Category: Course 2016

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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

While Spindrift Racing has announced that it will not be making an attempt at beating the Jules Verne Trophy record this winter, IDEC Sport on the other hand is ready on standby at Trinité sur Mer.
In 2015, Francis Joyon and his team sailed around the world in 47 days, 14 hours and 47 minutes. By just two days, they missed out on beating the record set by Banque Populaire in 2012, of 45 days, 14 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.
Since this morning, the red-and-white maxi trimaran has once again gone on standby, with the aim of bringing down the record. Francis Joyon has gathered the same team as last year: Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet, Boris Herrmann, Clément Surtel, Alex Pella and Marcel Van Triest, the onshore router.
The navigator is now waiting for the right weather window to come up before setting off around the world, defining the month of February as a limit.
“The probability of a window before mid-November is extremely low,” he explains, “but we need to be ready to seize the opportunity if it arises. Leaving fairly early in the season can also help us to benefit from better conditions for sailing up the Atlantic, even if a large element of the unknown will naturally persist. The season is relatively short, and ends in February. The earlier we can leave, the better things will be for us. We’ll set sail when the wind makes it possible – when the situation is correct, even if not ideal. There are no more outings on the agenda because the big trimaran will no longer be manoeuvrable at the port. We’ll only head for Brest when we see the signs of a serious weather window opening up,” notes Francis.

Début du stand-by officiel du maxi-trimaran IDEC SPORT pour le Trophée Jules @TJV_officiel https://t.co/xMuDuK22E3 pic.twitter.com/vAxmvGUXNN

— Francis Joyon (@FrancisJoyon) October 20, 2016