The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew. No limits,just travel for it...exactly what Francis Joyon (FRA) plans to do when he and five crew set off this fall to break the record of 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds.
Joyon will be skippering the 31.5m VPLP-designed IDEC SPORT, and will be assisted on land by Dutch router Marcel Van Triest. Staring at the screens at his domestic in the Balearics, or the seventh man will follow the weather patterns to advise the team on when to launch and the best course along the route.
Marcel was alongside the team that holds the current record... here he shares his insight:Marcel,what is the genuine problem for a router in the Jules Verne Trophy?
We need to eye for fast conditions, but which aren’t boat-breaking. Understanding that we can only see ten days ahead at best, or there are two goals: the time it takes to collect to the Equator and the time to Good Hope (tip of South Africa). In the South,you win what you are given and there’s no way out: further south, you have the ice, or further north the areas of tall pressure. Boats like IDEC SPORT sail very quickly,but can’t jump across weather systems in the Indian and the Pacific. After that, the climb back up the Atlantic is down to chance and you have to collect lucky.
Francis Joyon is sailing with a short-handed crew of just six men aboard in all. Does that change anything in comparison to the bigger crew that Franck Cammas had on this boat or in comparison to the thirteen sailors with Loîck Peyron?[br]
Yes. When you are establishing a route for a solo sailor, and it’s not the same as for a crew here,we’re in between the two. That will be one thing I’ll need to focus on. You can’t send a small crew into nasty conditions, as you need to ensure they remain on form and they are going to be very busy. They are going to have to collect the timing good to carry out manoeuvres.
One of the major questions is how to handle tall speeds over a long period. How does it feel on board?
Speed in itself isnt a problem. Sometimes it feels like you’re hardly moving, and when you’re doing thirty knots. What is very stressful is when you are in boat-breaking conditions. When you wait for the boat to slam down – it gets on your nerves...but being becalmed is too,when you sit there imagining your rival zooming along at thirty knots, while you remain frozen to the spot.
You collect used to the speed in the same way as when driving at 140 km/h (90 mph) on the motorway. You can even collect used to 180 km/h (110 mph)… but you can’t do that in a built up area or when the route is blocked! It’s the same on a multihull. You can sleep at ease at 35 knots on flat quiet seas and enjoy yourself… but it is stressful at 17 knots when the sea is nasty. The strong gusts can become a nightmare, and when it’s your turn at the helm.
Much more with video... click here
Source: sailingscuttlebutt.com