Spindrift 2 builds lead in South Atlantic

(January 22, 2019; Day 7) – The Spindrift 2 team have cleared the doldrums with their 40 meter trimaran again exceeding 20 knots in the trade winds of the South Atlantic. Positioned at 13°S, skipper Yann Guichard (FRA) and his 11 crew have extended their lead to 512 nm (as of 19:00 UTC) in their quest to win the around the world Jules Verne Trophy.

The trade winds of the South Atlantic are fairly dependable and, at this time of year are generally consistent at between 15-18 knots of wind from the east with a few squalls to spice things up a bit. While this is the current situation, going forward things will get a little more difficult.

The anticyclone around St Helena is being further aggravated by the remains last week of a cold front from the south, so Spindrift 2 will have to tiptoe through areas of weak and variable winds to avoid getting bogged down.

If they are successful and if by January 26 they can reach 40°S to catch the first area of low pressure, then they will be in 30-35 knot west to north westerly winds that will launch them toward the Indian Ocean.

Team details – Tracker – Facebook

CREW OF SPINDRIFT 2:
Yann Guichard – skipper
Erwan Israël – navigator
Jacques Guichard – watch leader / helm
Christophe Espagnon – watch leader / helm
Xavier Revil – watch leader / helm
François Morvan – helm
Thierry Chabagny – helm
Sam Goodchild – helm / bow
Erwan Le Roux – helm
Duncan Späth – helm
Benjamin Schwartz – helm / bow
Jackson Bouttell – helm / bow
—
Jean-Yves Bernot – router

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.

The 12-man crew of the 40 meter trimaran Spindrift 2 led by Yann Guichard began their attempt January 16 at 11h 47min 27sec UTC. To win the Jules Verne Trophy, they have to recross the line by February 26 at 11h 16m 57sec UTC to break the record of 40 days 23h 30m 30s, held since 2017 by Francis Joyon (FRA) and his five crew on the 31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT.

Source: Spindrift racing