Joyon Breaks Record

Francis Joyon sailed the maxi trimaran IDEC across the finishing line off San Salvador at 02:06 UTC on Friday to break the solo Discovery Route record by 15 hours and 15 minutes, subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

Francis Joyon (FRA) had left Cadiz, Spain at 05:30:57 seconds UTC on Tuesday 28 October, before crossing the finishing line in San Salvador, the Bahamas to complete the 3,885nm Discovery Route, named after the historical track taken by Christopher Columbus, at an average speed of 16.4 knots. With a running time of 9 days, 20 hours and 35 minutes, he betters the current record, set by Thomas Coville (FRA) onboard the 60-foot trimaran Sodebo in 2005 at 10 days, 11 hours, 50 minutes and 46 seconds, by 15 hours and 15 minutes.

It is another record in an incredible year for Joyon, who smashed the singlehanded round the world record in January, a feat which has seen him nominated for the 2008 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards. The male and female winners of the 2008 Award will be announced in Madrid, Spain next Tuesday 11 November.

As when Coville set his record, it was night and following a relatively easy circumvention of San Salvador that Joyon crossed the finish line of the Discovery Route. A small boat was waiting in the Caribbean, with Clifford Fernandes, a delegate from the World Speed Sailing Record Council onboard, firing the gun to signal the completed passage of the giant multihull.

Joyon and IDEC got off to a flying start on their record attempt, passing through the Canary Islands little over 24 hours after starting the record attempt in Cadiz. However from that point on the route proved much more complex, with the French skipper having to take a very northerly course. In the end, he actually covered a distance of 4,304 nautical miles, at an average speed of 17.7 knots.

Powerboaters need licence

You need a license to drive a car or fly a plane, but in Sweden just about anyone can take the helm of a 200 horsepower speedboat.

That could change if a plan to make boaters apply for licenses becomes law. The result, sailors say, could be a more bureaucratic, rule-bound sea around Sweden's rugged coasts -- but also a safer one.

"Something like around 35-40 people get killed in pleasure boat accidents or disappear every year," said Lars Hogdahl of Sweden's Ministry of Enterprise. "Some just never get found."

He is the man behind a proposal on licenses that could be in place by next summer. The idea has been mooted for more than a decade, but always met opposition among Swedes who think of boats as a 'last freedom'.

Now, even though many boaters resent restrictions, support for his plan is building in a community fed up with fellow sailors who are ignorant, reckless or drunk.

"It's a very good idea," said Oscar Lagerberg, 26, a sailing enthusiast from Sweden's west coast. "Just today we had to give way and even honk at a person who didn't keep to starboard in the fairway."

The proposal, which will apply to boats of seven meters or more or those that can exceed 10 knots, will be circulated in October to maritime groups and the coast guard.

Goran Andersson, chairman of the Swedish Boating Union, said his 160,000-strong club backs the plan. "We have something we call the Boat Parliament, where we decided to fight for this."

Mindful of a possible backlash from seasoned sea-hands, the ministry is ready to exempt those who can document a large amount of experience on the sea.

Groupama 3 Investigation

Back in France after righting Groupama 3 in the New Zealand port of Dunedin, eight of the crew of the giant trimaran were in Groupama's press centre in Paris today to answer questions from journalists during today's press conference.

The most important news from this meeting is the confirmation by Groupama's Managerial staff that the adventure is continuing. Indeed, the damage suffered by the giant trimaran is considerable but reparable. Franck Cammas indicated that Groupama 3 was going to be loaded onto a cargo ship around 13th March with an arrival at the technical base in Lorient scheduled a month later.

The skipper also specified that the current assessment still hadn't revealed the reasons behind the breakage of the float between the forward crossbeam and the port foil casing: "We're going to discuss all this with the architects, the yard and the structural engineers. If this amounts to a design fault, then that means we were wrong but sailing remains a mechanical sport... We have a working base, which defines the stresses that the boat should be able to withstand and in the general project strategy, we never wanted to take risks: we didn't put any less carbon in it than for Geronimo! We may have to look at our calculations again but the concept isn't at fault. The way Groupama 3 handled, its sensations at the helm, its performance and its Atlantic records confirm that the project is viable: we want to head back out again next winter with a trimaran, which will handle in the same type of way, but without any doubts in the back of our minds about the reliability of the boat! ..."

Groupama Towed

After arriving at the scene of their capsize on Tuesday evening (UT), the crew have spared no effort clearing the area surrounding the trimaran in order to see through the righting operations envisaged in open water.

Unfortunately, despite several attempts Franck Cammas and his crew didn't manage to turn Groupama 3 the right way up. As a result it was decided that they would tow the maxi-trimaran to Dunedin, over 70 miles away. Currently making 3 knots of headway, the support vessel towing Groupama 3 is expected in the New Zealand port overnight (UT).

These details were sent to us by Yves Parlier, who remained on shore to ensure the link between the sailors and the shore crew, directed by Stephane Guilbaud based in Lorient. Yves is also in charge of communicating weather data to the crew, which has been prepared by Richard Silvani from Meteo France.

Groupama Capsized!

Last night at 23:43 UTC, Franck Cammas, skipper of the trimaran Groupama 3 engaged in the Jules Verne Trophy, alerted the shore crew to the capsize of the maxi trimaran: “We have just capsized. The leeward float broke in two, leading to the breakage of the two beams and then the subsequent capsize. The crew is all together, taking refuge inside the central hull of Groupama 3. None of the 10 crew are injured. There are 5 to 7 metre waves and 25 to 30 knot winds. The seas are breaking and for the time being we’re not putting anyone outside”.

Groupama 3

Just 23 hours separate Orange II and Groupama 3 in the space of three years. Bruno Peyron's maxi-catamaran 'virtually' passed along the same trajectory as the giant trimaran this Tuesday at 0800 UT with a deficit of 590 miles. This is good news since Franck Cammas and his men have thus saved two and a half hours on the reference time since their passage of the equator, despite a succession of gybes slowing their pace. Though the averages have grazed and even exceeded an average of 27 knots over the past two days, the trimaran has extended its course by performing successive hooks to the SW to get clear of the pitfalls of the Saint Helena High. Bruno Peyron's catamaran didn't have to resolve such problems, instead scribing a perfect curve from the equator to 40 degrees at equivalent speeds. Result: more route at the same speed and Groupama 3's room for manoeuvre has been reduced by 80 miles in half a day.

Groupama III

The passage of the equator is the first intermediary time, which enables a direct insight into how capable a candidate is of winning the Jules Verne Trophy. Nearly a day ahead over the round the world reference course, Groupama 3 has gained a 408 mile lead and has just achieved the best ever time by a yacht between Ushant and the equator: 6 days 6 hours 24 minutes.

Already sailing in the Southern hemisphere this Wednesday afternoon, Groupama 3 confirms what it had already demonstrated last summer when it racked up four Atlantic records: though it has no inhibitions in wind in excess of 25 knots, in relation to Bruno Peyron's catamaran, it is unquestionably the fastest giant multihull below fifteen knots of breeze. Today's new record time speaks volumes as the boat passed the equator today in six days 6 hours and 24 minutes, whilst the weather conditions weren't particularly favourable, a sure indication of the trimaran's great potential.

Back on the pace again at over twenty knots at the start of the afternoon, Franck Cammas and his nine crew will begin to increase their lead over Orange II again since the latter was still sailing through the Doldrums three years ago to the day. The tradewinds of the Southern hemisphere are shaping up nicely: with 15 knots of SE'ly at the equator, they will rapidly pass into a building E'ly. Their acceleration to over 25 knots is therefore already in view before the day is out and this is set to last until the weekend at least.

Groupama

Today, Thursday 6th December, Groupama 3, skippered by Franck Cammas will be on standby. Docked at Lorient, NW France, its home port, the 31.50 m trimaran with four records already under its belt, will wait for favourable weather conditions to begin its Jules Verne Trophy attempt.

At the Lorient base, the crew is virtually complete. From Brazil, South Africa and all around France, the sailors have joined the maxi-trimaran which they know so well, since the majority of them were aboard during the four records broken between May and July: Discovery Route, Miami New-York, North Atlantic crossing and the distance covered in 24 hours.

Under the direction of team manager, Stephane Guilbaud, the ten adventurers are gradually entering into what will be their daily routine around the planet.

Records and Rescues

Two stories of dramatically contrasting fortune have unfolded over the past 24-hours of the 2007 Rolex Middle Sea Race. Both stories ended happily. Both could have ended quite differently. In one, an American crew defied the elements to destroy a seven-year old course record. In the second, an Australian crew were rescued from their yacht as she threatened to founder on the wind-lashed northern coast of Sicily. The crews of Rambler and Loki will remember this race for years to come.

For George David and the crew of the 90-foot Rambler (USA) it was a dream come true. Hardly in their wildest dreams could they have believed they would eclipse so comprehensively the Rolex Middle Sea Race course record at their first attempt. Remember Neville Crichton had two goes in the exact same boat and did not come close; such was the cruel nature of the conditions during his assaults.

For Loki the drama was truly life threatening. Sailing along in 35-knots at 15/16 knots of boatspeed there was a sudden bang and the crew saw the rudder floating away behind the boat. Owner Stephen Ainsworth explained how they brought the boat under some semblance of control and made contact with Race Control to report their circumstances at 1730 on Saturday evening. Tomasso Chieffi, a last minute addition to the crew of Atalanta II, the Italian mini-maxi of Carlo Puri Negri, made the seriousness of the situation absolutely vivid. On hearing of Loki's distress, Atalanta diverted back to see what assistance she could offer, as Chieffi explained, "sailing along side with Loki, Lucas Brown finally was able to get in contact with them over the phone. We heard that the rudder blade was broken. The first idea was to tow them but we did not have a rope that was strong enough to do so. Furthermore, the sea was so high that sometimes the waves were breaking over the mast. It was very difficult to go too near to Loki, the rolling motion was so huge that it was absolutely too dangerous."

Atlantic Crossing Record

Franck Cammas and his nine crew smashed the Atlantic crossing record in a time of 4 days 03 hours 57 minutes 54 seconds, at an average of 28.65 knots over the 2,925 mile course. Groupama 3 crossed the finish line off Lizard Point on Tuesday at 00 hours 00 minutes 49 seconds (French time), improving on Bruno Peyron's time of (4d 08hr 23' 54'') by 4 hours 26 minutes.

Nonetheless, the giant trimaran has not had ideal conditions for this historic record, officially established for the first time on 11th June 1905 by the Atlantic schooner helmed by the legendary Charlie Barr. For the past 102 years, this reference time has been beaten nine times by multihulls but the progress in speed has virtually tripled! In fact Groupama 3 has maintained an incredible average of over 28.6 knots for over four days... An unimaginable level just ten years ago, since it is greater than the ocean liners, which still cross the Atlantic today.

The weather situation at the start on Thursday 19th July at 20hrs 02m 55s off Ambrose Light (New York) only offered up a single, very narrow window that gave them a sniff of the record, though its evolution in the Atlantic was not totally clear: a depression for starters, a zone of high pressure to skirt to the North forcing them off the direct course and an unsettled area to follow with a Northerly of varying strength to end the course... Despite extending its trajectory in relation to the previous record set by Bruno Peyron, Groupama 3's configuration proved favorable in the end for Franck Cammas and his crew, who had to continually get the very most from the giant trimaran. In so doing, the ten men devoured the last miles in the Channel at over 29 knots, snatching back even more minutes on their course time...

IDEC II

51 years old Breton Francis Joyon in February 2004 became the fastest world solo yachtsman, setting a time over 20 days faster than the previous record for a circumnavigation of 72 days 22 hours and 54 minutes and 22 seconds, covering more than 28,000 miles at an average speed of 15.5 knots on the 90 foot (27.4m) trimaran IDEC. In February 2005 Ellen MacArthur bettered Joyon's record by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. On 6 July 2005 IDEC skippered by Francis Joyon crossed the finishing line between Lizard Point and Ushant, 6 days 4 hours 1 minute and 37 seconds after the start at Ambrose Lighthouse off New York. The Breton thus broke the 11-year old record of Laurent Bourgnon for the single-handed crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with a sailing boat. On this voyage he also broke the 24 hour distance record for single-handed sailing by sailing 543 nautical miles in one day on the 3 July 2005. Joyon's remarkable record voyage ended tragically on 7 July when IDEC became stuck between two rocks off the Breton coast. The boat was steered by autopilot while Joyon slept. When he and his helpers tried to salvage IDEC, the boat was lifted by a wave and smashed onto the rocks. Thus, the 4-million-Euro trimaran was wrecked and Joyon had no vessel to attempt to break further sailing records.

On May 9th 2006 Joyon announced that he was building a new muilti-hull to be called IDEC II. He plans to attempt a solo circumnavigation in autumn 2007. His new boat will be designed for solo sailing, unlike the original IDEC. Construction started last summer. IDEC 2 touched the water on June 19 in Lorient.

The boat design is by Nigel Irens & Bernard Caberet. Nigel Irens was the man who designed Joyon’s Banque Populaire ORMA trimaran. With this boat Joyon won the OSTAR 2000. Nigel Irens & Bernard Caberet also designed Thomas Coville's Sodebo, which is to be launched soon. IDEC is 100 feet long and weighs 11 tons compared to his previous boat which was 90 feet and weighed 16 tons. It has 10% more sail area. The new boat is capable of taking 3 days of the existing record under the same weather conditions. The new IDEC has a totally different overall philosophy. The length of the floats is 20% less than the main hull for structural reasons, floats must have certain dimensions front and aft of the crossbeams. For the central hull, there is no such limitation, thus the 100 feet. This design is safer downwind. As far as width is concerned, the figure is rather conservative at 16,50 metres, exactly like on Ellen MacArthur’s B&Q, which is a shorter boat. In that sense IDEC 2 will be a narrow boat.

Groupama 3 New Record!

One month after taking the Discovery Route record, Franck Cammas and his crew on the maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 have absolutely pulverised the Miami to New York record, held by Steve Fossett with his catamaran Playstation. The all French crew left Miami on Sunday June 3, at 11:31 UTC and reached crossed the finishing line at the Ambrose lighthouse at 22:36 UTC on Monday June 4, to cut a staggering 18 hours off Fossett’s time. The new record (subject to WSSRC ratification) is 1 day 11 hours 5 minutes 20 seconds. Groupama 3’s average time was 26.77 knots, compared to 17.57 knots for Playstation. Shortly after the finish, Franck Cammas said “It was a stressful record run, but a great end result. We took advantage of a good weather window and a solid crew exploited a great boat to the full.”

Groupama 3, Miami to New York

Franc Cammas and crew of Groupama 3 are currently in Miami, Florida, USA, ready to pursuit new records. This time the boat and crew are ready to depart for New York, aiming the record of 2 days 5 hours 54 minutes and 42 seconds set back in 2001 by Steve Fossett's PlayStation. It's been a busy and successful month so far for Franc Cammas: on the first of May, Groupama 3 shattered the Discovery Route record also held by PlayStation, by more than 2 days, finishing the route from Cadiz to San Salvador in 7 days 10 hours 58 minutes and 53 seconds. Then on board the smaller Groupama 2, Cammas and team won the AS Lease Challenge in Lorient. Weather conditions are most important for this new record attempt, as explained weather router Jean-Yves Bernot. Miami is located on the edge of the trade winds and thus a flow of North East winds usually blows off the city. When this flow meets the Gulf Stream, it can generate rough seas. Conditions are ideal when a more favorable wind blows from the South West, a wind that occurs quickly and temporarily.

ISAF World Match Race Rankings

Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) becomes the first ever Brit to hit the world #1 spot in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings on 9 May. In the Women’s Rankings Claire LEROY (FRA) makes it an incredible two unbroken years at the top.

After five months at #2, Ian WILLIAMS (GBR) finally displaces Sebastien COL (FRA) and reaches the top spot in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, the first-ever British skipper to do so. It was only two years ago that WILLIAMS, now aged 30, quit his job as a lawyer to fully commit himself to the match racing circuit. So far it has proved an inspired career-choice. Year 2005 was highlighted by wins at ISAF Grade 1 events in France and Poland. At the same time WILLIAMS gradually established himself as a regular on the World Match Racing Tour, with a string of strong finishes towards the end of the 2005-06 season resulting in him finishing second overall behind Peter GILMOUR (AUS). From then on things have only got better. Victory at the Bermuda Gold Cup was a watershed moment, his first win on the World Tour and a win that also moved him to the top of the World Championship Standings. A third at the Monsoon Cup extended his Tour lead and victory in Marseille earlier this year means he has finally ended COL’s run in the #1 spot.

Behind WILLIAMS, his regular rival Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) moves up to #2 as COL, in Valencia on America’s Cup duty behind the wheel of Areva Challenge, drops to #3. Reigning World Champion GILMOUR is at #4, with another AC sailor, Shosholoza’s Paolo CIAN (ITA) at #5.

With no new event above ISAF Grade 3 in this Ranking release there are precious few other changes at the top, with the return to the top 20 for Luna Rossa helm James SPITHILL (AUS) the only other move of note.

Further back, new French National Champion Victor LANIER (FRA) is new into the top 50, going from #52 to #40, whilst Mahesh RAMCHANDRAN (IND) confirmed his status as India’s top match racer by winning the nationals to move up to #57.

As Chris DICKSON (NZL) and Dean BARKER (NZL) face off in a battle for the top spot in the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin, a potential Kiwi star of the future gets a big boost up the Rankings as Josh JUNIOR (NZL), winner of the ISAF Grade 3 Yachting New Zealand Youth Match Racing National Championships, gains over 100 places frpm #315 to #197.

Groupama 3 Record

Groupama 3 skipper Franck Cammas and team, have finally achieved the first of their planned record attempts. After departing from Cadiz, Spain on Wednesday 24 April, sailing the Discovery Route, the new maxi multihull crossed the finish line at San Salvador on Tuesday 1 May at 18:46:10 UTC, after 7 days, 10 hours, 58 minutes and 53 seconds. The record is subject to ratification by the WSSRC. The previous record, held by American Steve Fossett since February 2003, was 9 days 13 hours 30 minutes and 18 seconds, and is pulverised by 2 days 2 hours 31 minutes and 25 seconds.