The IDEC SPORT maxi-trimaran has just gone to code green, meaning that their departure is imminent. They are about to make another attempt at the outright crewed round the world record, the Jules Verne Trophy.
Francis Joyon and his crew comprising Clément Surtel, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet and Sébastien Audigane are back in Brest, where they are carrying out the final preparations and stowing supplies on the boat.
The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the skipper who breaks the outright record, starting from an imaginary line between the Créac'h lighthouse on Ouessant (Ushant) Island, France, and the Lizard Lighthouse, UK. The current holder is Banque Populaire V skippered by Loick Peyron in 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds.
Joyon's crew completed a circumnavigation earlier this year in a time of 47 days 14 hours 47 minutes and did not break the record.
A window of opportunity has arisen with a start possible in the mid-morning on Thursday from Ushant. It should give them a good time to the Equator, as long as they manage to deal well with the first 36 hours, which look rough off Brittany. Francis Joyon is giving himself a few more hours to think about it before deciding whether to cast off tomorrow or not.
The latest sea state observations and forecasts for the near Atlantic and the weather systems expected in the South Atlantic are being analysed by Marcel van Triest. The Dutch router will provide his final analysis this evening to enable Francis and his crew to take the ultimate decision about whether to set sail shortly or wait until later in the week for the seas to ease.
