IDEC SPORT: Not Quite There

(December 22, 2015; Day 31) – The progress of the six sailors on the 31.5m maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT towards Cape Horn slowed during the night as they passed through a small area of low pressure. But the wind got up again around lunchtime today, so Francis Joyon and his men should be within the time set by Banque Populaire V, which means rounding the Horn before 0020hrs UTC tonight.

At 1530hrs UTC this afternoon (Tuesday), IDEC SPORT was 130 miles from Cape Horn, with the wind returning for Francis Joyon and his crew. After 24 tricky hours, a NW’ly air stream has now returned propelling the boat forward. “The wind’s a bit over twenty knots now, as opposed to just ten this morning,” explained the German sailor, Boris Herrmann. “It wasn’t good for our nerves last night, but things are better now. We’re making good headway and the mood has improved, as the wind has strengthened.” The router Marcel van Triest confirmed this ETA for the Horn at “around 2200hrs UTC.”

Francis Joyon remains philosophical. “The return of the wind has cheered us up. We are back to peak speeds of 32 or 33 knots. But it could drop off again as we reach the cape. Let’s just say we are aiming to stay ahead of the time set by Banque Populaire V. I think that is possible.”

As of 21:00 UTC
Distance to finish: 7045.89 nm
Distance for 24 hours: 435.17 nm
Distance ahead of record: 118.15 nm

Source: IDEC SPORT

Team website – Tracker – Facebook

Background: IDEC SPORT has entered to claim the Jules Verne Trophy, a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall.

Francis Joyon (FRA), skippering the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran, crossed the start line on November 22 at 02:02:22 GMT, and his 6-man team must return by 15:44:15 UTC on January 6, 2016 to beat the current record set January 2012 by Loïck Peyron and his crew on Banque Populaire V of 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.

MORE: Also starting on November 22 (at 04:01:58 GMT) for an attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy was the 40m VPLP-designed Spindrift 2, led by Yann Guichard. The 14-person team must return before 17:43:51 GMT on January 6, 2016 to beat the record. Here’s a tracker showing both teams: http://volodiaja.net/Tracking/

IDEC SPORT CREW:
Francis Joyon (FRA)
Bernard Stamm (SUI)
Gwénolé Gahinet (FRA)
Alex Pella (ESP)
Clément Surtel (FRA)
Boris Herrmann (GER)