Groupama 3 set off from off the Creac'h lighthouse (Ushant Finistere) in a good NW'ly breeze and big seas. Franck Cammas and his nine crew will have to be back from their circumnavigation of the globe spanning over 24,000 miles, prior to the morning of 26th December.
A granulated sky, gusts, intermittent showers, setting sun, big Atlantic swell, squalls, breaking waves: here we have the setting for this latest departure to gain a new reference time in the Jules Verne Trophy, the round the world record held by Bruno Peyron and his crew since 2005 (50d 16h 20m). Groupama 3 left the pontoon of the port of Le Chteau in Brest, NW France this Thursday 5th November at 1300 hours before a warm crowd of locals and the crew's families, which came out as far as the Petit Minou lighthouse to bid them farewell. Under two-reefed mainsail and a small jib, Groupama 3 then released her tow at 1400 hours and headed out to sea in a building swell... As such the giant trimaran had to put in a few tacks to get to the North of Ushant before setting the clock running at 15h 50' 22'' UT.
The NW'ly wind associated with the low, which passed over Brittany on Wednesday, was still very active: the stormy sky with its cumulonimbus was generating a twenty to twenty-five knot breeze, gusting to over thirty-five knots... Above all though, the seas were hard at the exit from the English Channel with waves of nearly seven metres offshore! As such conditions weren't ideal for the start, but the next stage in the programme is highly favourable, once the crew reaches the Portuguese coast. As a result, for half a day, Franck Cammas and his nine crew are likely to be tackling beam winds and may even have to sail close-hauled for a few hours.
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