Update 5.12.2019:
At 8pm UTC yesterday, Yann Guichard, the skipper of "Spindrift 2", made the decision to end the current record attempt in the Jules Verne Trophy.
A sudden loss of control at the helm required two sailors to operate the wheel. The malfunction damaged the steering system, making the boat unsafe in bad weather conditions. All crew members are safe and sound. However, the condition of the multihull does not allow the crew to continue their record attempt. The trimaran is currently returning to La Trinité-sur-Mer in Brittany, France.
Message from 3.12.
The crew of the maxi-trimaran "Spindrift 2" is preparing for a new attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy, the world record that leads non-stop around the world. The start and finish is on an imaginary line between the lighthouse on Ushant off Brest and Lizard Point (England), the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin, Hoorn) must be left on the port side. The reference time is the record of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds set by Frenchman Francis Joyon and his crew in 2017. With his optimised maxi-trimaran and his eleven-strong French crew, skipper Yann Guichard intends to start the record attempt on the night of Tuesday (3 December) to Wednesday. The crew has around 21,600 nautical miles ahead of them, measured on the great circle.
Yann Guichard and his crew have already attempted to beat the record twice: in 2015 (47:10:59 days) and in 2018, when the team was forced to abort their attempt due to rowing damage near the Kerguelen Islands. Now, however, there is once again a favourable weather window in the North Atlantic that could allow a passage to the equator in around five days.
"We will start on Tuesday morning in La Trinité and cross the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy in Ushant between Tuesday 18:00 and Wednesday 6:00," says Yann Guichard. "We should be able to leave the eastern sector in the Bay of Biscay with a moderate breeze. And then we will benefit from trade winds, but they will be bad in the north of Portugal. We'll have to make a few gybes to get to Madeira before we get into the doldrums."
"The doldrums seem to be more favourable in the east to make good progress into the southern hemisphere," continues Guichard, "as we have seen in recent races such as Transat Jacques Vabre and Brest Atlantiques. We hope to pass the Cape of Good Hope in less than 13 days to be ahead of Francis Joyon's time."
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
