Ma pochette indique le mauvais âne là-dessus
Funny enough, the first time I paid attention to the Jules Verne Trophy was in 2004 when Steve Fossett dissed it and said he wouldn’t pay the ‘entry fee’ just to have his name on a trophy. Maybe he just wasn’t French enough, or maybe he knew his name was so big he didn’t need the Trophy for attention. Either way, he did set the circumnavigation record with Playstation at 58 days 9 hours.
Did they really break the record with a chicks mooning the camera and running in place? No. Photo: www.wingo.com
The next year (2005) Bruno Peyron, who has been around the world more times than I’ve been around the block, bested Playstation’s time by completing the marble round in 50 days, 16 hours with Orange II. What an achievement. He was the first to break 80 days, then going almost a month faster….wow. And The Race is on again!
Why do I feel I need to mention Olivier de Kersauson’s Geronimo. The 110 foot French trimaran held the Jules Verne Trophy (2004) with a time of 63 days and almost 14 hours. Even at that time I thought it looked the bit of a pig, and it never really lived up to expectations. Guess what though, the same designer (VPLP) designed the top rate tris of today. The fact is, boats are designed for delivery. End of story.
Now, the race for the record is on again with Groupama 3. (follow their track here) This Jules Verne attempt has been on the edge since it’s beginning! Cammas and crew went from killing it to catch up, to killing it, to running from the weather faster than Jack Woltz running from a horsehead.
Familiar Looking Twist, No?
Now they’re holding the horns of the devil to the infamous Cape Horn. Every time I checked in recently they were trucking over 30 knots. Now they have slowed to just under. After talking with Vincent Prevost during our recent SA interview, he stated the design of Groupama 3 is such they have to slow in cranking waves (unlike the longer, more stable Banque Populaire 5). So they are now just holding it together while waiting for the opportunity to turn it back on.
Groupama 3 has burned a ton of miles off while staying north of the system. At one point they were almost 600 miles ahead. Now, they’re just over 200 ahead, but have turned south to get back on Bruno Peyron’s trophy line. At some point they had to eat it and go to the Horn. Groupama 3′s average speed has been much faster than Orange II’s, so when they get back on the record line they will likely start to put miles on again, if weather permits. Groupama 3 broke the Indian Ocean Passage of Orange II already. One one record remains.
All this is happening while Banque Populaire V is patiently docked, waiting for the oppportunity to cut the record to pieces like Gordan Ramsay on five Adderall. The window is slowly shutting though as the frontal opportunities fade during the middle months of the year.
Three things are for sure: Franck and crew are pushing it as hard as anyone has ever pushed it, the navigator, Stan Honey, is setting the best course for the crew to make the Big Show and the inside of that center hull is getting funky.
With the advancements in design and performance since Orange II set the record, is just a 300 mile or 12 hour best of the record enough? Well, it’s enough to set the floating hull on the magnetic field, but it’s not smashing the record.
We do know the tri should perform better in the the Atlantic. A little luck does go a long way though, and Groupama has not had full record luck as of yet. As they move past the confused seas of the Horn, I hope they absolutely kill it to the finish. Good luck boys!
Just for kicks I have to throw in this pic of Groupama 2 buckin it.
