Run Joyon, run (this is the only way you will remain in history)!

Now that Thomas Coville has broken his record for a nonstop solo round-the-world trip., Francis Joyon must push hard on the accelerator to regain his place in history: he is sailing hard on his maxi trimaran Idec Sport to win the Jules Verne Trophy, awarded to those who circumnavigate the globe without stopovers or assistance (in this case by crew) as quickly as possible. Departing from the imaginary line connecting Créac’h Lighthouse on l’île d’Ouessant and Cape Lizard Lighthouse, dubbing the Cape of Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn and returning to Brittany, over an official WSSRC orthodromic distance of 21 600 nautical miles (40 003 km).

EVERYTHING OK SO FAR
Joyon must beat the record set by Loick Peyron, who in 2012 aboard Banque Populaire V took 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes and 53 seconds at an average speed of 19.75 knots. For now, compared to Peyron, the 60-year-old navigator from Hanches (who is on his third attempt to win the Jules Verne in the past two years), less than 1,000 miles from Cape Horn, has a lead of 1,726 miles. Idec is sailing at an average speed of 27.1 knots.

FRANCIS JOYON’S LOYALISTS
Few, but very select team members on board: Bernard Stamm (who previously won the Jules Verne aboard Bruno Peyron’s Orange II in 2005), Gwénolé Gahinet (he won the Mini Transat and is the son of the late Gilles, Tabarly’s black beast and winner of two Solitaire du Figarò), Alex Pella (The Race, second at the Mini, first among Class 40s at the Route du Rhum), Clement Surtel (Franck-Yves Escoffier’s grandson, sailed on IDEC Sport when it belonged to Franck Cammas and was called Groupama and on Orange), Boris Herrmann (two rounds of the world, three times passed Cape Horn, 2009 winner of the GOR), and, as ground support, Marcel Van Triest (five world tours behind him).

THE BOAT.
The maxi trimaran IDEC Sport is the former Groupama III of Franck Cammas (later to become Banque Populaire VII): launched in 2006, it held the Jules Verne from 2010 to 2012 and won, among many successes, the last two editions of the Route du Rhum. Made by the team of Van Péteghem and Lauriot Prévost (VPLP), it is 31.5 meters long and 22.50 meters wide. It weighs 18,000 kilograms with a draft of 5.70 m. The mast is 33.5 meters high and the hull structure is made of carbon and Nomex. Upwind it has a sail area of 411 sq. m., at the carriers of 678.

leggi anche

ARC Rally: Remax One wins the Racing category overall in plywood. What a hat-trick for Italy!

FRANCIS JOYON IN BRIEF
The fastest loner around the world was born in 1956 in Hanches, on the agricultural plain of the small and remote Eur et Loire region. Francis Joyon is the former overall record holder of the solo round-the-world race (57 days, 13 hours and 54 minutes), accrued in 2008, beaten by Coville a few days ago. He had already won the record in 2004 aboard the trimaran Idec, shattering the previous record set in 1989. He would be beaten the following year (by only one day) by Britain’s Ellen MacArthur. But Joyon does not lose heart and, aboard the new 30-meter-long Idec, with an average speed of 19.09 knots achieves an achievement that still endures. A loner at sea and in life, he is a shy and reserved type: a “sponsor chaser” who, in the world of ocean sailing, ends up being a romantic stereotype.