Jules Verne: Devouring the miles

(January 19, 2021; Day 10) – The crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has left the Brazilian coast in her wake, with Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier and their four crew now entering the roaring forties of the South Atlantic in pursuit of the Jules Verne Trophy.

Together with their router Marcel van Triest, the Cammas-Caudrelier pairing has managed to pull off its first challenge on the oceanic chessboard. By perfectly positioning itself under the Saint Helena High and ahead of a powerful front on a tour of Antarctica, they’ve maintained an average speed of over 35 knots, enabling them to devour some 846 miles in the past 24 hours.

Since departing Ushant, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have been experiencing a speeded-up version of all four seasons, fluctuating between the cold and the hot just a few hours apart at times. By diving down towards the Indian Ocean, the sailors know that living conditions aboard the boat are set to get tougher.

On an easterly course towards the tip of South Africa, with a lead of 792 nm over Francis Joyon’s record, the men of Gitana Team know that they are sailing at the right tempo, but they remain clear-headed and particularly focused.

“(Record holder) Idec had an exceptional Indian Ocean with an ideal gybe-free course and a series of days where they covered more than 800 miles,” reminded Cammas. “We knew we had to make it to the tip of South Africa with a good lead in order to do battle with them on an even footing.”

Position of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild on 19 January at 17:00 UTC:
Lead in relation to the record: 795.9 nm
Speed: 34,9 knots
Course: 92°

Team information – Tracker – Facebook

Since their start on January 10 at 01:33 UTC, to beat the round the world record of 40:23:30 set in 2017 by Francis Joyon and the crew of Idec Sport, they must finish prior to February 20 at 00:03:15 UTC.

Crew list:
Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier, skippers
David Boileau, trimmer/bowman
Erwan Israël, helm/trimmer
Morgan Lagravière, helm/trimmer
Yann Riou, trimmer/media man

Source: Gitana Team

The rules for the Jules Verne Trophy are simple – it is for the fastest time around the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing from the exact line between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall. It was first won in 1993, with all nine winners as either catamarans or trimarans. The current challenge is to beat the record time of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds set by Francis Joyon and crew on the 31.5m IDEC Sport in 2017.

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

Split Time References – Full Crew:
Ushant-Equator: 4d 20h 07 ‘(Spindrift 2 in 2019)
Equator-Cape Aiguilles: 6d 08h 55 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Cape Aiguilles-Cape Leeuwin: 4d 09h 32 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Leuuwin-Cape Horn: 9d 08h 46 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Horn-Equator: 7d 04h 27 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Equator-Ushant: 5d 19h 21 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)

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