JULES VERNE: FAST BUT NOT FURIOUS
Having set off together on November 22, North-powered Jules Verne contenders Spindrift 2 and IDEC Sport completed their circumnavigation on Friday within 5 hours of each other at the finish line in Ushant. After hoisting 3Di sails, the journey began with a record-setting pace to the equator and continued down the Indian Ocean, where IDEC Sport crossed in record time by sailing south to 6 degrees latitude. Icebergs in the Southern Ocean stunned them before rounding a magically still Cape Horn. In the final push, the crews withstood a brutal beat up the Atlantic before greeting friends, family, teammates, and the greater community at the finish line.
Spindrift 2 crossed at 15:01 UTC on Friday 8th January to claim the second fastest circumnavigation on record. They sailed over 29,000 miles in 47 days 10 hours 59 minutes and 02 seconds, clocking an average speed of 25.35 knots. Skipper Yann Guichard sailed with 13 crew members including Sail Expert Jacques Guichard who works out of North Sails France. Also onboard is driver/trimmer and co-founder Dona Bertarelli and Sébastien Audigane, Antoine Carraz, Thierry Duprey du Vorsent, Christophe Espagnon, Erwan Israël, Loïc Le Mignon, Sébastien Marsset, François Morvan, Xavier Revil, Yann Riou and Thomas Rouxel. The time makes Driver/Trimmer Dona Bertarelli the fastest woman to sail around the world.
IDEC Sport finished at 1650hrs UTC on Friday 8th January to claim the third fastest time on record. Finishing in 47 days 14 hours and 47 minutes, they beat the boat’s 2010 record trip by 17 hours. Legendary French solo sailor, Francis Joyon, sailed with a crew of only five: Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet, Alex Pella, Boris Herrmann, and Clément Surtel.
47 days is no time at all. In these 47 days we have watched them from the comfort of our homes and offices, debriefing their routes over Christmas dinner, watching from our tablets as we rang in 2016, constantly reminded of what a special achievement it is to sail around the world. Both Spindrift 2 and IDEC Sport used North Sails 3Di Endurance sails for the circumnavigation, which offer the highest durability and performance ratio of the North Sails range of products. Congratulations to the crews on Spindrift 2 and IDEC Sport for a safe and fast lap around the planet. Here’s to the next one!
The Records:
Spindrift 2: Ushant to the Equator in 4 days 21 hours 29 minutes
Spindrift 2: Ushant to the South of Tasmania, the entrance to the Pacific, in 20 days 04 hours 37 minutes
IDEC Sport: Crossing the Indian Ocean
Spindrift 2: Ushant-Cape Horn in 30 days 04 hours 07 minutes, which brought a lead of 18 hours and 11 minutes over Banque Populaire V.
Dona Bertarelli: The fastest female sailor to circumnavigate in 47 days 10 hours 59 minutes and 02 seconds
”This Jules Verne Trophy has been a series of firsts for me: going around the world, rounding the three capes, having so many days on the clock… And I really want to get back out there. The boat is perfectly adapted for this task, we’ll just need the weather to be with us. And then the South Seas, they’re magical. The Indian Ocean was rather grey, but in the Pacific we were treated to some incredible light when we went down to almost 60° South… But I’ll remember all the birds most: the albatrosses, petrels, fulmars and Cape petrels constantly following us.” – Yann Guichard, skipper of Spindrift 2
“There were a lot of great moments. I shall most remember a classic one: rounding Cape Horn in very pleasant conditions and in an incredible light… But the most important thing was the pleasure of being with a crew. We really worked well together and got on well. Our skills were fairly complementary. There were several solo sailors in this crew and that made a good mixture… Will we do it again? If we could set off again as a crew on this boat, we’d willingly do it.” – Francis Joyon, skipper of IDEC Sport
Image credits: top © Jean – Marie Liot / DPPI / IDEC Sport; right ©YannRiou / Spindrift Racing; below © Yann Riou / Spindrift Racing.
