big boat. So we didn’t get much sleep and drew on our reserves.”

The maxi-trimaran is currently heading southwest, sailing off the Moroccan coast. Thanks to strong northeasterly winds, the crew is advancing at a speed of about 28 knots. While they’re 215 miles behind Loïck Peyron’s record, Francis Joyon and his team remain confident about the strategy they have formed with Marcel van Triest, their router and meteorologist. Indeed, the aim is to reach the Equator in a “decent” time, before making it past the Cape of Good Hope in good time.

Remember that in 2012 Loïck Peyron passed the Equator in 5 days, 14 hours and 55 minutes, then the Cape of Good Hope after 11 days.

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

Twenty-four hours after their departure in quest of the Jules Verne Trophy, Francis Joyon and his crew met with a difficult start before finding their cruising speed on Monday morning, thanks to very favorable winds. The maxi-trimaran is now sailing down the Portuguese coast.

 

We can’t exactly say that Francis Joyon got off to a flying start on his second attempt at the record. Anything but. In conjunction with Marcel Van Triest, the Idec Sport team’s router and meteorologist, the following decision was made: to set off despite weak winds, with the prospect of finding good sailing conditions later along the course. And that’s precisely what happened. Joyon and Co were initially forced to tack due to a quasi-absence of wind. But then, at dawn, breezes finally stirred to the crew’s great joy.

Retour aux conditions de glisse pour IDEC SPORT pointé à plus de 31 noeuds @TJV_officiel pic.twitter.com/K1qnB0KqLC

— Francis Joyon (@FrancisJoyon) November 21, 2016

In this way, they sped across the Bay of Biscay, enabling Francis Joyon to make up for time lost earlier in the day. After 24 hours of effort, the Idec Sport crew found themselves 182 miles off the record set by Loïck Peyron in 2012.

In any case, after this first day at sea, Marcel Van Triest shows optimism: “We envisage making a decent time to the Equator, of roughly 5 days and twelve hours, which is clearly not as good as the one during our 2015 attempt (editorial note: 5 days and 1 hour). But we then expect a very promising time of about 13 and a half days to the Cape of Good Hope, along with the possibility of avoiding going too far south in the ice zones, as our routing suggested when we were looking at an opening on 6 November.”

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

On Sunday 20 November, at 21:44, Francis Joyon and his 5 fellow crewmembers set off on board their maxi-trimaran, Idec Sport, to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy. Relive, via this video, the start of this wonderful sporting and human adventure, which we invite you to follow on our web site’s news page. You can also follow the crew’s journey thanks to our map.

 

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)