Jules Verne Trophy 2008 www.cammas-groupama.com - Übersicht Friday 25th January – Press Release No.59 JULES VERNE TROPHY (CREWED ROUND THE WORLD VIA THE THREE CAPES) AVOIDING THE SNARES Having already covered 600 miles in 24 hours in this their first day at sea, Groupama 3 is perfectly inside the time of the Jules Verne Trophy holder, even though the wind has dropped off markedly off Portugal. After a light spell on Friday afternoon, Franck Cammas and his nine crews set off again at over twenty knots towards the Canaries. Foto: Yvan Zedda An ideal first day for this round the world record attempt, but the second day didn't start off quite so well with the boat slowed off Lisbon and several hours and several zones of light winds to negotiate before the Canary Islands. Setting off at a brisk pace from Ushant at 07h 50’ 17’’ GMT on Thursday, Groupama 3 had to perform an 'm-shaped’ trajectory across the Bay of Biscay to reach the latitude of Cape Finisterre, during its first night at sea. A slight detour due to the rotation of the 20 knot NW’ly wind in the morning to an E'ly wind in the evening… Following this the breeze filled in at the approach to the Iberian coast, exceeding thirty knots prior to easing slightly in the middle of the night. Their lead over Orange II’s reference time rose then to over thirty miles but this was reduced as Groupama 3 headed due South and was forced to flirt with a zone of little wind off Peniche. There iss less than ten knots of true wind but fortunately this is blowing from the ESE, enabling the giant trimaran to maintain a good pace as far as the latitude of the Straits of Gibraltar. However the situation is likely to become more complicated between Madeira and the Canaries, as a ‘snare’ of shifty, fickle winds lays in wait for them, due to a degenerating of a stormy disturbance to the West of the two archipelagos… The difficulty of this for navigator Yves Parlier, working in collaboration with the onshore weather expert Sylvain Mondon, is to find the right passage to zigzag between these calm zones, prior to finding the NE'ly tradewinds. For the time being the air flow is rather laboured along the African coast. However in sailing, as with chess, you have to be five moves ahead and their current preoccupations are geared towards an Argentinean front and trying to catch up with the right wagon, enabling them to make good speed towards the Cape of Good Hope once they reach the level of Rio de Janeiro… Intro This first day at sea has also been an opportunity for the crew to get their sea-legs and get their references on deck so as to get used to the rhythm onboard. “We’ve had a great start! The land-sea transition has gone well and we’re concentrating on settling down for the long haul now. Even though this has been anticipated for a long time, it's a big rupture and you have to get into the skin of a man who will be spending some time at sea, even if we’re going to try and make it as short as possible… We had wind and big seas overnight, which meant that conditions were a little reminiscent of the Deep South: a good way to get your sea-legs. Everything is falling into place; the watches, the rhythm, the meals, the storage of our personal gear… It’s still a little difficult to sleep but it is all coming together slowly” explained Frédéric Le Peutrec, during the daily radio session with HQ on Boulevard Malesherbes. In a day and a half, the ten men on Groupama 3 have experienced almost all the different weather conditions they are going to encounter during the round the world voyage: light wind, eased sheets off Portugal, brisk wind on the beam off the tip of Spain, medium downwind conditions in the Bay of Biscay… The crew’s objective is to rapidly catch onto the African tradewinds, which will be lacking at the start of the weekend. However, what is particularly interesting is the fact that their route is virtually identical to that of the maxi catamaran skippered by Bruno Peyron, 3 years ago to the day in the same area! Since the latitude of Lisbon, the two boats have been following exactly the same trajectory with just a few miles differential… Everything for the circumnavigation: weather analysis by Sylvain Mondon “The start was pretty quick as we’d expected, with a brisk passage around Cape Finisterre with the wind filling in to over thirty knots from the E to NE. This high pressure configuration is behind Groupama 3 and the crew has begun this Friday afternoon, to tackle the leftovers of a stormy depression system, situated off the Canaries. There are several zones of light wind, one of which they passed along this morning. The more reduced speeds late this morning will increase as the afternoon wears on, reaching around 25 knots… In relation to the start forecasts, there were only slight differences on the water, with the wind angle just about ten degrees out but remaining at the said strength. The problem lies with what's going to happen with the tradewinds up ahead, which are having difficulty established themselves…The crew will have to wait till the Canaries have been passed before they get level with some tradewinds, which are less affected by the remains of a stationary disturbance that has been lingering over the region for several days.” The day's interviews Franck Cammas, skipper of Groupama 3: “This lunchtime we are in the process of rounding a zone of light winds and we are sailing quite close to the wind (75°) with only 10-11 knots of breeze. This should enable us to make headway all the same at 20 knots… faster than the routing. We still have around twenty miles to go before we escape this light patch, but there are others skulking around the area! We’ll have to be careful. We have shifted everything over inside the boat so as to move the weight further forward: diesel, sails, safety gear, food… Fortunately Groupama 3 is a multihull, which goes fast in these conditions! We have some appointments with some weather phenomena in the Southern hemisphere so we have no time to hang around…” http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fc250108a_fr_e.mp3 Frédéric Le Peutrec, second helm: “We’re beginning to get far away! You have to get your sea-legs too. Everyone experiences it, even when you're cruising. You have to store your personal effects away, get into a routine. In short, you have to make the boat a home from home for a while…” http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/flp250108a_fr_e.mp3 Rights free interview for the press, available by simple request – broadcast via ISDN line, telephone or email. Contact Corentin Duroselle - Windreport’ on +33 (0)6 63 02 80 71 - +33 (0)2 40 84 30 00 - cod@windreport.com References: Jules Verne Trophy Start on Thursday 24th January 2008 at 07h50’17’’UT Date limit to beat the record: Saturday 15th March 2008 at 00h09’21’’ UT Time to beat: 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes and 4 seconds – Average speed: 17.89 knots Record held by Bruno Peyron, aboard the maxi catamaran Orange II, since March 2005. Time to beat from Ushant to the equator: 6 days 11 hours 26 minutes (Geronimo in 2003) Today’s figures Groupama 3 at 1615 UT Latitude: 36°37,04 N - Longitude : 012°43,68 W Instantaneous speed: 24.6 knots - heading: 211° Average speed over 24h: 23.9 knots Distance left to cover: 23,742 miles Find a detailed cartography at: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne Crew on Groupama 3 Franck Cammas / Franck Proffit / Stève Ravussin / Frédéric Le Peutrec / Loic Le Mignon / Sébastien Audigane / Ronan Le Goff / Jan Dekker / Jacques Caraës / Yves Parlier Onshore weather expert: Sylvain Mondon (Météo France) Key Figures Record 5 – Jules Verne Trophy 21,760 miles, from the start of a line, which is virtually defined between the island of Ushant and Lizard Point lighthouse (UK). Crewed circumnavigation leaving the Capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn to port. Time to beat: 50 days 16 hours 20 minutes and 4 seconds – Average speed: 17.89 knots Record held by Bruno Peyron, aboard the maxi-catamaran Orange 2, since March 2005. Records set by Groupama 3 May 2007: Discovery Route (Cadiz -San Salvador), 3,884 miles 7 d 10 h 58 min 53 sec, at an average speed of 21.7 knots (- 2 d and 2 h / previous record) June 2007: Miami - New York, 947 miles Time: 1 d 11 h 5 min 20 sec, at an average speed of 27 knots (- 18 h / previous record) July 2007: Greatest distance covered in 24 hours 794 miles, at an average speed of 33.08 knots (27 miles more than the previous record) North Atlantic Record (New York – Lizard Point), 2,925 miles 4 days 3 hours 57 minutes 54 seconds, at an average speed of 29.26 knots (- 4 h and 26 min / previous record) Groupama and Franck Cammas: 100% trust! Loyalty and commitment have characterised the partnership between Franck Cammas and Groupama for the past ten years. Indeed, thanks to the constant, determined support of the mutual benefit insurance company, Franck Cammas has built up an impressive track record. Starting off with Groupama, the first of its name, back in 1998, the adventure continued with Groupama 2 launched in 2004, then with Groupama 3 in 2006. In 10 years, Franck has stood out in all forms of competition, totalling 56 races, 49 in which he gained podium places and 28 victories. During the maxi-trimaran record attempt, find us at the Groupama Race HQ located at 21 boulevard Malesherbes, 75008 Paris (open from Monday to Friday from 0930 to 1900 hours (French time) and from Saturday to Sunday 1030 to 1700 hours (French time). Press Office: Welcome On Board BP 30 241 - 56102 Lorient Cedex - bienvenue@welcomeonboard.fr Tiphaine Combot-Seta + 33 6 30 73 30 41 Marie Le Berrigaud (start and finish) + 33 6 03 49 93 04 Vincent Borde + 33 6 07 68 18 95 Temenos II picks up speed again Since this morning, Temenos II has gradually been escaping the influence of the high pressure, the boat picking up speed once more. Michèle and Dominique shouldn't have too much difficulty racking up more than the 160 miles covered since yesterday. The first to enter the zone of high pressure, Temenos II could but watch as Mutua Madrilena ate into their lead throughout yesterday. Today though the reverse is true with Temenos II the first out of the zone and able to snatch back sixty miles from the Spanish boat by the 1500 hour ranking. In a wind now established at around 13 knots, the duo is once again making headway under spinnaker according to Dominique earlier this afternoon. “We didn’t hang around! We stayed on the helm the whole night. It was very calm but we held onto a little wind throughout the night of between 6 and 8 knots, which meant that we were never at a complete standstill. This morning, we hoisted the spinnaker twice before conditions were right. The first time, the wind dropped again and the swell on the nose meant that the sail wouldn’t carry properly; it did work the second time though. We gradually hit a little air after that, which enabled us to get to the other side of the high pressure. Now the wind is established, we're managing to distance ourselves from this zone. The barometer has dropped back down now so we're clear of it. The wind is set to fill in slightly towards the latter part of the day. We mustn't hang around here too long as the high pressure is increasing in size behind us as it climbs northwards. There are some clouds in the sky. It feels like there is the possibility of squalls on the horizon but the weather is still fine. The skies are cloudier today but the shade won't be a bad thing. We have a steady 12, 13 knots, but the wind is still shifty in direction so we're on the helm the whole time. It's a little tougher with the heat; we're getting fried by the sun. The pair of us are not far off consuming 10 litres every day and a half. We have air though and we’re making headway so we can't really complain." -- Kate Jennings Expression. P.O. Box 26, Dartmouth, DEVON. TQ6 0YG United Kingdom +44 (0)7795 116699 Copyright © 1996-2008 - SEGEL.DE