Joyon Trails Jules Verne Trophy Pace

(December 17, 2016; Day 2) – The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran got straight into the pace in her attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy record.

Francis Joyon and his crew of five, Sébastien Audigane, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet and Bernard Stamm had from the outset to make the most of the weather. The strong NNE’ly wind forced them to carry out a series of gybes and change tack with the wind from astern. A tricky job, but one that was required in order to stay in the strip of wind, which will see them passing Spain and Portugal on their second day.

The first 24 hours match the forecasts established by Francis and Marcel van Triest before they set off with around a loss of 75 miles in comparison to the pace of the title-holder Banque Populaire V. Not wishing to hang around, when there was a job to be done, Joyon’s boys decoded to give it a go and make the most of this weather opportunity, confident in the ability of their boat, which has been fine tuned since last year’s attempt.

Status as of 19:30 FR
Distance to Finish: 21587.7 nm
24 Hour Distance: 611 nm
24 Hour Speed Average: 25.5 knots
Ahead/Behind: -62.8 nm

Francis Joyon (fourth from left) and his crew comprising Clément Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet and Sébastien Audigane.

IDEC SPORT RACING – Tracker – Facebook

Background:
The Jules Verne Trophy is 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.

After starting on November 16, Francis Joyon (FRA) and his team on the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT need to finish by 22:00:53 UTC on Monday January 30 to beat the current record set January 2012 by Loïck Peyron and his crew on the 40 VPLP-designed trimaran Banque Populaire V of 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.

Jules Verne Trophy
Record to beat: 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds set by Loïck Peyron and his crew of 13 in January 2012 on the trimaran Banque Populaire V (40 m)
Average speed to beat: 19.75 knots
Course: around the world via the three capes, Good Hope, Leeuwin, Horn.
Great circle distance: 21,600 miles
Start and finish line between Ushant (Créac’h Lighthouse and The Lizard (Cornwall).

IDEC SPORT trimaran
Trimaran with foils
Designers: VPLP
Previous names: Groupama 3, Banque Populaire VII
Initial launch: June 2006
Length: 31.50 m
Beam: 22.50 m
Displacement: 15 t
Draught: 5.70 m
Mast height: 33.50 m
Structure: carbon-nomex

Source: IDEC SPORT