Spindrift 2: Stalking the Record Holder

(December 8, 2015; Day 17) – With the icebergs and the Kerguelen Islands in its wake, the 40m maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2 has plunged south again. They are right in the middle of the Indian Ocean, on the road to Cape Leeuwin, still 1,000 miles away, with a west-north-west wind that remains manageable at around 25 knots. But there is a relatively deep depression that has come from Madagascar approaching.

Yesterday, in the late afternoon, the port foil of the trimaran, Spindrift 2, was damaged in a collision with an unidentified floating object to the north of the Kerguelen Islands. The ‘winglet’ broke in the collision. The crew immediately carried out a thorough diagnosis, especially inside the float, where a small leak in the foil shaft was sealed by the composite specialists on board, as soon as conditions allowed. It is still too early to say how much Spindrift 2’s performance has been affected.

Now back below 50° South, the crew have been making a ‘cruising’ speed of over 31 knots since 15:00 GMT. On this stretch of the road, Spindrift 2 and the record holder, have similar paths, with three gybes each from the Kerguelen Islands and a gain of almost 90 miles for Spindrift 2.

As of 2100 UTC
Distance to finish: 13682.1 nm
Distance for 24 hours: 583.4 nm
Distance ahead of record: -231.44 nm

Source: Spindrift 2

Team website – Tracker – Facebook

Background: Spindrift 2 is seeking 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.

Yann Guichard (FRA), skippering the 40 VPLP-designed trimaran, crossed the start line on November 22 at 04:01:58 GMT, and his 14-man team must return by 17:43:51 UTC on January 6, 2016 to beat the current record set January 2012 by Loïck Peyron and his crew on Banque Populaire 5 of 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.

Spindrift 2 was originally launched in 2008 as Banque Populaire 5.

MORE: Also starting on November 22 (at 02:02:22 GMT) for an attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy was Francis Joyon (FRA), skippering the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT. The 6-person team must return by 15:44:15 GMT on January 6, 2016 to beat the record. Here’s a tracker showing both teams: http://volodiaja.net/Tracking/

SPINDRIFT 2 CREW:
Yann Guichard, skipper
Dona Bertarelli, helmsman-trimmer
Sébastien Audigane, helmsman-trimmer
Antoine Carraz, helmsman-trimmer
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent, helmsman-trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, helmsman-bowman
Jacques Guichard, helmsman-trimmer
Erwan Israël, navigator
Loïc Le Mignon, helmsman-trimmer
Sébastien Marsset, bowman
François Morvan, helmsman-trimmer
Xavier Revil, helmsman-trimmer
Yann Riou, media reporter
Thomas Rouxel, helmsman-bowman
Jean-Yves Bernot, onshore router