Trimaran project is intended to showcase multihull news with a focus on racing, build projects, launchings, interesting ideas past and present and also updates on my own trimaran projects. Lots of content and updates to come so keep checking back.
FRANCIS JOYON ABOUT TO EXPLODE THE NORTH ATLANTIC RECORD
Saturday, June 15, 2013
With 650 miles covered the past 24 hours, Francis Joyon flirts with his own record of distance traveled in one day sailing and single-handed, 666 miles.This single statistic reveals the level of performance that carries out since his departure from New York last Wednesday the sailor of LoCmariaquer. On a southern road very far from ideal, great circle route, followed with happiness for 4 days in July 2008 by Thomas Coville, Francis Joyon took the huge challenge to navigate, not at speeds greater than 21 knots, average of the current record, but at over 25 knots. A bet that still holds today high hand the extraordinary Mr Joyon, who may consider an arrival at the Lizard tomorrow Sunday by mid-afternoon. In doing so, IDEC and Francis, with the unwavering support of Jean-Yves Bernot, will realize the unique and prodigious feat of holding all significant records in sailing and single-handed.
Fully to Lizard! "The magic of these big multihulls, is that you can just ask them; 25, 30 or 35 knots..." The sentence sounds in the mouth of Francis Joyon as a relentless banality. It hides a little more than 4 days of a titanic battle in the heart of a depression very hollow, aboard a multihull like a runaway horse. It does not explain the crazy bet to go on record on a considerably extended route from the path reference to Thomas Coville. And she tells especially not the voltage, the permanent danger, risk-taking incurred to push for so long without interruption, a trimaran to the maximum of its possibilities. Yet, it is well to this award, Francis Joyon, late during more than half of the course, returned today to height of the trace of his virtual opponent, he will exceed mercilessly and leave later in its wake. "I wasn't quite in the terms of my record of 24 hours" continues Francis, because that night, I slept 3 hours! It is true that I live since the departure of New York in a rarely affect voltage."
A significant gain on the current record.
«Depression beyond me gently» continues Francis, refreshed by the incredible luxury of a NAP of 3 hours last night, where the speed of his trimaran IDEC has had to suffer the least. "The wind will refuse to approach the British Isles, i.e. turn from the back of the trimaran to the side. This will be worse for speed"said as apologizing Francis,"but this should enable us to finish tomorrow afternoon. " Remains to refine this prediction. Enriched computer projections of more recent data, see it pointing its bows under the Lizard tomorrow Sunday between 17 and 18 French time. The gain on the current record would be then between 12 and 13 hours! Point of major maneuvers in sight during the last 600 miles and a few to go. «Depression took just the right direction to spare me a new jibe.» Under mainsail and staysail, Francis must only send the Genoese as soon as the wind will turn on his left. Far from triumph while it addresses only the continental shelf and the signs before riders from the proximity of the coast are still very diffuse, Francis Joyon pushes its degree of vigilance, attention to wear of the boat, and more than ever in tune with the evolution of its big red on the Ridge trimaran waves.
It was once more with a remarkably calm voice for a sailor at the helm of a 30-metre machine speeding along at between 25 and 30 knots that Francis Joyon confirmed his ETA at the finish, in other words that he is due to cross the legendary line marking the finish of the North Atlantic crossing off The Lizard at the southern tip of Cornwall on Sunday evening.
To beat the record set in July 2008 by Thomas Coville on the giant trimaran Sodebo, IDEC has to finish before 0400hrs UTC (0600hrs CET) on Monday morning. Without wishing to celebrate too soon, as with 1200 miles to go to the finish, there remains some uncertainty, Joyon seems more motivated than ever given the way the low-pressure area that he has been with since leaving New York, is moving, as it should enable him to succeed in this mammoth task. If he succeeds, he will become the record-holder of the only one of the four major solo sailing records missing from his current list of achievements.
The America's Cup deed of gift winning trimaran USA 17 (BOR 90) has been moved from it's location at Pier 80 in San Francisco. Rumor has it that it will be relocated to the lagoon outside Oracle's Corporate facility.
This event has been toned down a bit from the days of the radical Formula 40's and the all conquering Le Black lake catamaran. These days the fastest lake rockets are the one design D35 catamarans one of which currently holds the Blue Ribbon record.
Just as they did in Valencia Sebastien Josse's crew on Edmond de Rothschild proved the masters of the short, high intensity inshore race courses Friday on the more compact confines and tricky currents of Lisbon's Tagus river, emerging from the first three races of the Route des Princes Portugese stopover with a narrow lead of two points for inshore series here.
Francis Joyon, aboard his maxi-trimaran, IDEC, is on course to reach the halfway point of his journey between New York and The Lizard this evening. While at lunchtime today, based on the mathematics, he was some 100 miles off the pace set by the current record-holder, Thomas Coville, the skipper of IDEC said he was pleased with the first part of the crossing. He managed to get away from the coast of North America with all its traps and hurdles: fog, all sorts of obstacles, winds that were variable in strength and direction.
Since starting from Valencia, Spain on Sunday afternoon the crew of Oman Air-Musandam have been the most consistent race leaders, only passed twice since the first and only turning mark at Benicarlo, 30 miles north of Valencia. Each time they were overtaken it proved only very temporary and, sticking with their strategies, they drew ahead again to win into Lisbon by 44 minutes and 52 seconds ahead of Yann Guichard’s crew on Spindrift.
Skippered by France’s Sidney Gavignet, Oman Air-Musandam, has the most international team in the race, composed of two crew from France, two from Oman, one from England and one from Ireland.
Lots of recognizable classic racing and cruising multihulls in this fantastic video from the Golden Oldies association. Thanks to HASYB for the link to this great video.
With twenty four hours elapsed it is Gavignet’s team which has prospered almost since they rounded the Benicarlo mark north of Valencia on Sunday evening, six hours after the start.
But for a minor blip, as they passed Cabo de Nao early this morning when Sébastien Josse and Edmond de Rothschild managed to squeeze ahead, sailing closer to the coast, the Oman Sail MOD70 team which has Briton Neal McDonald as navigator has managed to steadily increase their lead.
On the mid afternoon rankings, as the leaders passed some 43 miles SW of Cartagena, Oman Air – Musandam had managed to eke out a lead of nearly 29 miles ahead of Yann Guichard’s Spindrift, the MultiOne champions which has Pascal Bidégorry as navigator. In turn Spindrift were five miles up on Jean-Pierre Dick’s Virbac-Paprec 70.
Francis Joyon is set to depart on his attempt to regain the record currently held by Thomas Coville on the Trans Atlantic New York to Lizard route. Francis will need to maintain a higher than 20 knot average to retake the record.
Francis Joyon should depart tomorrow Tuesday 11 June in the early
hours of the day to the onslaught of the record for crossing the Atlantic in
a multihull and single-handed, aboard his maxi trimaran IDEC. It should
cross the historic departure of this mythical record line materialized by
Ambrose light in New York City between 2 hours and 8 French time. He must
then fight alone facing the Atlantic and up the Lizard to the Western tip of
Cornwall English during less than 5 days, 19 hours, 30 minutes and 40
seconds to inscribe his name on the shelves of the World Sailing Speed
Record Council and clear of the current holder, Thomas Coville. Francis
Joyon completed then a double feat, a title which he owned until 2008, and
especially to become the only man to hold the four world records the most
significant sailing and single-handed, World Tour, record the fastest speed
over 24 hours, Route de la Découverte and the North Atlantic record.
A window... correct!
"The weather window referred this night is... correct!" The expression is
Jean-Yves Bernot, the master of navigation at le grand large, attending
since always Francis Joyon in its greatest challenges sailing. In clear and
decoded, the conditions are conducive, certainly not ideal, but with enough
arguments to trigger an attempt. The two men watched from the France
development on the North American continent from depression of force and
trajectory that meet the requirements of a record become more difficult to
beat attempts. Francis Joyon has accumulated last weekend enough certainty
and conviction to board a plane destined for New York yesterday, and find
his large trimaran IDEC moored in the marina at Gateway in Brooklyn, New
York.
A possible start between 2 and 8 o'clock in the morning
Cleaning hulls, last refuelling, made as the accustomed alone and by itself,
and Joyon refine this evening by telephone the latest weather developments
with Jean-Yves Bernot, before evening the perilous trip to the starting line
and the former location of the legendary lighthouse of Ambrose at the
entrance of the Bay of New York, Lighthouse dismantled in 2008 following
numerous collisions, and now replaced by light buoys. A start officially
recorded between 2 and 8 o'clock in the morning French time would allow it
to benefit from the light of the end of American day to browse the delicate
miles ferry on the grand River New Yorkers. Depression in circulation on
Labrador should prevail in its winds sustained thirty knots, well oriented
to the South East is on an easily negotiable sea during at least the first
two thirds of the course. As is often the case in this record attempt, it is
the final approach phase on the British Isles, which contains the largest
batch of uncertainties. Wind is expected to pick this weekend and complicate
the task of the lone sailor. But the movement of this depression on a
sufficiently North Road should however allow IDEC to slide closer to the
direct route, and thus optimize its trajectory toward the entrance of the
English channel by accumulating the "effective" miles to Lizard.
© JEAN-MARIE LIOT / DPPI / IDEC
