Jules Verne Trophy, IDEC Sport is at home
Breaking newsEnglishIDECIn evidenzaMultiscafiOceanoRecordTrofeo Jules VerneVela 9 Gennaio 2016 Zerogradinord 0
Ushant – IDEC Sport crossed the finishing line off Ushant at 1650hrs UTC on Friday 8th January. Francis Joyon and his crew of five took 47 days 14 hours and 47 minutes to sail around the world. This was the third best time in the history of the Jules Verne Trophy
They are back. The sun was going down over the Le Créac’h lighthouse and it was under fairly clear skies with a few clouds around that Ushant welcomed back the six men aboard IDEC Sport. Francis Joyon, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel, Boris Herrmann, Gwénolé Gahinet and Bernard Stamm can hug each other, perform a high five and smile as they look forward to a great night ahead in the harbour in Brest. It is true they didn’t smash the Jules Verne Trophy record, but they did manage to get the third best time ever sailing around the world. They improved on the boat’s own record by 17 hours, with a crew of just six, while Franck Cammas had nine men with him when he won the Jules Verne Trophy on this boat back in 2010.
Above all, this adventure will be remembered for the human aspect. There were some great moments, like the record sprint towards the Equator in heavy weather and just one gybe to start the adventure. Then, there was the outright record set in the Indian Ocean, when they dived a long way south down into the ice with the men and boat freezing. They suffered in the Pacific, which was a bit too quiet and ended with a very strange and peaceful rounding of the Horn. They could all admire the sight of a giant iceberg right in the middle of the South Atlantic. They went all the way to the limit in some wild moments of surfing at 45 knots. They sailed fast. Very fast. They laughed a lot. They got to know each other and shared their dreams with each other and with us back on dry land. They enjoyed themselves and fought hard. They will shortly be welcomed home in the harbour in Brest, when the public will be able to thank them for al that. But now we let them speak for themselves…
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