Saturday 9th February – Press Release No.74
JULES VERNE TROPHY
(CREWED ROUND THE WORLD VIA THE THREE CAPES)
FIRST THIRD
On this seventeenth day at sea, Groupama 3 has already covered a third of the
course around the globe and is managing to hold onto a small lead over the
reference time. These two pieces of good news are added to the fact that a SW’ly
wind rotation should kick in over the coming hours, a shift which will be
favourable for a long descent towards the furious fifties…
Franck Cammas and his crew have paid their share to the Indian Ocean and can now
invest in the long term… As Orange II climbed up and down like the Stock
Exchange at around 45° three years ago, Groupama 3 has instead begun a fine
parabola towards the foaming summits. In the hours which follow this Saturday
lunchtime radio session, the giant trimaran will take off whilst Bruno Peyron’s
crew were floundering at this time in some variable fluctuations as far as the
Kerguelen Islands… Patience is the mother of safety and the sailors will finally
be able to jump into action and rack up figures with several zeros on the end…
The reasons for this are that Franck Cammas and his nine crew will adopt a more
productive route to the benefit of an anticipated speed calculation over 24
hours, which will culminate in nearly 600 mile daily averages throughout the
week…
Hanging a right
After having absorbed the impact of some rather big seas on the hip, as well as
suffering from a very bumpy ride due to the combination of a very strong S’ly
swell and a very variable high pressure breeze, things have now stabilised since
the start of the weekend: the breeze is slowly shifting to the right and
Groupama 3 can finally slip along quicker, further and lower towards the
Kerguelen Islands. Indeed a low will bring along its share of rain, clouds and
low temperature, as well as wind, most importantly. This breeze will initially
pass to the SW at 20-25 knots, then to the W at 25-30 knots on Sunday morning,
before returning to the SW at 35-40 knots at the end of the weekend… Do up your
foulies nice and tight, its going to get wet and seriously blustery as the wind
swings round!
The course over 40° South that Groupama 3 has been forced to endure since
passing the Cape of Good Hope, will therefore curve slowly inwards towards 50°
South so as to shorten the distance to sail around the Antarctic. Already
though, Franck Cammas and his men have covered the first third of the race
against the clock with over 8,000 miles on the speedo, whilst the weather
conditions have not been particularly favourable. But how much does three times
seventeen days come to… ?
Today’s interview
Interview with Sébastien Audigane, second helm
“The Indian Ocean has lived up to its reputation: we’ve been leap-frogging for
three days now. For the time being, the seas are very hard and on the nose, so
we're finding it difficult to make headway. However, we are managing to doze and
rest during the stand-by watches. We’re gradually recuperating, but it's
certainly difficult to sleep well. If all goes to plan, in around ten hours
time, we should hit the W'ly winds. We're trying to slow the boat a little at
the helm as she has the tendency to accelerate at the slightest puff of wind and
we are trying to prevent ourselves from bouncing on the waves: it's quite
difficult and rather like a rodeo! Yves has managed to repair the central
bulkhead of the aft beam but there are a few finishing touches to complete and
the waves aren’t helping much.
The sea state is complicating life on board
(eating, moving around, resting, staying on watch…) so it’s no picnic. We are
sticking together despite the hard conditions. It’s the second time that I’ve
gone through the Indian Ocean and it’s never innocent! We are being confronted
by very difficult seas and you have to ease off the pace to preserve the men and
the boat. To see an albatross so close like we did yesterday, adds a little
enjoyment and emotion to these rather feisty days… It’s been a while since I've
looked at the position of Orange II: our main concern is to escape this zone
with its S’ly swell and to get into some downwind breeze to regain Groupama 3’s
true potential!
The medical analysis is pretty positive with just a few skin
irritations... We're having to be careful at the moment though with the sea
conditions we have right now."
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/sa090208a_fr_e.mp3
During the record, find Franck Cammas and his crew everyday at 1100 GMT live
from Groupama 3. For this nothing could be simpler: www.cammas-groupama.com or
connect to the Groupama 3 / WindReport platform and ask your questions, by
calling 0 825 15 30 70 (0.15 € / min).
References: Jules Verne Trophy
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 Cape Agulhas to Tasmania: 9 days 11 hours 4 minutes (Orange II
in 2005)
Today’s figures
Start on 24th January at 07h50’17’’ UT
Arrival before Saturday 15th March 2008 at 00h09'21'' UT
Day 16 at 0800’ UT
*Distance covered on the water in 24 hours: 524.9 miles
*Distance covered since the start: 8,352 miles
*Distance to the finish: 16,178 miles
*Average on day 16: 21.87 knots
*Average since the start: 21.75 knots
*Lead in relation to Orange II: 175.9 miles
Find a detailed cartography at: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne
* Ushant to the equator: 6d 6h 24’ (Groupama 3 in 2008)
* Equator – Cape Agulhas: 7d 02h 22’ (Groupama 3 in 2008) * Ushant – Cape
Agulhas: 13d 08h 47’ (Groupama 3 in 2008)
The 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
Shore-based weather expert: Sylvain Mondon (Météo France)
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).
Kate Jennings
Expression.
P.O. Box 26,
Dartmouth,
DEVON.
TQ6 0YG
United Kingdom
+44 (0)7795 116699
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