News Around the World �
FRANCE Those crazy French!
During autumn and winter in our hemisphere clever sailors go where the weather is nice… normally the Caribbean or southern hemi- sphere. The French (and a few foreigners) are not so stupid but a bit crazy. They head south but further down than the Caribbean where, yes, there are the long daylight hours of summer, but the temperature is like winter, humid, cold, very cold, and sometimes snowing as you surf close to the icebergs.
The reason for that is the crazy French sailors focus on solo round-the-world racing (the Vendée Globe) or records, or challenging the Jules Verne Trophy with a full crew. And the right time for doing that is to leave Europe in autumn, or at the latest early winter, in time to round Antarctica in December or January (where it’s summer). The round-the-world season is quite busy right now. Of course the quadrennial Vendée Globe is focusing the audience but there is also some Ultime Maxi trimaran entertainment out there.
Well ahead – Thomas Coville
As we write, Thomas Coville should have rounded Cape Horn with a strong advance on the record course set by Francis Joyon on his old Irens-Cabaret design (sold last year to the unfortunate Guo Chuan). Thomas now has a faster 100-footer and he left Brest at the right time, incidentally the same day the 29 Imocas left Les Sables d’Olonne for the Vendée Globe… Since then Thomas, on his fifth attempt to break the record, has done a perfect job. At every ‘mark’ the ex-Geronimo, which was heavily revamped at Multiplast, has been in front, crossing the Equator in a record time of just 5d (one day better than Joyon sailing
14 SEAHORSE
solo in 2007/8). Thomas: ‘My boat is 5m wider and so a lot faster than the previous one. Otherwise I would not have gone so late. ‘I knew by leaving Brest on 6 November that we should do well down to the south Atlantic. I averaged more than 30kt for long periods of time and on the direct course.’ Nine days later Thomas was crossing the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope, 14d 14h after he left Brest! Which means 1d 5h ‘in front of’ Francis Joyon, who also did extremely well on this stage in 2007… For the first portion of his trip Thomas and his 31 x 21m yacht had averaged 24.6kt over 8,338nm. And this included Thomas having to gybe his enormous trimaran 21 times in 48 hours to avoid a big area of ice… being on one gybe for just one hour! Six years ago it took Thomas and Frank Cammas and a full crew
on Groupama 3one hour longer to reach the longitude of the Good Hope; it looks like even on these huge tris the difference between sailing solo and fully crewed is getting smaller and smaller. What is important sailing solo is to avoid manoeuvres as much as possible because they are exhausting and minimise emergency situations that need immediate intervention…
Soon after South Africa, while surfing at 30kt in the Roaring
Forties, Sodebocollided with a whale. Fortunately there was no serious damage, but Thomas did have to reinstall the connection between the starboard rudder and the helming system… meaning a tricky period while the solo skipper sat on the back of the float as it was swept by big waves.
Thomas also encountered very fierce conditions in the South Indian Ocean. For a while Sodebo, with only the J3 and two reefs in the main, was surfing at up to 45kt (yes, you read correctly) in 6-7m waves and more than 35kt of wind. Not the sort of conditions
MARINE NATIONALE/NEFERTITI/DPPI
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