Author: José Lamazou

On Sunday, a little before 20:00, Francis Joyon and his five crewmembers cast off from the port of Brest, to guide Idec Sport to the Jules Verne Trophy start line between Ushant and Lizard Point. At 22:14, the six men went over the start line. The timer is now ticking for the Idec Sport trimaran as it vies to improve the record set by Loïck Peyron in 2012.

 

In a hurry to get going after seeing their hopes of setting off foiled twice already, the crew decided to go looking for favorable winds on the other side of a low. They need to cross this weather system for a distance of fifty miles or so before reaching powerful northerly winds which will hopefully set the lively pace they’re after as they set off to conquer the absolute speed record for sailing around the world. The six men were initially expected to go over the line sometime between midnight and one in the morning.

Long suspense

Should they go or should they stay? And if they go, then when exactly? In Code Green since the start of Sunday morning, Francis Joyon, in constant contact with Marcel van Triest, IDEC SPORT’s router, remained on the alert on Sunday afternoon even if he was still uncertain about his chances of making it to the Jules Verne Trophy start line with his crew. The uncertainty was due to unstable weather, which nevertheless opened up an opportunity that the skipper of the 31-metre trimaran was reluctant to let slip away.

“The weather situation at the start isn’t necessarily easy because we need to progress in light winds before going over the line. But we’re going because we think that it’s better to try than not to try – all the more so because once we get over this pre-departure weather difficulty, the rest of the weather situation looks good. A fine connection to the South Atlantic is possible thanks to a front breaking away from Cabo Frio in Brazil. If we manage to catch it, it could take us to the Cape of Good Hope in a decent time,” explained Francis Joyon before leaving the deck.

“We’re still glad to be setting off even if it’s a bit of an unusual situation to be leaving from a low, associated with light winds. I’ve always set off in strong winds when I’ve hunted this record in the past. This is an experience, but we’re here to learn and we’re still going to learn a lot from this new attempt,” he added.

A “tight” time to beat

Let’s remember that to beat the reference time set in 2012 by Loïck Peyron and his thirteen-man crew, Francis Joyon, Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Gwénolé Gahinet, Clément Surtel and Boris Herrmann will need to knock off the three-cape route in under 45 days, 42 minutes and 53 seconds. A “tight” result says the IDEC SPORT skipper, which means that he can’t afford to lose any time in getting to the seas of the South, requiring a passage to the Equator in under 6 days, and the Cape of Good Hope in between 12 and 13 days.

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

On Sunday, Francis Joyon and the IDEC Sport team went back into Code Green, the signal indicating that they may well be about to set off.

 

It’s the third time since the start of November that the Idec Sport team has seen a favourable weather window open up, but this time may well be a case of third time lucky. Latest forecasts predict a “60 % chance of leaving between Sunday evening and Monday morning,” according to Francis Joyon, visibly in a hurry to get going.

“It’s very difficult to wait because we’re on the alert,” explained the navigator. “We make weather readings 4, 5, 6 times a day, checking that the crew’s available and set to get to the boat.” By returning to Code Green, Francis Joyon and his fellow crewmembers (Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Boris Herrmann, Gwénolé Gahinet and Clément Surtel) are back in battle-ready mode. The next updates coming from their onshore router Marcel Van Triest will be analysed carefully so that they can make the best decision and seize hold of the timeframe most likely to help them set a new record for the course. The crew is nonetheless dogged by “a level of concern because we’re not sure about the weather,” adds Francis Joyon.

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

He’d been hoping that weather conditions would allow him to set off on Saturday 12 November. But Idec Sport’s new attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy won’t be getting off to a start this weekend after all. The last weather assessments made by Marcel Van Triest, the team’s router and meteorologist, have shown that conditions don’t allow for any records being beaten on the Equator leg.

 

Even if the Idec Sport crew has gone back to Code Red, it is staying on its toes while crossing its fingers for a weather window to open up.

This is the second time that Francis Joyon has been forced to go back to Code Rouge, the mode synonymous with an absence of favorable weather conditions in the next few days.

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

After going back to Code Amber on Wednesday, Francis Joyon and his crew have been hoping that weather conditions will allow them to set off to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy on Saturday 12 November. But their hopes may well be thwarted once again as “the latest changes in the North Atlantic have clouded the situation,” explains the Idec Sport crew. The coming hours will be decisive.

 

In the last few days, Francis Joyon – along with his router, the crew’s seventh man – has been poring over weather models, with the steadfast hope of seizing an opportunity to leave tomorrow, on the morning of Saturday 12 November. But the situation has now blurred due to the latest evolutions in the North Atlantic. “The latest data shows a high from Mauritania will be shutting off the trade winds, which would mean that the crew would have to go much further west to get to the Equator. In doing so, it would fall several hours behind the record they are aiming to beat,” explains Marcel Van Triest.

The Equator target

With these doubts on the horizon, there’s no question of setting off straight away. A Jules Verne Trophy attempt requires weather conditions to be reliable and stable enough for making it to the Equator and the Southern Hemisphere in good time. This is the only certainty to hang onto for those aiming to take on this absolute speed record, before far greater predictability meets them as they continue the round-the-world race.

Francis Joyon, Clément Surtel, Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Boris Herrmann and Gwénolé Gahinet remain on the alert, ready to leave as soon as conditions take a favourable turn enabling them to take up this planetary challenge once again.

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

Francis Joyon and his crew returned, on Wednesday, to Code Amber during their stand-by wait for appropriate conditions to embark on their new attempt to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record. The IDEC SPORT skipper, along with his onshore router Dutchman Marcel van Triest, is gearing up for a possible departure from Ushant on Saturday 12 November.

 

Even if the situation in the North Atlantic is deteriorating, it remains favorable enough for the team to make it to the Equator in under 6 days, and – as we write these lines – the Cape of Good Hope in under 13 days. Francis Joyon and Marcel van Triest are continuing to keep a watch on the evolution of major weather patterns in the Atlantic, fine-tuning their analyses day by day to confirm – or reject – the viability of crossing the starting line on Saturday.

After a return to Code Red on Sunday 6 November, following the partial opening of a hopeful weather window in the Atlantic, the whole crew of the maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT – Alex Pella, Gwénolé Gahinet, Boris Herrmann, Bernard Stamm and Clément Surtel – is once again shifting into the pre-departure mode associated with Code Amber, as they envisage the possibility of setting off on their world tour on Saturday. Marcel van Triest notes that a departure on Saturday would offer advantageous sailing conditions in the North Atlantic and the possibility of arriving at the Equator in less than 6 days: an altogether respectful time given that the boat would be making the descent with wind directly astern – a point of sail that does not foster very high speeds for ocean-going giants like IDEC SPORT. The situation in the South Atlantic, which raised problems last week, seems to be gradually evolving in the right direction as the St Helena High rises back up.

On the alert more than ever, with boat and supplies ready to go, the entire IDEC SPORT team continues to wait on the assessments, carried out several times a day, by Marcel and Francis. Watch this space…

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

Nicknamed “the Everest of the Seas,” the Vendée Globe is considered to be the most demanding race to exist because it is a singlehanded event comprising no stops and no assistance. For its 8^th edition starting this Sunday, 29 skippers will be taking up this landmark navigation challenge. Created in 1989 by Philippe Jeantot, the inaugural competition was won by Titouan Lamazou. From edition to edition, the race has become a myth, progressing from a completely deranged challenge into a high-flying sporting and human trial, which has inspired a few more ideas.

One person, one boat, and the ocean. This was what Philippe Jeantot had in mind when he set up the Vendée Globe in 1989. That year, 13 sailors set off to sail around the world singlehandedly, without stops or assistance, inciting widespread admiration :

 

“La course du siècle, le Vendée Globe Challenge” – Stade 2 du 26 novembre 1989 – INA

 

Ever since, while technology has brought big changes and allowed over 30 days to be slashed from the initial record, taking on the Vendée Globe remains a major sporting challenge.

But “one challenge will replace another,” as Titouan Lamazou observed after his victory in 1990. At the initiative of Lamazou and Florence Arthaud, the Vendée Globe gave birth, four years later, to the Jules Verne Trophy and the dream of sailing around the world in 80 days. Once again, this wager seemed a bit crazy to start off with. Until Bruno Peyron met the challenge in 79 days in 1993. But as the years go by and records are bettered, circumnavigation continues to preserve its incredible aura.

In the next few days, whether boats are manned singlehandedly or by crews, the focus will be on sailing round the world. Twenty-nine sailors now hope to improve François Gabart’ record (78 days, 2 hours and 16 minutes in 2013) while Francis Joyon and his team on Idec Sport are watching weather conditions closely to set off, as soon as possible, on their attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy, last won in 2012 by Loïck Peyron (45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes).

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

 

The sailing world is at full tilt this weekend. Not only is the 8^th edition of the Vendée Globe starting while Francis Joyon with his Idec Sport crew wait to begin their Jules Verne Trophy attempt, Thomas Coville is also ready to set off at the helm of his multihull Sodebo. The sailor from Brittany is hoping to leave on Sunday for his attempt to beat the solo round-the-world record.

 

In Code Amber since Thursday, the Sodebo Ultim’ crew went into Code Green, on Saturday, for its attempt to beat the solo round-the-world record. This means a potential departure in the next 24 hours, in other words, on Sunday 6 November. Thomas plans to leave the Château de Brest port tomorrow morning at around 8 a.m.

As far as weather and routing go for the first part of the course until the Equator, a very fine departure is expected, with a practically straight-line route that will allow reaching the Equator in a little over 5 days. The next stage in the South Atlantic also offers the possibility of passing the Cape of Good Hope in good time.

Let’s remember that the solo round-the-world sailing record has been held, since 2008, by Francis Joyon (57 days, 13 hours and 34 minutes).

 

Source : www.sodebo.com

Despite his hopes of launching, on Sunday, his second attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy, Francis Joyon was forced to modify his plans on Saturday. Unfavorable weather conditions in the South Atlantic didn’t look like they’d let him beat the standing record. On the starting blocks in Brest since Friday, Joyon and his crew nonetheless remain hopeful of an improvement at the start of next week.

 

“The North Atlantic conditions are practically ideal, but our routing says that we’d arrive at Good Hope one and a half or even two days behind the record,” explains Francis Joyon, slightly disappointed at not being able to take advantage of the current strong northerly and northwesterly winds, capable of shooting the boat to 0° latitude in the space of 5 days. “The St Helena High is very far south at the moment, which would force us to go a long way south to sail downwind. This strategy would be costly because of the extra distance covered, and above all, very risky because of the presence of ice in those latitudes.”

IDEC SPORT, in top form as demonstrated by its fine trial run yesterday, has thus gone back to Code Red, and will not be taking advantage of tomorrow’s good conditions for sliding downwind, set to push Vendée Globe competitors towards Cape Finisterre and the Portuguese trade winds. “We’re going to watch our friends go off, and we hope that things will evolve favorably in the South Atlantic and possibly bring interesting conditions from Wednesday evening onwards. What I fear is seeing west south westerly winds settling in off the coast because we know that these can last a long time and prolong our stand-by state indefinitely…”

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com

Arriving in Brest on Friday afternoon, Francis Joyon and his crew on the maxi trimaran Idec Sport are hoping that conditions will be favorable for them launching, this Sunday, their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy. Before setting off on this second try at beating the record for sailing around the world, non-stop and without outside assistance, the navigator from France’s Eure-et-Loir department will be taking a close look, this Saturday, at weather conditions. The coming hours will be decisive.

 

“Regarding our departure date, I’d say that we’re 40 % likely to leave on Sunday,” declared Francis Joyon on Friday to the newspaper Ouest France. “We’re in no way certain about being able to leave quickly, but the boat is in position. We took four hours to come from La Trinité. The boat went really fast. We got up to 37 knots, so that’s really satisfying.”

Because speed will definitely be necessary if the maxi trimaran Idec Sport is to beat the record set in 2011 by Loïck Peyron at the helm of Banque Populaire (45 days, 13 hours and 42 minutes).

A good dose of confidence

Bear in mind that in 2015, Francis Joyon already made a first attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy, but missed out on beating the record when he crossed the finish line at Ushant in 47 days, 14 hours and 47 minutes. This time, Joyon and his crew show boundless determination and are dead set on having their names go down as winners of the competition.

“We know that it’ll be a difficult challenge,” Francis Joyon confided 24 hours ago to Ouest France. “The time that was achieved is quite remarkable, but we also know that we have a chance at succeeding because we’re trained up, we have a good boat, we’re a good team.”

All that the Idec Sport crew needs to do now is to pray that there will be wind on Sunday.

 

Isabelle Trancoen (article translated from French)

Departure time is drawing near for Francis Joyon and the crew of the maxi trimaran Idec Sport. Thursday marked an activation of Code Amber – the alert used by Joyon to indicate a favorable weather opportunity within the next five days for starting off on an attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy. On Friday, Idec Sport will be heading to Brest to stand ready for setting off on this crewed non-stop circumnavigation. The starting line may be crossed as early Sunday evening, in Ushant.

 

“A good weather configuration has emerged,” explained Francis Joyon. “Mainly northerly winds at around twenty knots, ideal for a quick exit from the bay and for making for the Equator, gybing once, in a time very close to the one we achieved during our attempt last year.” Let’s remember that on that occasion, Idec Sport notched up the second-best performance in the history of the Ushant-Equator leg, with a time of 5 days, one hour and 52 seconds – eleven hours better than the Trophy’s title holder Banque Populaire V, skippered by Loïck Peyron.

“But there’s still uncertainty about how the St Helena High will evolve,” adds Francis Joyon. “For now it’s located very far to the south, blocking the route to the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean. We’d need to go down very low south in order to get around it. So we’ll get to Brest tomorrow while continuing to monitor the evolution of weather conditions in the South Atlantic, bearing in mind that the North Atlantic is very favorable for now.”

The whole crew (Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel), with the exception of German Boris Herrman, held back in Germany, is on deck and will take advantage of the delivery trip to Brest to settle in. “Bernard will look after final supplies once we’re in Brest, and if the departure scenario is confirmed and the situation in the South Atlantic improves, we may well cross the starting line on Sunday evening,” concludes Francis Joyon, visibly impatient to get going. “The job list has been dealt with. We’ve made the boat lighter. It seems that it’s now time to set off on this wonderful big adventure.”

 

Source : www.idecsport-sailing.com