The race is finally underway! After a long period of preparation, The Famous Project team led by French skipper Alexia Barrier has found the right weather window for the Jules Verne Trophy chase. It opens this weekend over the Atlantic. The maxi trimaran "Idec Sport" will leave the pontoon in Brest (Quai du Commandant Malbert) on Saturday morning between 11 and 12 o'clock to pass the official starting line for all major sailing records between the Créac'h lighthouse on the island of Ouessant and the Lizard Point lighthouse (England).
Jules Verne Trophy: eight strong women, one record finish
Alongside Alexia Barrier, another seven experienced and hungry offshore sailors will be chasing the Jules Verne Trophy. The most famous among them is the British watch leader Dee Caffari, who has already sailed around the world six times. The 52-year-old is also the only woman to have sailed around the world single-handed in both directions. And she is the only one to have sailed non-stop around the world three times.
The other crew members are Annemieke Bes from the Netherlands, Rebecca Bex Gmuer (Switzerland/New Zealand), Deborah Blair (Great Britain), boat captain Molly Lapointe (USA/Italy), Stacey Jackson (Australia) and Tamara Xiquita Echegoyen. The Spaniard is a blatant all-round talent: she won Olympic gold in match racing with Sofía Toro and Ángela Pumariega in 2012 and won three world championship titles in the Elliott 6m and in the 49erFX skiff. She then switched to offshore racing, competing in The Ocean Race 2017/2018 with Spanish team Mapfre and was later part of the Guyot crew. She was also one of the engines in the Spanish team for the Women's America's Cup in Barcelona.
Now the eight women are setting their sights on the whole world together and embarking on the ultimate race around the globe. The time to beat, which Francis Joyon and his team set in 2017 with "Idec Sport", has already withstood all attacks for eight years. This was often due to the fact that the fighters failed early on due to "UFO" collisions - crashes with unknown objects - and material problems.
The choice of weather window: always a compromise
On board the same trimaran that is now set to carry women around the world as quickly as possible, Francis Joyon and his team set a marvellous record of 40 days and 23 hours. The crew led by Alexia Baerrier wants to break it and also "close the circle" with their record attempt and become the first all-female crew to achieve this feat.
They were and are also supported in their planning by "Monsieur Wetter": Frenchman Christian Dumard is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced experts and routers in the world and regularly advises the organisers of major races. At the same time, Alexia Barrier knows: "There is no ideal weather window." Choosing a start date for a record race is "inevitably a compromise between wind, swell and the direction of the short, medium and long-term development of the weather systems".
The weather conditions on the launch day (29 November), created by the circulation of two high-pressure systems over the North Atlantic, favour a launch, although there is likely to be an immediate race against time and against the movement of an area of high pressure that threatens to close the door off Cape Finisterre.
Jules Verne Trophy: Downwind start in rough seas
"The front will pass over the launch area on Saturday morning," explains Christian Dumard. "The idea is to launch shortly afterwards, in the early afternoon, in a north-westerly wind of less than 30 knots, which will gradually decrease. This time window is very short and does not necessarily offer an absolute chance of achieving a 'fast' time at the equator. But it does offer favourable wind and sea conditions for sailing downwind and a relatively comfortable start for the crew."
This, in turn, is a desirable criterion from the point of view of Alexia Barrier and her seven female crew members. Their plan does not involve "going into the red right from the start". "We will leave Brest on Saturday morning and cross the line about two hours later. There will be rough seas with waves of over four metres, but they will be perfectly manageable on board the 'Idec Sport'," explained Alexia Barrier. Click here to track the Jules Verne Trophy record attempt after the start.
The French skipper continued: "The danger is that the high pressure area off the coast of Portugal will expand and block us as we pass Cape Finisterre. We would then have to turn back and resume our readiness in Brest." However, the eight women from The Famous Project CIC are reluctant to imagine this scenario. Their desire for success is written all over their determined faces. "All the teams, both at sea and on land, are more motivated than ever to make this departure a success and finally embark on the wonderful adventure that awaits us," said Alexia Barrier.
The rules of the Jules Verne Trophy
Your boat is ready for the record-breaking adventure: Launched in 2006, the "Idec Sport", which previously also had well-known names such as "Groupama 3", "Banque Populaire VII" and "Lending Club 2" and has already broken many transatlantic and other records, is 31.50 metres long and 22.50 metres wide. In ideal conditions, the proven record hunter can reach top speeds of over 40 knots.
The rules for the Jules Verne Trophy are simple on paper: you pass the imaginary starting line between the Créac'h lighthouse on the island of Ouessant and the Lizard Point lighthouse and sail around the world. You leave the three large capes - the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn - on your port side before passing the start and finish line again.
A theoretical 21,760 nautical miles have to be mastered. The six men of the "Idec Sport" achieved this masterfully during the legendary record-breaking voyage in 2017 with an average speed of 22.84 knots and some weather fortune. Now comes the answer to the exciting question of what the eight women will be able to do if they too have the weather on their side.
