Record pace for Mauritius Route

(October 26, 2019; Day 8) – For the last week, Francis Joyon has been tackling the Mauritius Route record between Port Louis (Brittany) and Port Louis (Mauritius). He crossed the first virtual mark in this record at 1159hrs UTC on Saturday, setting a new reference time of 7 days, 2 hours and 43 minutes, which was one day shorter than the reference time set ten years ago.

This is the first good reason for the skipper of IDEC SPORT to feel pleased. In order to smash the Mauritius Route record, he needs to reach Mauritius by November 14.

Setting sail on October 19, the skipper of IDEC SPORT crossed the start line off the Citadel of Port Louis at 0911hrs UTC without being very certain about the conditions he would encounter on the way down towards the equator. Francis even imagined he would be a day behind schedule entering the Southern Hemisphere.

The opposite turned out to be the case, thanks to some decent weather patterns, which offered fairly favorable conditions and a passage through the Doldrums last night where he was not really held up. Passing through the Doldrums, Francis took advantage of some fair conditions to send back a video, in which he talks about this part of the journey that is feared by sailors.

“A little postcard from the Doldrums, which are not very angry, and where things aren’t going too badly,” explained the skipper, who crossed this area, which is usually so complicated, without really being held up, before he encountered a squall during the night and then continued his voyage averaging around twenty knots towards the line separating the two hemispheres.

The Mauritius Route is the first act in the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR, the new campaign of record attempts that the skipper of IDEC SPORT is attempting on his way to Asia.

For the record:
The Mauritius Route solo record is an 8800nm course from Port Louis (Lorient) and Port Louis (Mauritius), and Francis is attempting to smash his own reference time of 26 days, 4 hours and 13 minutes set ten years ago. To improve on that time, he will have to finish before 1324hrs UTC on November 14.

Campaign details – Tracker – Facebook

IDEC SPORT Specifications
Architects: VPLP team (Van Péteghem-Lauriot Prévost)
Previous names: Groupama 3, Banque Populaire VII
Length: 31.50 m
Beam: 22.50 m
Displacement: 18,000 kg
Draught: 5.70 m
Mast height: 33.50 m
Structure: carbon-Nomex
Upwind sail surface: 411 m2
Downwind sail surface: 678 m2
Initial launch date: June 2006

After the Mauritius Route, there will be three more record attempts, this time with a crew:
Act 2: Mauritius – Ho Chi Minh (3975 miles),
Act 3: Ho Chi Minh – Hong Kong (920 miles)
Act 4: Clipper Route between Hong Kong and London (13,000 miles).

Source: IDEC press