Francis Joyon’s big red trimaran arrived in Brest yesterday, after a problem-free delivery trip from La Trinité-sur-Mer. The skipper of IDEC SPORT immediately put his crew on amber alert. A weather opportunity is likely to appear in four days from now, meaning they may well set off on Saturday 21st November 2015.
The whole of the IDEC SPORT crew is on alert and the bateau is ready and waiting in Brest. Francis Joyon and his men have moved to amber alert, meaning they may start within the coming week. It looks likely that a weather opportunity will appear on Saturday 21st November. If this is confirmed by a green light, IDEC SPORT and the international crew of six (*) will set off for Ushant. The start line for the Jules Verne Trophy corresponds to a straight line from the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall. They may set off for the start line on Saturday. That is in any case what Francis Joyon and his Dutch router, Marcel Van Triest are currently looking at.
Objective: six and a half weeks averaging twenty knots
We should say that to smash the Jules Verne Trophy record, they will have to sail around the world and cross this line once again in under six and a half weeks. The current record held by Loïck Peyron and his crew on Banque Populaire V is 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds. They will have to complete the voyage in at least one minute less than this for the time to be ratified by the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC), the international body responsible for timing official sailing records.
The crew of IDEC SPORT:
Francis Joyon (FRA)
Bernard Stamm (SUI)
Gwénolé Gahinet (FRA)
Alex Pella (ESP)
Clément Surtel (FRA)
Boris Herrmann (GER)
