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Oceanracing - Rekordfahrten
Übersicht IDEC 2013 - Hochseerekorde
Wednesday, 20th March 2013
FRANCIS JOYON GOING FOR THE GRAND SLAM !
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Francis Joyon already holds the solo round the world record, the 24-hour distance record and the Columbus Route record, and this spring he is set to tackle the North Atlantic record. If he achieves that, he will become the only sailor in the world to have managed the Grand Slam.
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On board his maxi trimaran IDEC, which is now equipped with foils – making her even faster - Francis Joyon has already achieved a long list of incredible successes. He managed to sail around the world alone in just 57 days. Last summer, once again sailing solo he covered 668 miles (1237 km) in just one day, setting the 24-hour distance record at an amazing average speed of 27.83 knots. Finally, just a short while ago, he smashed his own record on the Columbus Route (Cadiz-San Salvador), taking more than one day off the record by completing the voyage in 8 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes and 5 seconds.
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So what else is there for Francis Joyon to achieve aboard his 29-metre long trimaran? Only the North Atlantic record remains. For any record hunter, whether we are talking about crews or solo sailors, four major records make up the Grand Slam, with in order of prestige, the round the world record, the North Atlantic record, the 24-hour distance record and the Columbus Route. The possibility of becoming the only sailor in the world to hold these four records at the same time is therefore within Francis Joyon’s grasp this year. Neither Ellen MacArthur, nor Thomas Coville – his two closest rivals in this field – have ever been within reach of achieving that.
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But this extraordinary feat will only happen if the skipper of IDEC manages to smash the current record between New York and The Lizard. This is going to be a huge challenge, if we look at the current record time&xnbsp; - held by Thomas Coville on Sodebo – of 5 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes and 20 seconds. Or in other words averaging almost 21 knots on the 2980 nautical miles of the direct route… and that is without taking into account the extra distance he will need to cover to stay with the low-pressure areas moving across the charts, which is something he will have to do in order to achieve the speeds required to grab this record.
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A legendary record
Francis Joyon will be following in the footsteps of some legendary sailors: Charlie Barr was the first to set the record back in 1905 aboard his famous schooner, Atlantic (12 days, with a crew of fifty). Eighty years later, Eric Tabarly took the time down to 10 days aboard his trimaran Paul Ricard. Then, there were the crews led by Marc Pajot (Elf Aquitaine), Patrick Morvan (Jet Services 2), Loïc Caradec (Royale 2) Philippe Poupon (Fleury Michon VIII), Serge Madec (Jet Services V), Steve Fossett (Playstation), Bruno Peyron (Orange II) and more recently, Franck Cammas (Groupama 3) and Pascal Bidégorry (Banque PopulaireV), who managed with their men to shave a few hours or days off the time necessary to complete this legendary crossing.
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As for the solo records, these were set by Bruno Peyron (Explorer in 1987 and 1992), Florence Arthaud (Pierre Premier), Laurent Bourgnon (Primagaz, 7 days in 1994)… and yes, Francis Joyon, who held the record for the first time in 2005 aboard the first IDEC trimaran (6 days and 4 hours), before Thomas Coville took the time down to below six days three years later.
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The route itself, following that taken by the transatlantic liners, is steeped in history and has given us some of the most legendary images of sea travel. Nantucket and the Grand Banks, sailing off Nova Scotia with its violent storms and ghostly fogs. The big red trimaran is currently waiting patiently for a favourable weather opportunity. That is likely to be from early May onwards. As Joyon says: “There are no limits to our dreams.”
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Solo North Atlantic records
1987: Bruno Peyron, Explorer catamaran, in 11 days, 11 hours 46 minutes and 36 seconds
1990: Florence Arthaud, Pierre 1er trimaran, in 9 days, 21 hours and 42 minutes
1992: Bruno Peyron, Explorer catamaran, in 9 days, 19 hours and 22 minutes
1994: Laurent Bourgnon, Primagaz trimaran, in 7 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 42 seconds
2005: Francis Joyon, IDEC 1 trimaran, in 6 days, 4 hours, 1 minute and 37 seconds
2008: Thomas Coville, Sodebo trimaran, in 5 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes and 20 seconds
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