Joyon continues IDEC SPORT Asian Tour

(December 14, 2019) – Francis Joyon and his crew on the 31.5m IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran today began Act 3 of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR, leaving Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) at 0255hrs UTC and crossing the start line off Port Saigon in light winds and calm seas. The maxi-trimaran is heading to China and the city of Shenzhen, some 870 nautical miles away.

Conditions were fine this morning for the start, but the wind is expected to freshen in the coming hours. They will have to be cautious during the first part of this course to avoid the many islands, fishermen, and shipping in the China Sea.

“We’ll be taking things cautiously trying to tack along the coast where there will probably be less wind,” shared Joyon. “After that, we’ll have headwinds throughout the course, but they won’t be so hard to deal with, around twenty knots. We are going to have to make our way around all the little islands on our route. Once the first part of the route is behind us, it should be fine.”

IDEC SPORT is due to arrive in Shenzhen between December 18 and 19, setting a new crewed reference time for this new course. The fourth and final Act of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR will take place in mid-January when the team takes on the legendary Clipper Route between Hong Kong and London.

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IDEC SPORT Specifications
Architects: VPLP team (Van Péteghem-Lauriot Prévost)
Previous names: Groupama 3, Banque Populaire VII
Length: 31.50 m
Beam: 22.50 m
Displacement: 18,000 kg
Draught: 5.70 m
Mast height: 33.50 m
Structure: carbon-Nomex
Upwind sail surface: 411 m2
Downwind sail surface: 678 m2
Initial launch date: June 2006

IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR
Act 1: Port Louis, Lorient – Port Louis, Mauritius (8800 nm) – 19:18:14:45
Act 2: Mauritius – Ho Chi Minh (3975 nm) – 12:20:37:56
Act 3: Ho Chi Minh – Hong Kong (870 nm)
Act 4: Clipper Route between Hong Kong and London (13,000 nm).

Source: IDEC press