Friday 15th February – Press Release No.80
JULES VERNE TROPHY
(CREWED ROUND THE WORLD VIA THE THREE CAPES)
TASMANIA TONIGHT!
In the early hours of tomorrow morning, Groupama 3 is set to cross the longitude
of the most S’ly cape of Tasmania, and thus enter into the Pacific Ocean. In the
meantime, the end of the Indian Ocean has been more characteristic of late,
since a long W’ly swell is enabling the giant trimaran to skim thirty knot
averages. If they manage to maintain this pace, Franck Cammas and his crew may
be able to snatch the record for crossing the Indian Ocean, but it's going to be
tight...
In a 30-35 knot W to NW’ly air flow with gusts, Franck Cammas and his men have
been racking up the miles since midnight with an average of nearly thirty knots!
As a result it’s shaping up to be a great day for Groupama 3, particularly as
the conditions are enabling the crew to re-establish its overall lead over the
reference time: from less than 300 miles on Thursday evening, their lead has
increased by 60 miles in half a day and given that Orange II wasn’t very fast
over this approach to Tasmania, this bonus is likely to stretch still further
over the course of the weekend…
During today’s radio session, Franck Proffit was exchanging a few words with
Bruno Jeanjean, the bowman aboard the giant trimaran during the North Atlantic
record attempt last summer. The watch leader on Groupama 3 made the most of the
opportunity to give a little run-down on the state of the boat and the shape of
the crew, as well as the current situation: “It’s cold at the moment but we’ve
seen worse: we are in a stiff W’ly breeze and the water is at 6°C. We’re
beginning to cover ourselves up: we’re entering into the Indian Ocean
atmosphere, slipping along in a thirty knot breeze under two reefs and solent
jib, on fairly short seas and a messy swell coming from the West and the North.
We're holding off on the pace a bit as we wait for the seas to become more
ordered… Our current performance demonstrates the boat's potential, as we're
still ahead of Orange II’s wake and still have a twelve hour margin for error.
Technically the boat is going well even though we broke a batten slide
yesterday, which was immediately repaired. The crew is still in great shape,
with no decline in standards, at a rhythm of three hour watches, which is
enabling them to rest well and manœuvre quickly. We’re all nice and fresh!”
A Pacific night…
It is tonight then that the crew will conclude its ‘Indian’ crossing and enter
the Pacific. At this pace, Groupama 3 could improve on Orange II’s time over
this stretch of the course, and in this way snatch yet another new WSSRC record:
the Indian Ocean in less than 9 days 11 hours 04 minutes! This would once again
demonstrate that the giant trimaran is still faster than the maxi catamaran as
soon as the seas are on the boat’s side… In reality though, two thirds of the
Indian Ocean didn't live up to their reputation, causing Groupama 3 to lose a
lot of miles for nearly a week! However, the future is considerably rosier for
Franck Cammas and his nine crew, who will be now be tackling a more cooperative
Pacific Ocean.
“In the coming hours, we’re going to make a slight inroad into the zone of high
pressure, which is to the South of Tasmania, where the wind will shift round to
the SW. We’re going to gybe in 24 hours time and try to play the sea state to
lengthen the stride, despite the weather systems, which are positioning
themselves fairly North and being a little unfavourable for us… The low, which
is to the E of New Zealand has stabilized a little and we’re going to skirt
Stewart Island, which Yves Parlier knows all too well! The weather system is
forcing us onto a fairly N’ly course and we shouldn’t be too bothered by
icebergs. We're likely to have three to four days of good conditions for
slipping along in! If the swell becomes more organised, we should exceed 700
miles a day… that will all depend on the sea state, but there’s still some power
under the bonnet!” enthused Franck Proffit.
Today’s interview
Interview with Franck Proffit, watch leader and helmsman on Groupama 3
“Everything's working well aboard: it's professional and there's a very good
atmosphere! With Jacques, Steve… The choices of sail are made at a good pace and
as regards repairs, everything is completed straightaway. We have a boat in
perfect condition at the approach to the midway mark. Of course, the comfort is
limited as the boat is very stiff with some very violent buffering and very fast
acceleration. You have to hold on and be careful when you move. The living area
works very well and you can really rest up in a dry zone. The next stage in the
course promises to be downwind with a fine running sea… Spaghetti is on the menu
today: it’s varied and we have enough calories!”
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fp150208a_fr_e.mp3
Interview with Bruno Jeanjean, bowman on Groupama 3 during the 2007 records
“I find that the performance by the boat and the crew is fantastic, given the
weather conditions they’ve had since leaving Ushant. With these boats, it’s not
so much the wind as the seas, which are important: they had a difficult passage
at the entry to the Indian and now it’s better. I’m sure that if the situation
had been more favourable, they would have amassed a much bigger lead. The
trimaran has been prepared to perfection and they haven’t suffered any major
worries. If the weather becomes more cooperative, I think that their lead will
increase quite considerably.
The onboard manœuvres on Groupama 3 are pretty hard nevertheless: you have to
lug the sails from one side to the other and they’re very heavy! A gybe with the
movements of the foils and the sails takes around fifteen minutes; taking in a
reef requires four minutes, or more if you have to hoist the sail… All that
demands energy, especially when it’s beginning to get cold as it is now.
Restricted in our foulies, moving about becomes more complicated and you have to
wear gloves."
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fp&bj150208a_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
Today’s figures
Start on 24th January at 07h50’17’’ UT
Arrival before Saturday 15th March 2008 at 00h09'21'' UT
Day 22 at 0800’ UT
*Distance covered on the water in 24 hours: 611.6 miles
*Distance covered since the start: 11,676 miles
*Distance to the finish: 12,854 miles
*Average on day 22: 25.48 knots
*Average since the start: 22.11 knots
*Lead in relation to Orange II: 340.6 miles
Reference times
*Jules Verne Trophy: 50d 16h 20’ (Orange II in 2005)
*Ushant-equator: 6d 6h 24’ (Groupama 3 in 2008)
*Ushant-Cape Agulhas: 13d 08h 47’ (Groupama 3-2008)
*Ushant-Cape Leeuwin: 21d 02h 00’ (Groupama 3-2008)
*Cape Agulhas-Tasmania: 9d 11h 04’ (Orange II in 2005)
Find a detailed cartography at: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne
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)
Kate Jennings
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