Jules Verne Trophy: "SVR Lazartigue" retires, "Sodebo Ultim 3" on the road
Up to 50 knots speed
The crew of the "SVR-Lazartigue" led by François Gabart has abandoned the record attempt they started a few days ago and turned back. The team announced this on Facebook. The Ultim trimaran had been travelling south at an average speed of almost 37.2 knots over the last 24 hours, reaching top speeds of up to 50 knots.
However, after analysing the data 600 nautical miles from the equator, the weather situation in the South Atlantic proved to be too complicated. There was also a tear in the gennaker. The French home port of Concarneau is due to be reached on 28 December.
In contrast to regattas such as the Vendée Globe, the Jules Verne Trophy offers the opportunity to set off under optimal conditions, stop at any time and choose the best possible weather window for a new start. This is now planned for the beginning of January.
SVR Lazartigue" was launched on 19 December. In the early hours of the morning, at 1.18 a.m. and 38 seconds local time, the French had set off on their second Jules Verne record attempt. By midday, they had almost crossed the Bay of Biscay, travelling at speeds of around 32 or 33 knots.
Breakage at the first attempt
Just over a fortnight ago, skipper François Gabart and his crew had to abandon their first attempt on 3 December after colliding with an "OANI" (unidentified object or animal) with a badly damaged starboard foil. They returned to their home port of Concarneau for repairs and were ready to start again.
The record-hungry crew has around 28,000 nautical miles around the world to beat the record set by Francis Joyon and his crew on "Idec Sport" in 2017 with just 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
The "SVR Lazartique" trimaran
The 32 metre long and 23 metre wide trimaran "Lazartigue" with its 250 square metre mainsail, whose mast height of 36 metres is roughly equivalent to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, is sailed by a crew of both experienced and several up-and-coming sailors from the Class40. Sailing with Gabart are: Pascal Bidegorry, Tom Laperche, Antoine Gautier, Amélie Grassi and Émilien Lavigne.
"Sodebo Ultim 3" on course for a record
The second giant "Sodebo Ultim 3" is on its way for another attempt. Thomas Coville and his crew had to abandon their first attempt, just like the Lazartigue team. Damage to the centre rudder blade also forced the Sodebo team to turn back to their home port of Lorient after just four days.
Thomas Coville, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz and Nicolas Troussel started again on 20 December 2024.
This is the Jules Verne Trophy
The Jules Verne Trophy is named after the French writer Jules Verne, author of the novel "Around the World in Eighty Days". Inspired by this literary adventure, the Jules Verne Trophy was created in the early 1990s by the sailors Titouan Lamazou and Florence Arthaud. The challenge: to sail around the world with a crew as quickly as possible - without stopping and without outside help. Since the beginning, numerous famous sailors have attempted to break this record. The first reference was set by Bruno Peyron and his team in 1993 with a time of 79 days. Since then, this record has been broken several times.
On the non-stop course around the world, there are further sections and corresponding records to beat. For example, the time from the Ouessant start line to the equator. The record is an impressive 5 days, 18 hours and 59 minutes - from France to the earth's greatest latitude!
