IDEC SPORT Approaches the Trade Winds

(January 21, 2017; Day 36; 20:15 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.

Slowed down for the past 36 hours around the Equator in a large area of calms associated with the Doldrums, the maxi-trimaran IDEC SPORT should start to feel the effect of a Northeasterly wind in the next few hours. The trade winds are not far away and speeds should return to those we have come to expect from Joyon and his men over the five weeks since they set off from Ushant.

Sailing close to the wind, IDEC SPORT will be leaving the sticky equatorial heat behind as they start the final stretch in their round the world voyage, crossing the North Atlantic from west to east. They have a lot to do in the coming hours as they get ready to tackle the weather systems in the North Atlantic, starting with the Azores high and then the lows sweeping across from Labrador.

Sailing a long way west to avoid the calms of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone, IDEC SPORT is now moving slightly to the east, while gaining as many miles as possible towards the north. In the trade winds, this should get quicker and Joyon, Surtel, Stamm, Gahinet, Audigane and Pella will be giving it their all to try to cross the Jules Verne Trophy finish line on Thursday morning off Ushant.

As they approach the Trade Winds, their latest 24 hour run of 404.93 nm has decreased their lead to 1259.43 nm (-60.65 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 20:15 FR
Distance to Finish: 2898.86 nm
24 Hour Distance: 404.93 nm
24 Hour Speed Average: 16.9 knots
Ahead/Behind: +1259.43 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