18.01.2008
Francis Joyon in Brest on Sunday morning
It is at high speed that Francis Joyon is approaching Brest and the finishing line of his exceptional single-handed round the world record. With less than 700 miles to go to the end, on this 57th day of being alone, Joyon and his faithful trimaran, IDEC, hope to continue their crazy dash for one more day, by reindexing in contact with the strong winds and by paying attention to the angle to the wind. The final 150 miles look like being finer, but the ability of the Irens-Cabaret design to make the most of the slightest puff still allows us to count on a finish sometime during Saturday night with a triumphant entry into the Brest inlet on Sunday morning at around 09h30 local time.
Ideal weather right up to the finish
The low-pressure area picked up yesterday on the south eastern side is living up to the forecasts and it is thus in 30-35 knot winds that the large IDEC trimaran is making headway averaging more than 20 knots over 24 hours. Just as was the case in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Joyon had to do without sleep to make sure the trimaran reindexed on course in the long surf at 27 to 28 knots during the night on a five to six metre high swell.
How can he take care of his tired machine so close to home, when all she asks is to be given free rein in the downwind conditions? Francis Joyon has been focussing on that for 48 hours with his final climb back up the mast and all his attention and energy. IDEC has found the conditions she was built for, strong downwind conditions with a powerful long swell. Under two reefs and the gennaker, there is no brake pedal for the solo skipper, who must pay attention to his trajectory to ensure the transitions between the swell are as gentle as possible for his exhausted vessel after a sprint of almost 26,000 miles. By day and by night, Joyon has been the master of this sort of work for 56 days. On the clock, the daily performance has once again reached 480 nautical miles at an average of more than 20 knots.
On permanent alert
Joyon is not finding the time to doze off completely, as he is still keeping one eye on the strength and direction of the wind, and paying attention to how the 9 tonnes of the boat behave on the powerful Atlantic waves, keeping his finger on the pulse of his boat; a pulse, which goes wild at times, when some vital elements of equipment threaten to give up the ghost, like the worn indexsail halyard, which is rubbed through and looks like breaking. The closeness to the continental shelf, the shipping lanes and the fishing boats and the finish off the Breton coast will only increase the stress at the end of this race. Reindexing as cautious as ever, both in his comments and the way he handles the boat, Joyon is still refusing to commit himself to an arrival time. However, his long voyage is reaching an end, and while Joyon is looking forward to seeing his friends and family and dry land, the sailor is still taking advantage of that alchemy between the water, the air and his large boat.
"It’s the end of a long voyage and the sea is still just as attractive for me, so that’s why it is hard to stop..."
Comments from Francis Joyon
Today’s radio session enabled a dozen journalists to question Francis live on the website, www.trimaran-idec.com. The skipper of IDEC, still hurtling along at more than 20 knots willingly answered the questions, with his usual kindness, and sometimes showing some genuine perspicacity. Francis Joyon: "I learnt a lot about the weather during this round the world voyage; working with Jean-Yves Bernot was very interesting. It allowed me to judge more finely the weather patterns."
"I’m pleased to have accomplished a great voyage. I did it because it’s something I like doing. I’m not doing it for ambitious reasons..."
"Records are there to be beaten. My time back in 2003 looked like it couldn’t be smashed. Then, Ellen MacArthur, with her remarkable performance beat it the following year."
"There were two very worrying moments; once in the south in the middle of the ice, as the storm started to blow, and in the Doldrums, when I discovered I could lose my mast..."
"The breaking up of the pack ice and the icebergs floating around at unusual latitudes attracted my attention. The time I spent sailing around the world also proves that the planet isn’t as big as we imagine and that we need to take much better care of it..."
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