IDEC SPORT Increasing Lead

(January 18, 2017; Day 33; 21:45 FR) – Francis Joyon (FRA) and his five crew on the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT have been eating up the miles in their bid to win the Jules Verne Trophy for fastest outright time around the world.

IDEC SPORT is less than 1000 miles from entering the Northern Hemisphere. At 17°S this morning, the big red and grey trimaran is climbing back up the Atlantic pushed along by the Brazilian trade winds, which are allowing Francis Joyon and his men to keep up an average of 25 knots as they continue in their attempt to grab the Jules Verne Trophy.

After all the hard work, some rest. After racing across the Southern Ocean at speeds which allowed them to enter the history books, the gang on IDEC SPORT is continuing to advance at speed towards the Equator. “The trade winds are from the east and it’s pleasant sailing. We’re making between 25 and 30 knots, without getting drenched. We haven’t forgotten the charms of the South, but we are enjoying what the Tropics have to offer,” the skipper of IDEC SPORT told us.

Out on deck, Clément Surtel and Alex Pella are taking advantage of these dream conditions. “It’s a bit like being on holiday. The weather is fine, we’re eating and sleeping well with the boss at the helm,” laughed Alex Pella, who is always in a good mood like the other members of this crew.

Sailing 500 miles off the coast of Brazil, Francis Joyon and his crewmen are making the most of the conditions while attempting to avoid the hurdles along the way. This morning they are 1630 miles ahead of the record pace, even if they have given back a few miles in the past few days to their virtual rival, Banque Populaire V.

That is only normal in this section of the race course, where it is hard to clock up high average speeds, remembering they were 4 days and 6 hours ahead of the record at Cape Horn.

As they extend north of the latitude of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, their latest 24 hour run of 638.45 nm has their lead of 1526.05 nm ahead of the current time set in 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.

Status as of 21:45 FR
Distance to Finish: 3825.76 nm
24 Hour Distance: 638.45 nm
24 Hour Speed Average: 26.6 knots
Ahead/Behind: +1528.95 nm

IDEC SPORT RACING – Tracker – Facebook

Note: The 24 hour speed record of 908.2 nm (37.84 knot average) was set in 2009 by Banque Populaire 5, a 131-foot trimaran skippered by Pascal Bidegorry (FRA).

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 five crew 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.

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

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