Will Third Time Be A Charm?

French skipper Yann Guichard remains determined to win the Jules Verne Trophy, the iconic non-stop round the world record. Currently set by Francis Joyon and his crew in January 2017, the time to beat is 40 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes.

Guichard, and the French-based Spindrift team, will be making their third attempt to do better. He hopes this time is a charm.

There was very little charm in the last effort his team made with their 40-metre maxi-trimaran, Spindrift 2. After a frustratingly long stand-by period last winter, they were set to go only to be dismasted January 15, 2018 while on their way to the start line.

To assure there are no mistakes this time, the team has accrued some 8000 miles of offshore training over the summer period. This included two transatlantic passages, the last being a recent transit from Newport, Rhode Island to the team’s hope port of La Trinité-sur-mer in Brittany, France.

“The two transatlantics gave us very different sailing conditions with strong VMG downwind conditions (speed / distance in direction of the wind) on the first and a lot of reaching (crosswind) on the second,” said Guichard. “To have these varied conditions and be able to push the boat over longer periods at sea is always interesting.

“The crew was able to get used to the high speeds and get back into the rhythm of sailing the boat – a bonus for when we start the Jules Verne as essentially this will be strong winds. The round the world remains our main goal of the year and this round trip was beneficial for the entire crew and the Spindrift racing team. ”

In the coming days, the black and gold multihull will come out of the water so that the technical team can double check the boat after her transatlantic passages in advance of the world tour, whose stand-by is due to start on November 18.

In the meantime, Yann and his crew will continue their training both at sea and land. In mid-October the team will take part in a training and team building session in the Alps, which will include an ascent of Mont Blanc, should conditions permit.

Background:
The Jules Verne Trophy is not any circumnavigation. It recognizes the fastest time by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, and must start and finish from the exact line between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall. All winners have been either catamarans or trimarans.

Record Facts
• Start and finish: a line between Créac’h lighthouse (Isle of Ushant) and Lizard Point (England)
• Course: non-stop around-the-world tour racing without outside assistance via the three Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
• Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
• Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council, www.sailspeedrecords.com
• Time to beat: 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds
• Average speed: 21.96 knots
• Date of current record: January 2017
• Holder: IDEC Sport, Francis Joyon and a 5-man crew

While 18 attempts have failed, here are the nine that have held the trophy:

2017 – Francis Joyon / IDEC-SPORT (31.5m) – 40:23:30:30
2012 – Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V (40m) – 45:13:42:53
2010 – Franck Cammas / Groupama 3 (31.5m) – 48:07:44:52
2005 – Bruno Peyron / Orange II (36.8m) – 50:16:20:04
2004 – Olivier De Kersauson / Geronimo (33.8m) – 63:13:59:46
2002 – Bruno Peyron / Orange (32.8m) – 64:08:37:24
1997 – Olivier De Kersauson / Sport-Elec (27.3m) – 71:14:22:08
1994 – Peter Blake, Robin Knox-Johnston / Enza New Zealand (28m) – 74:22:17:22
1993 – Bruno Peyron / Commodore Explorer (28m) – 79:06:15:56

Source: Spindrift Racing