Forty days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds: that is the time that will be embedded in the psyche of crews challenging for the Jules Verne trophy this winter. The clock will mercilessly count down 983 hours as they attempt the near-impossible: to beat Francis Joyon’s blistering time set on Idec Sport three years ago; to become the first foiling trimarans to fly around the world; and maybe, just maybe, to break the incredible 40-day barrier.
The odds are stacked against them. Thomas Coville, skipper of Sodebo, says the chance of success is “only 20 to 25%”.
Charles Caudrelier, co-skipper of rival challenger Gitana 17, ranks his fortunes similarly. “I was surprised, I think the statistics are very optimistic, and in the statistics the boats never break, but it’s around a 30% chance to beat the record [based on] the polars.
“Which is quite good,” he adds sanguinely.
But how do you plan to attack something with such a gossamer thin margin, when you have at best a 1 in 4 chance of success?
MAN VERSUS MACHINE
There are two teams hoping to defy the improbable this winter, both going into standby mode as we went to press. Franck Cammas is looking to claim his second Jules Verne trophy with Gitana 17, the Edmond de Rothschild trimaran he co-skippers with Charles Caudrelier. Gitana will be sailing with a crew of just six.
The Verdier-designed Gitana was launched in 2017 and was originally part of the embryonic Ultime class, but the team wanted to incorporate more automation than Ultime rules permitted and this year stepped out of the class. For the Jules Verne, they have a flight control ‘servo loop’ that automatically trims some of the foils.
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Denne historien er fra December 2020-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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wallywind 110 launches
The first example of Wally Yacht's new wallywind performance cruising range launched this summer, during the iconic Italian brand's 30th anniversary year - and in time for its debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.
Irish skipper wins Figaro
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan took a historic victory in this year's La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, winning the solo multistage offshore race overall only the third non-French competitor ever to do so.
Youth AC puts on a show
Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli's team won the UniCredit Youth America's Cup after a highly absorbing series comprising 12 international teams racing the one-design AC40s off Barcelona.
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