Solo Round-the-World Record

[JCD]

Anybody got a drink and a cigar? This thread reads like a book!

Keep it going.

J

[brian eiland]

Joyon Nurses IDEC Toward Home
January 11, 2008 – Tropical North Atlantic

Francis Joyon's trip up the Atlantic Ocean so far has been anything but an easy home stretch for his non-stop solo round-the-world record attempt. After battling the South Atlantic high, which whittled his pace down to as little as 139 miles one day, Joyon once again seemed to be reeling in the miles toward the finish off Brest, France. Pausing only to raise his daggerboard to avoid catching the line of the equator while crossing into the Northern Hemisphere, Joyon had bettered record-holder Dame Ellen MacArthur's pace to that point by 12.5 days. But after a draining night fighting through the doldrums, a failed gennaker halyard forced Joyon to climb IDEC's rig.

That broken halyard may have saved his record attempt because when he reached the top of the rig, Joyon noticed that the starboard cap-shroud terminal was working loose from the mast, threatening to dismast IDEC. To prevent the rig from toppling in the confused seaway, Joyon descended, tucked in three reefs and changed to a small jib before heading back up the rig to try and stabilize the the shroud terminal. On the second ascent, he took a beating.

"The boat was moving so much at the time of my second climb, I injured my ankle," he relayed, now waiting for the Northeasterly trades to settle the sea state. "I'm taking time to recover and think of a solution."

For now, he's using the gennaker halyard as a back-up shroud, but will need a more permanent fix in order to carry more sail and let his 97-ft trimaran IDEC stretch her legs. He is in contact with his shore team who are attempting to devise a fix that can be implemented with the minimal tools and materials onboard. Unless Joyon and his team can find a way to make a repair that will allow him to carry more sail, he might need all of that lead over MacArthur to reclaim the record, or simply get home intact. Stay tuned . . .

latitude / rg

[brian eiland]

...after a near flawless trip in the beginning Joyon is experiencing any number of mechanical problems at the end

WORRIES, TROUBLES AND AN EPIC FINAL SPRINT TO COME

More damage has slowed down the giant trimaran, IDEC's progress during the night. This time it was the staysail stay that paid the price of the repeated slamming into the swell. "The sail went flying everywhere," explained Francis, "There was incident after incident, with a broken block, which caused a hole in the deck... I had to get the tool box back out and put some resin on it, repair the deck and recuperate my sail..." 27, 28 knots of wind coming straight at us in some tricky seas really shook up IDEC throughout the night.

At daybreak, the wind shifted more clearly towards the east. More than ever in record mode, Francis hoisted some more canvas and soon as the wind eased off slightly, let out a reef and hoisted his staysail instead of his stormsail. "I still can't really play around with the staysail, admitted Francis, as the furler drum is broken.. I didn't get much rest as the boat was being banged around so much".

Obsessed by the fragility of his mast, Francis remains focussed on his trajectory and the timing required to hop on to the weather systems coming up ahead. This 53rd day of sailing should offer him a little respite with some cleaner seas and a more favourable wind angle. Less than 36 hours ahead of his bows, he can see the Azores high coming up. IDEC will leave this to starboard, in order to reach the south south westerly flow, requiring a gybe. Francis will by then have taken advantage of the calm close to the centre of the high-pressure area to go back up the mast once again; "I'll make the most of it to check out the movement of the spindle, which holds the shroud in place," he explained. "I think I'll jam it in place by hammering it. Then, I'll wrap a bandage around the mast. I have already put up a halyard to add support to the starboard shroud."

Having done everything within his power, Francis will then be on the home run, the final sprint that with the 40-45 knot winds that are forecast looks like being an epic end to the voyage.

[yipster]

a few day's -iff things hold together- and back in brest, epic voyage tho!
thanks for the updates Brian

[Hans Friedel]

GO! Francis GO!

[Pericles]

As of 08-02 UTC today, Francis has 1259 NM to the finish at Brest. After climbing to repair the mast 4 times in 5 days, he feels confident that if he stays out of the 50 knot breezes to his north, all should be well. His heading is 59 and VMG is 21.4 knots with an instant speed of 21.5 knots, as he navigates to pass through the Azores. His distance travelled in last 24 hours is 391 NM.

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/

Pericles

[Pericles]

As of 07-02 UTC, Francis Joyon is 308 NM from the finish in Brest and at 20+ knots, he should arrive around midnight tonight. There will be considerable sea traffic as he continues across the Bay of Biscay, so he won't get much rest, but he'll have completed his solo circumnavigation in fewer than 58 days!!

France will be celebrating tonight.

Pericles

[Richard Atkin]

WOW

[Pericles]

12-04 UTC, 208 NM to go.

Pericles

[Pericles]

20-54 UTC. 55 NM to go. Making 23.4 knots at this time.

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/

Pericles

[Pericles]

22-44 UTC. 17.2 NM from finish. Watch his arrival on link below.

http://www.streamakaci.com/radios/wmtrigone.asx

Pericles

[Roly]

EM's record smashed by.........14days.
New solo....57d 13h 34min 6 sec
Francis, that was an superlative achievement.

[brian eiland]

JOYON SHATTERS ROUND THE WORLD RECORD

At the age of 51, Francis Joyon is once again the fastest solo yachtsman
around the world, having completed his non-stop record attempt in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. He has shattered the previous record, held since 2005 by the British yachtswoman, Ellen MacArthur by 14 days, 44 minutes and 27 seconds. Joyon and the 97-foot IDEC trimaran crossed the finishing line off Brest on Sunday 20th January 2008 at 00h39'58.

Onboard IDEC, Francis Joyon covered more than 26,400 nautical miles at an average speed of 19.09 knots. Throughout the passage, IDEC sailed 'cleanly', without the use of any fossil fuel (no engine), generating its own energy with a wind turbine and solar panels.

Francis Joyon becomes the only solo sailor in the world to have established
the non-stop single-handed round the world voyage record aboard a multihull
on two occasions (first set in 2004). Additionally, Joyon's passage achieved
the second best time ever for sailing around the world, including crewed
voyages! Joyon surpassed the crewed record set by Steve Fossett's giant
Cheyenne (58 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes in April 2004), with only the crew
of Bruno Peyron's maxi-catamaran Orange II still holding the outright record
in just over 50 days.
http://www.trimaran-idec.com

* Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0119

* Curmudgeon's Comment: Joyon's program was criticized early on by the
English speaking press, as his sponsor apparently did not see the need to
translate their daily updates from French. However, as the success of his
effort became imminent, the updates started coming in English too. Now, his
team has provided a blow-by-blow account of Joyon's record-setting voyage in English. Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0120

[JCD]

Amazing!

J

[charmc]

Great achievement!