Category: Jules Verne Trophy 2020/2021

Sailing in the Indian Ocean since yesterday afternoon and their passage of the longitude of Cape Agulhas, the men of Gitana Team were positioned at 48°28 south at 11:00 UTC with a lead of over 860 miles over the record when they informed their shore team that they’d encountered some problems with the rudder on the starboard float, which is the leeward rudder and hence the one under load. Having reduced its speed, the crew is currently carrying out a thorough inspection of the appendages and its connecting systems with its experts onshore. Further information will be communicated over the coming hours.

 

Since their successive passages yesterday of the Cape of Good Hope at 11:37 UTC and then Cape Agulhas four hours later, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild are navigating the Indian Ocean. The six sailors are having to deal with sailing conditions the crew describe as difficult. Indeed, with strong and shifty winds in terms of force and short, cross seas, the journey south is no picnic, particularly in light of the fact that this dive down towards the austral latitudes is accompanied by a significant drop in temperature. At the 06:00 UTC position report, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew were positioned at 48°28 south and had a lead of 887 miles over Idec Sport.

 

 

In the thick of things

The contrast aboard the flying blue maxi-trimaran is striking. There’s no doubt about it, the crew, now the fastest of all time on the descent of the Atlantic, has switched sailing mode since entering the Indian Ocean, as detailed by Yann Riou, contacted at daybreak: “It hasn’t been a very pleasant night. The wind is particularly shifty in force and it’s very tough to get the Maxi making headway as she should and at a constant pace in these conditions. We’re doing our best, taking it in turns at the helm quite a lot, but it’s not always easy. The sea state is really poor, not big but short and crossed, which is forcing us to helm as the autopilot gets lost in this kind of sea. The conditions are putting a strain on the both the men and the boat.”

 

With the crew now sailing close to a latitude of 50° south, the atmosphere has clearly cooled on deck and below the cuddy of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. “From one watch to the next, we can really feel the difference. We’ve been on a south-easterly heading since we passed the tip of South Africa and conditions today are a world apart from those yesterday. It’s been cold since last night and we’re having to equip ourselves accordingly before taking up our watch on deck. We’re here, it’s the Deep South!”, admitted the media crewman.

 

To tackle this new day in the Jules Verne Trophy record attempt, the sailors of Gitana Team have managed to retain a lead of over 887 miles in relation to their virtual adversary.

By leaving the longitude of Cape Agulhas in her wake this Thursday 21 January at 15h37’53’’ UTC, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has officially entered the Indian Ocean. After 11 days 14 hours and 3 minutes at sea, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew are attacking the Southern Ocean with a lead of more than 1 day 7 hours and 19 minutes over Francis Joyon and the men on Idec Sport. In so doing, they have become the fastest sailors in history on this descent of the Atlantic; a fantastic time which they naturally dedicate to Baron Benjamin de Rothschild, whose passing was announced just a few days ago.

 

 

Two capes and two new reference times 

This twelfth day at sea has enabled the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild to secure her first accolades in her Jules Verne Trophy record attempt. After setting sail from Ushant on 10 January at 01h33’46’’ UTC, the six sailors passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope this Thursday morning at 11h27’46’’ UTC after 11 days 9 hours and 53 minutes at sea. In so doing, they improved on the reference time set by the crew on Banque Populaire in 2012 in the Jules Verne Trophy by 11 hours and 55 minutes. It’s also worth noting that until this 21 January, the outright record for this section of the course was held by a solo sailor with a time of 11 days 20 hours and 10 minutes. The latter was François Gabart who, in 2017, posted a staggering performance to the tip of South Africa. Some four hours later, at 15h37’53’’ UTC, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier, David Boileau, Erwan Israël, Yann Riou and Morgan Lagravière repeated this performance at Cape Agulhas, arriving in the Indian Ocean with the best reference time and, most importantly, a lead of 1 day 7 hours and 19 minutes over the current Jules Verne Trophy holder.

 

“Less than 11 days 10 hours to get to Good Hope is great going, which means that it was a favourable weather window and we were right to snap it up! That said, we still feel like we lost some time along the way, especially in the doldrums, but we’re happy to be here and to be posting these speeds. Now comes the hard part,” admits Franck Cammas to Yann Riou’s camera.

 

 

In at the deep end in the Southern Ocean 

The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is navigating the first miles of her career in the Southern Ocean, as is the case for David Boileau and Morgan Lagravière, who are tackling their first passage across the Indian Ocean. However, the crew is all too aware, this is where things start to get serious! The first reason for this is that over this long section of the course in the Southern Ocean, Francis Joyon and his crew were brilliant and clearly broke new ground in relation to the Trophy thanks to a trajectory bordering on perfection; namely 5 days 21 hours to devour the Indian Ocean and then 7 days 21 hours till they made Cape Horn… The second reason is that the men of Gitana Team are plunging down towards latitudes which are never a trivial matter.

 

“It’s a fine first reference time since it’s the outright record over this course between Ushant and the tip of South Africa. Even though it’s a record that doesn’t really count for a lot, it’s important for us because it has enabled us to complete this passage with a lead of nearly 1 and a half days over the Jules Verne Trophy record held by Francis Joyon and that’s the objective we set ourselves. After that, Francis enjoyed a completely crazy Southern Ocean and we have very little chance of finding such conditions. Moreover, we won’t have such a quick Indian Ocean, so we’re delighted to have this cushion which, to my mind, is barely enough to stay ahead of him or level with him by the time we exit. As a result, our primary objective has been quite successful! On top of that, the boat is in tip-top condition and that’s the main thing!” concluded Charles Caudrelier.

 

By way of a tribute to Benjamin de Rothschild, our dear departed owner

Since last Friday, Gitana Team, the offshore racing stable he founded with his wife Ariane de Rothschild in 2000, has been mourning the loss of its owner. In our own way, from the sea he was so fond of, we wanted to pay him one last tribute. These new reference times, the best of all time over this section of the course, we dedicate to him and offer them to Ariane de Rothschild and her four daughters in his honour.

 

“The wake of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will punctuate the history of flying boats and offshore racing. We could never thank Benjamin de Rothschild enough for having enabled us to embark on this incredible adventure and for having believed in this project and in our team to make it a reality. He managed to transform his heritage with boldness and passion. Every day we remember how lucky we are to be a part of this story and to have a chance to add new pages to this quite unique lineage”, stated Cyril Dardashti, director of Gitana.

After setting sail from Ushant on 10 January at 01h33’46’’, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope this 21 January at 11h27’46’’ UTC after 11 days 9 hours and 53 minutes at sea. In so doing, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier, David Boileau, Erwan Israël, Yann Riou and Morgan Lagravière have secured the new reference time for the descent of the Atlantic, improving on the crewed reference time set by Banque Populaire in 2012 in the Jules Verne with a time of 11 days 21 hours 48 minutes (some 11 hours and 55 minutes faster) as well as that of Francois Gabart in solo format. Until this lunchtime, the skipper of Macif held the outright record for this section of 11 days 20 hours and 10 minutes.

 

 

Another cape awaits the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, that of Agulhas, in a few miles’ time. However, this less well-known reference is just as important because it’s only on reaching this longitude that the Indian Ocean begins and with it the record approved by the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council).

Throughout the night, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has had to contend with shifty conditions to get the 32-metre giant making headway towards the gateway to the Indian Ocean. In short seas, where the boat accelerates and decelerates in every wave, piloting by night has not been the easiest of missions, especially in light of the fact that the dying breeze is still serving up a few suprise gusts to spice things up. As such, it was important to be on the sheets last night under the cuddy of the flying blue maxi-trimaran. Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew had to hunt down a pivot point to the north before gybing on the stroke of 04:00 hours and then diving back down towards the south and the fortieth parallel. Despite conceding some ground to their virtual adversary over recent hours, at the 07:00 UTC position report, the men of Gitana Team still boast an 821-mile lead over the record holder, giving them a good cushion for rounding the first major cap of this round the world under sail.

 

The men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild are preparing to leave the familiar waters of the Atlantic Ocean and devour those of the less hospitable Indian Ocean. Indeed, at midday tomorrow, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier, David Boileau, Erwan Israël, Morgan Lagravière and Yann Riou should pass the longitude of Cape Agulhas, which marks the entrance to the Southern Ocean. If the men of Gitana Team maintain the same pace they’ve been setting for the past three days or so, they should manage to post a fine time by way of a conclusion for  this section of the course, which measures nearly 6,200 miles (or around 10,000 km).

 

 

One should not always go by appearances… Despite an average speed of over 33 knots racked up by the flying maxi-trimaran over the past 24 hours, the six sailors who make up her crew are endeavouring to slow the giant down as best they can, but all she wants to do is accelerate. In a wind of between 30 and 35 knots, gusting to over 45 knots, which slaps into the sails, together with short, cross seas, now is not the time for excess speed. Rather it is all about striking a balance and preserving the gear. “We’ve been hunting for the brakes for the past few hours,” admitted Charles Caudrelier.

 

After ten and a half days at sea, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild were benefiting from a nice lead of more than 950 miles over its virtual adversary at 15:00 UTC. However, a closer look at the chart reveals that it is in the next few hours that Francis Joyon and his men, the current holders of the Jules Verne Trophy, began their incredible straight-line ride towards the Pacific, a clear and implacable trajectory, which enabled them to secure a top-flight record in the Indian Ocean. Suffice to say that the match has only just begun.

 

Maxi-soundbites from the Sea, a Gitana Team podcast   

Tuned into the noise, Yann Riou, trimmer and media crewman, aims the mike at the partners joining him in this extreme sailing synonymous with the Jules Verne Trophy. It’s a wonderful invitation to an audio journey sharing the extraordinary daily life of these six crewmen engaged in the quest for the speed record around the seas of the globe.

 

Season 1 of our podcast, devoted to the descent of the Atlantic, which makes up the first quarter of the planetary circuit in terms of time, rounds off with this 3rd episode. The men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild are at the gateway to the Deep South. Tomorrow, Thursday 21 January, with their passage across the longitude of Cape Agulhas at the tip of South Africa, the six sailors and their flying maxi-trimaran will switch over to the Indian Ocean.
Just a few hours before what is a grand debut for David Boileau, boat captain and crewman, the latter shares with us a snapshot of life in the roaring forties. In heavy seas, where the 32-metre giant surfs off waves or stumbles into those rising up ahead of her bows, the simple day-to-day actions require the utmost focus. Indeed, in a carbon machine constantly powered up at over 30 knots and primarily geared towards performance rather than comfort under sail, tumbling over, falling flat on your face or worse still injury, are never far away.

 

 

David Boileau, 20 January 2021, in the forties 
“Right around us it’s magnificent! A blue sky, sunshine, reflections in the light blue sea… The seas are very heavy, with big breeze, and the boat is slipping along at 30-35 knots. It’s very pretty! Beyond the picture postcard though, it’s not always fantastically comfortable aboard. With the sea as it is, the boat has a tendency to come to an abrupt standstill in the waves. You have to hang on inside the Maxi, making sure you’re careful when you’re moving around the boat so as you don’t get caught out. This morning for example, I cut my finger near the galley, down in the central hull, just hanging on to make sure I didn’t fall. I got hooked up on a screw.  Moreover, when we cook, to avoid getting ejected, we have a strap that we wrap around our waist. However, this morning, during my incident, I wasn’t in the galley, rather I was just passing into that area on my way out of my resting watch aft in the bunk area, which is located under the cockpit. In terms of sound, yes, it’s always very noisy. You hear the water slipping along the hulls or slamming against them, as well as the whistling appendages. However, this noise is a good reference and enables us to anticipate the motion of the boat quite well. With the vibration of the hull, you feel the acceleration and you imagine the inevitable follow-up deceleration. At that point, everyone hangs onto whatever they have to hand to cushion the blow when the boat lands back down! The boat has also been under a lot of strain for the past three days. We’re being very attentive and doing what needs to be done in terms of speed to preserve the gear as much as possible.”

With short waves and a NW’ly wind of over 30 knots, there’s no doubt this morning, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is in the teeth of the forties. Despite the boisterous conditions, which are not facilitating the giant’s passage through the sea, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their crew have managed to maintain high speeds throughout the night. A sustained pace, albeit perfectly balanced to preserve the gear, has enabled them to significantly increase their lead over Idec Sport in the past 24 hours. At the 07:00 UTC position report, the latest of the Gitanas was darting along towards the Cape of Good Hope and the entrance to the Indian Ocean some 952.4 miles ahead of the bows of their virtual adversary.

 

 

For more than 48 hours now, and since the millimetre precision of her connection with the train of austral low-pressure systems, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been able to lengthen her stride and show off some of the power of her capacity. The speeds are certainly exhilarating, but they in no way detract from the pragmatism and clear-headedness of the two skippers, with over 16,000 miles still to go: “We’re only at the start of this round the world. On the section between Rio and Good Hope, conditions were naturally favourable for a 24-hour speed record but it was important not to forget our objective. Sailing at high speed already places the gear and the systems under a lot of strain, but very high speed is an additional risk that simply isn’t worth taking at this stage in our Jules Verne Trophy”, explained Franck Cammas.

 

Yesterday, in the last messages of the evening exchanged between the boat and their router Marcel van Triest, it was time to sort out the night’s sail configurations and update the weather forecast: “Overnight and in the coming hours, the wind could pick up quite a lot, notably with some possible gusts in excess of 40-45 knots. It’s important to bear that in mind to remain with a careful configuration in terms of headsail.”

 

With a passage of Cape Agulhas scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday 21 January, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is on the pace, proving that she is right on target with the tempo. In fact, according to the exact time they pass the tip of South Africa, the six sailors could well treat themselves to their first new reference time of their round the world record attempt. In the meantime, a new wet and lively day of sailing awaits them in the roaring forties.

Spot on with their timing and at the helm of a giant at her full potential, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild began their passage across the South Atlantic on Sunday evening after seven days at sea, bound for Good Hope, the first of three major capes in the Jules Verne Trophy. Since then, the flying maxi-trimaran has left the Brazilian coast in her wake, the miles simply flying by at very high speed. This afternoon, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew have entered the forties, latitudes known by sailors as roaring due to the boisterous conditions they provide for those who dare to venture into them. And it has to be said that the NW’ly breeze has fleshed out to above 30 knots now. And so the scene is set for the men of Gitana Team who are continuing on their record hunt, with their sights on their first crack at the record to Cape Agulhas, which they know to be within reach.

 

 

Together with their router Marcel van Triest, the Cammas-Caudrelier pairing has managed to pull off its first challenge on the oceanic chessboard. Indeed, by perfectly positioning itself under the Saint Helena High and ahead of a powerful front heading off on a tour of Antarctica, they’re opening their crew up to the fast track. In the last 24 hours, they’ve maintained an average speed of over 35 knots, enabling them to devour some 846 miles.

 

At the gateway to the Deep South

Since departing Ushant, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have been experiencing a speeded-up version of all four seasons, fluctuating between the cold and the hot just a few hours apart at times. By diving down towards the Southern Ocean, the sailors know that living conditions aboard the boat are set to get tougher and they’re preparing for them. And that’s also why they really made the most of the sun and the excellent conditions for slipping along yesterday as they were making headway at over 30° south: “Yesterday, we had 24 fairly crazy hours. Benefiting from such sunny conditions at these latitudes together with flat seas, meant we were able to make headway at very high speed, ticking off over 800 miles over the course of the day. Incredible! I was lucky enough to enjoy it in two ways, which was a great adrenalin rush. We decided to fly the drone and during the same watch I enjoyed 40 minutes of exceptional helming. At times like those… there’s no doubt in our mind about why we came on this voyage!” stressed Yann Riou, before going on to describe the ambiance and life onboard, ahead of the low-pressure system: “we’re gradually changing our clothes. It’s not cold in the daytime yet, even though we like getting on our fleeces and getting into sleeping bags at night, but the atmosphere is clearly more humid now. As such, our foulies and boots are now part of our outfit on deck again. The advantage of this is that the transition towards the cold will be a gradual one, at least with regards their wardrobe.”

 

 

Since the start of this 10th day of the record attempt, the wind has fleshed out as forecast, accompanied by a short, cross sea, it too becoming heavier. This afternoon, the latest of the Gitanas was sailing in a good NW’ly breeze of thirty knots or so, but she was continuing to power along towards the tip of South Africa. With a lead of 792 miles over Francis Joyon’s record, the men of Gitana Team know that they are sailing at the right tempo, but they remain clear-headed and particularly focused: “Idec had an exceptional Indian Ocean with an ideal gybe-free course and a series of days where they covered more than 800 miles… We knew we had to make it to the tip of South Africa with a good lead in order to do battle with them on an even footing”, explained Franck Cammas.

 

As was the case in the Brest Atlantiques race a little over a year ago, the 32-metre giant will pass fairly close to the ‘lost’ islands of the South Atlantic, namely Tristan Da Cunha and its closest neighbour Gough Island.

For the past 24 hours, since they made a perfectly controlled turn to the east offshore of Brazil, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have clearly been lengthening their stride. Constantly making over 30 knots, often stretching to close to 35-40 knots, the six sailors are ticking off the miles at very high speed, increasing their lead over Francis Joyon’s record in the process. They were 732 miles in credit at the 07:00 UTC position report, compared with 442 miles at the same time yesterday. However, today’s the day when the atmosphere and the setting will really change aboard. The big blue skies will likely give way to moderate conditions ahead of the front and the T-shirts and shorts the crew were still wearing on deck yesterday afternoon will likely be consigned to their bags for a while.

 

 

The pureness of the trajectory

Since exiting the doldrums on Friday, the trajectory of the latest Gitana has been crystal-clear and it’s worth congratulating the work of Gitana Team’s weather cell for this vision, starting with Marcel van Triest, the router of the five-arrow stable. From his Mediterranean HQ, he has managed to hit the nail on the head! On setting sail from Ushant at the trailing edge of a weather slot more than a week ago, the Dutchman had a very clear image in his mind of the connection the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild needed to make yesterday. The teamwork required to achieve this was fantastic as it was important to stick closely to the polars of the 32-metre giant and line themselves up with a string of weather systems as the theory envisaged.

 

“It was important not to arrive in the south too early otherwise we’d have had to hang around at the station waiting for the train of depressions. In this case, I’d say that we managed to really nail the timing in terms of this transition. We had this pattern in mind and it’s great when things go according to plan!” admitted Marcel van Triest, a twinkle in his eye.

 

Strong wind for entering the 40th parallel

“The wind will lift considerably as we bend eastwards and we’ll end up on a downwind point of sail by the end of the day,” explained Franck Cammas yesterday. “Next, the wind will pick up considerably as far as South Africa. The visibility will change ahead of the front, even though the sea state will remain fine for quite a long time, which will enable us to post some very fine average speeds by exploiting the boat’s true potential. We’re flat out and we need to be to tackle this section. The next few days are all about striking a balance. We mustn’t be too quick or too slow to keep nicely ahead of the front. We must remain in a sector where the wind strength and direction is right. To achieve this, we need to constantly adjust the Maxi’s speed and course according to the speed and direction of the front, which is propelling us towards the Southern Ocean.”

 

This section of the Jules Verne Trophy course is known for providing teams with the opportunity to secure another record, that of 24 hours! Here, the team seem to have all the ingredients right now in the South Atlantic, between Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town, but the skippers of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild remain clear about their strategy, as Franck Cammas points out: “It’s tempting to get carried away by the speed and performance the boat is more than capable of, but we’re only at the start of our round the world and we need to think about the bigger picture for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. The 24-hour record is not our primary objective, our eyes are on the Jules Verne Trophy.”

 

The crewed 24-hour distance record has been held since 1 August 2009 by Pascal Bidégorry and the men of Banque Populaire V. This was achieved during a North Atlantic record attempt and they covered 908.2 miles at an average speed of 37.84 knots; a fabulous time which still stands today even though it has been under threat on several occasions since.

After a relatively peaceful two-day transition along the Brazilian coast, the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has begun to put some easting into its course, gradually bending the 32-metre giant’s trajectory round towards the point of entry into the Southern Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope. Very quick over the past four hours with an average speed of over 35 knots at the 07:00 UTC position report, Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew have also increased their lead over the current record holder to 428 miles this Monday morning. We’ve got it, aboard the flying maxi-trimaran the pace is set to accelerate over the coming hours whilst the temperature will drop as the six sailors plunge towards the southern latitudes.

 

 

Since exiting the doldrums on Friday, the six sailors aboard the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have benefited from mild sailing conditions throughout the weekend. They’ve managed to post high speeds on a long sprint on port tack offshore of the Brazilian coast, without forcing things for either the boat or the men. Franck Cammas commented on their performance: “we’ve maintained some high average speeds at some points of sail, which aren’t usually synonymous with going so fast. We knew that the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was capable of doing that, but it’s always better to have confirmation of it out on the water. One of the strengths of this flying boat is being swift when sailing close to the wind, as we have been over the past three days.”
Despite the constant speed, the men of Gitana Team have benefited from the ordered seas and warm yet very pleasant temperature to get some rest, whilst also going around the boat, checking the platform and the systems before they dive down towards the Deep South.