Loïck Peyron and Maxi Banque Populaire V Crew Break Record (Photo courtesy of milletunevagues.com)
It was 11:06:58pm last Friday when the Maxi Banque Populaire V finished the Tour of the British Isles, bringing to 3 days 3 hours 49 minutes and 14 seconds the reference time held until then by Sidney Gavignet, single handed. Less than a month after having shattered the SNSM Record, Loïck Peyron and his men catch a new title to their conquests by improving the Record by more than a third, by 1 day 11 hours 20 minutes and 13 seconds.
On Friday July 1, the Team Banque Populaire set sail for a week at sea to train the Maxi and her men to offshore sailing. Originally planned as a training course to prepare for the next Jules Verne Trophy scheduled for the end of the year, this session quickly became, thanks to good weather, in a record attempt around the British Isles. “We left Lorient for training. We quickly found ourselves as Nelson’s fleet at the time of the Napoleonic wars and we stationed at the entrance of the Channel, on the lookout, between France and England. The Maxi Banque Populaire V is a record hunter and whenever there is a prey to seize, she does not hesitate. The weather gave us a great opportunity …”. Seizing the opportunity offered to them, the thirteen sailors on board then chose to defy the clock and the time set in 2010 by Sidney Gavignet, then alone aboard his trimaran “Oman Air Majan”.
Pachyderms in the North Sea
Tuesday, July 5, in the early evening, the Maxi Banque Populaire V thus cut the imaginary starting line off Lizard Point to begin a cautious night in the Pas de Calais strait : ” It was a tough night as the traffic is impressive in that area. I opted for a reasonable solution to meet this heavy traffic by standing on the sidelines. We then went for the North Sea under unfriendly conditions but which allowed us to enjoy the amazing show of these large pachyderms that are platforms. It is always fascinating. Something probably masculine with this machine standing in the middle of the sea “.
Relative Calm on the Shetlands
Getting her own pace by deploying her full potential so easily, the maxi trimaran continued her progress towards the Shetlands in the north of England and swallowed the 1 787 milles with an incredible regularity.
Under reduced visibility and with the picture that can be made of navigation in these areas, Loïck Peyron and his crew were forced to slow down “We had a difficult sea passing these islands and the conditions were really tough. It is ultimately the only time we did not push 100% on the boat. “Rare moment of calm quickly erased by a briskly navigation until the end along the Irish coast, around the Fastnet and until the last mile, when the competitive spirit of these enthusiasts sailors, seeking performance, made them easily reach 40 knots.
A “world tour” rythm
Once this UK loop completed at the average speed of 23.34 knots, the skipper from La Baule, obviously pleased with this new experience shared with twelve men on board, gave way to an initial assessment: “It was very nice and very informative and I was able to deepen my knowledge on the boat. We have sailed as if we were sailing around the world in accordance with shifts and with the precise number of people on deck. We have revised the choreography adapted to each maneuver and turned everyone at different positions. Versatility is key aboard this type of boats. Finally, I have discussed a lot with Juan Vila, navigator, of weather and strategy. We worked with Xavier Revil on the food aspects and reviewed plenty little details with Pierre-Yves Moreau. Tomorrow we will all meet at 6:15 on board for a group debriefing “.
The Maxi Banque Populaire V left the Channel to join her Lorient base for a few days before returning at sea, first for training and then for racing, on the Rolex Fastnet Race which departure will be given on August 14 at Cowes. For Loïck Peyron and his men, the opportunity will once again be seized to confront offshore sailing, diverse competition and to gather more miles in the perspective of next winter’s round the world loop.
Groupama 70 Starting Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race. (Photo courtesy of Franck Cammas and Team Groupama)
Scheduled for 1400 hours local time, the start of the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race took place bang on target. The English punctuality didn’t favour Groupama 70, who were delayed following a collision with another boat whilst still tied to their mooring. Setting off around fifteen minutes late, Franck Cammas and his crew powered away and managed one by one to overtake 25 of their 27 rivals in some rather harsh sailing conditions and a light worthy of Beken of Cowes.
First to cross the start line, ICAP Leopard and Telefonica Azul put on an exceptional display, firing off at 25 knots into the Solent, the sound which separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland. Despite being over 30 foot longer than the VOR 70, ICAP Leopard, with Sam Davies navigating, got irreparably left behind, as did the rest of the fairly assorted fleet.
During this time, the crew of Groupama 70 attempted to quickly hoist their mainsail. Delayed following a failed manoeuvre by a competitor, which damaged the bow of the VOR 70, Franck Cammas could only watch, powerless, as his main rival, Iker Martinez, skipper of Telefonica, took flight. A double Olympic medallist in the Forty Niner, the Spaniard couldn’t have wished for a better start.
It remains to be seen now how the skipper of Groupama 70 will react. Prior to the start, the newcomer to the VOR category had this to say: “We’re here to drive the men and Groupama 70 into a corner, as well as to see how we measure up against an experienced, high performance crew”.
Having racked up a 5-mile deficit from the outset, Cammas had no other choice but to attack. He too tracked making 25 knots of boat speed, creating fabulous plumes of water in his wake, the skipper was clearly ruling Groupama 70 with a rod of iron.
Once across the Solent, the imposed route will call for a series of tack changes under spinnaker. Favouring a more northerly course, Jean-Luc Nélias, Groupama 70′s navigator, was the first to put in a gybe. It’s a manoeuvre which, in the breeze, requires perfect synchronisation. Unfortunately this element may well have been somewhat lacking aboard Celox 40, which lost her mast.
With the wind set to remain very steady, the competitors will continue to traverse the English Channel at pace, zigzagging between the numerous cargo ships picking their way across it. Suffice to say that in these conditions, any minutes spent sleeping will be both rare and precious if they are to keep performing well…
Crew of Groupama 70
1. Franck Cammas, skipper
2. Jean-Luc Nélias, navigator
3. Laurent Pagès, watch leader
4. Magnus Woxen, watch leader
5. Charles Caudrelier, trimmer
6. Erwan Israël, trimmer, under 30 years of age
7. Martin Strömberg, trimmer and pitman, under 30 years of age
8. Sébastien Marsset, trimmer and pitman, under 30 years of age
9. Mike Pammenter, bowman, under 30 years of age
10. Martin Krite, bowman, under 30 years of age
11. Yann Riou, media crew
About the race:
Distance to cover: 1,802 nautical miles
Direction of the course: clockwise
Best race time since 1976: Artemis (IMOCA 60) in 7 days and 4 hours
Largest of this year’s boats: ICAP Leopard measuring 30 metres
Smallest of this year’s boats: Arethusa measuring 10.9 metres
Number of VORs competing: 2
Start: Cowes, Monday 23 August 2010 at 14:00
Phil Stubbs
It is another typical June day in the St George’s Channel between Land’s End and Ireland. The sky is coming down to meet the sea in a seamless join of grey on grey.
It has been raining for five hours, a special kind of rain that is fine but persistent, working its way through layers of clothing, hair and skin to make damn sure you have a total understanding of the word saturated.
Visibility is poor and outside the grey there is really not a lot to see. But I know that somewhere in the gloom there are 112 total nutters trying to race their way around Britain and Ireland and two of them are on my boat [an Oyster Lightwave 395] The Shed, grinning like idiots, while we surf down the waves.
The start yesterday already feels like a million years ago. Phil [Stubbs] and I have had less than an hour sleep each since the start gun went at 1215 yesterday. Every second has been important. We have worked the Shed non-stop to try and achieve a winning position.
The days leading up to the start of the race have been fantastic. There was a great atmosphere between the race competitors, light-hearted banter, swapping of tools, help and advice and a party atmosphere not all that conducive to getting some much needed pre-race sleep.
I have really enjoyed getting to know my fellow competitors, some of whom I met during the OSTAR, some I have raced with on the Solent and some new faces altogether.
The Shed is racing in a class of 11 boats which looks like it could be the most competitive of the race. Several boats have jostled against each other before with similar ratings and competitive crews who race to win.
We have understood from the start that if we want to get a result for The Shed we must race from the word go, at all times concentrating on the job in hand and pushing as hard as we can.
So we have been true to our word. We crossed the start line in 5th position, sailing high to the committee boat and blocking out the band of last minute chancers who thought they could muscle their way onto the track.
Out to the Eddystone and we were working The Shed with both brains and muscle. Every time the boat felt different we changed the settings, adjusting mast and sails for the new conditions and maintaining a balance between power and speed.
The work paid off through a long night and by the time we arrived at the Scilly Isles we were just leading a pack of boats from our class, all within a mile of each other despite having been racing for 15hrs. This is going to be a close race.
At the Scillies it was time to hoist the spinnaker and so out came our biggest one, the A4, and at this point we split from the fleet.
The wind is expected to back through this afternoon and to then shift to the west in the evening.
Our plan appears to differ from the rest of our pack as we went hooning off downwind towards Ireland as fast as we could. The rest of the spinnakers disappeared into the murk leaving us alone to play in the surf.
It has been a bit of a trial by fire for Phil. We put up the big kite and then the wind increased to 25 knots but I was having fun surfing the waves, pulling at 12 and 13 knots regularly and grinning widely. There would be no persuading me to take it down.
When I handed to helm to Phil I gave him a loaded-up Shed and stayed on deck ready to assist should he need.
After a while tiredness crept in and I needed to close my eyes so I pulled up my collar and sat on the cockpit floor in the rain. Phil had the instruction to wake me by shouting ‘sheet’ or ‘guy’ so I could spring into action from the floor and know immediately which line to release to save us from our impending doom.
The boat settled down and so I put my head down to writing this blog at the computer.
Three lines down the page and I am being thrown across the cabin, just catching a mouse and a keyboard and knocking the contents of a coffee jar on the floor.
We had been overpowered by a wave and the spinnaker and the boat had broached and was patiently lying on its side, sails flapping, waiting for me to come on deck and let some ropes go.
All sorted, back upright and sailing today. I am into the second paragraph and again airborne.
This time as I came up through the hatch I said “Do you want me to drive for a bit?” To which the answer was a definite “yes” and I had to take over while we were still going sideways and flat.
Eventually even I had to concede we had too much sail up, so down came the big kite; up went the little one and we are only surfing at 10 knots now, but life seems to be a lot calmer.
The finish line [of the first leg to Crosshaven] is 60 miles away, and I have no idea where the rest of the fleet are. All we can do is push on. When the wind eases the A4 will go back up and neither of us will sleep now until we are across the line.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror just now. I am a drowned rat; my fingers are so wrinkled from the rain they feel like they belong to someone else. I am drenched through but the things that stands out are my eyes. All the lines have gone, they are bright and my face looks stress free.
It has been a mission getting everything in place to compete in this race, but now we are here I would rather be nowhere else. I may be soaked, sore, hungry and tired, but no face cream could transform me like this.
It is the competition, the love of sailing, travelling and adventures, using every resource available, brain, brawn, technology and some old fashioned seamanship, to get to that finish line ahead of the pack.
Flags (Photo by Colin Merry)
Dee Caffari, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron and Alex Sizer (Photo Courtesy of www.deecaffari.co.uk)
Dee Caffari and her all female crew onboard Aviva crossed the finish line at 0840 hrs this morning to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland by 17 hours and 16 minutes. The journey took them 6 days, 11 hours, 30 minutes and 53 seconds.
Skipper Dee Caffari commented:
“The outright speed record was always our goal and I am ecstatic that we accomplished our aim. In sport, as in many areas of life, choosing the right team is vital to success and over the last six days, Aviva has had a strong, focussed team aboard pushing her every inch of the course. We have all given it 110% and clear communication has played a key part in this achievement. It has very much been a team effort and having the other three girls with me has been a blast.”
The all female crew left Gosport last Monday 15th June and crossed the official start line off Ventnor on the Isle of Wight at 21:09:36, before embarking anti-clockwise on their 2500 mile journey. With changeable conditions throughout the record attempt, Caffari and her crew slipped either side of the required record pace on a daily basis. A high pressure front in the English Channel saw Aviva slow significantly with 450 miles to go but, with enough distance banked under the more favourable weather conditions, Caffari and her crew were able to maintain a sufficient lead to finish inside of the required record pace.
Samantha Davies added:
“It was fantastic to be onboard Aviva for this record breaking trip. We pushed ourselves and the boat hard but it was definitely worth it to finish inside the record. I think I’m almost as exhausted after this trip as I was after the Vendée Globe – although that’s probably as much from the constant chatting as the sailing!”
Joining Caffari and Davies on board Aviva for the record were fellow Brits, offshore sailor Miranda Merron and boat captain Alex Sizer. In the process of breaking the outright record, Caffari and her crew also set a record time for an all female crew. The previous record had stood at 10 days and 16 hours and was set by Samantha Davies and her crew onboard Roxy in June 2007.
CONGRATULATIONS DEE, SAM, MIRANDA AND ALEX
Aviva On The Thames (Photo by Getty Images)
Dee Caffari and her all female crew onboard Aviva have been battling unfavourable conditions in their attempt to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland . Despite losing some miles overnight, morale remains high and the crew are confident that with stronger winds forecast for today they will be able to pick up the speed required to put them back on record pace.
At 1911hrs last night, Samantha Davies commented:
“Out here our world is tipped over at 30 degrees, and jumps around like a fairground ride. Not really so much fun as yesterday and a bit slower, but luckily in about 8 hours things should speed up!… My body aches all over and I need more sleep. That is the same for everyone on board, as we are giving all we can to keep Aviva at 110% and break this record. Morale is high, despite the exhaustion, the team is getting more and more solid and we are motivated to work together to maximise our performance.”
At 0659 hrs this morning, skipper Dee Caffari added:
“Had some upwind sailing last night which was bumpy, wet and uncomfortable and to add to the discomfort – we lost some all important miles. We tacked when the front came and have been sailing down the line for the early hours. The wind is a little shifty and is forecast to get stronger allowing us, we hope, some fast reaching conditions. All good for a record time!”
At 0937 hrs this morning, Miranda Merron commented:
“The only safe place to be is in the beanbag (luxury accommodation here!), happy in the knowledge that every hour we are banking 5 miles, as Aviva rockets along at 16 knots. St Kilda is the next turning mark, 60 miles away.
Old habits die hard – Sam has taken to eating Nutella with a spoon straight out of the jar, having held out for 3 and a half. Prior to that, she was being healthy and eating Nutella on Ryvita. Miranda never tried the healthy option anyway.”
At 1030 hrs (BST) this morning, Caffari and her all female crew were passing the Isle of Lewis off the North West coast of Scotland .
Round Britain and Ireland Record Overview
§ Dee Caffari, the British yachtswoman who made history by becoming the first woman to sail solo, non stop both ways around the world, set off at 21:09:36 on Monday 15th June to attempt to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland
§ Caffari is joined onboard her racing yacht Aviva by an all female crew, including fellow British yachtswoman and Vendée Globe race rival Samantha Davies, sailor Miranda Merron and boat captain Alex Sizer
§ The current outright record stands at 7 days 4 hours and was set in May 2004 onboard Solune
§ Another record in their sights is for an all female crew, which stands at 10 days and 16 hours recorded by Samantha Davies and her crew onboard Roxy in June 2007
§ The route is almost 2500 nautical miles around the British coastline
Dee Caffari and Crew At The Dock (Photo by Lloyd Images)
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her all female crew onboard Aviva have had a successful first night in their attempt to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland . Having departed from Gosport at 6pm yesterday, the crew crossed the official start line off Ventnor on the Isle of Wight at 21:09:36 and are sailing in an anti-clockwise direction.
Dee Caffari commented:
“It’s been wicked. We are really on the pace and have worked hard overnight dodging shipping in the English Channel with lots of manoeuvres and sail changes already. We are about to enter an area of variable weather which will keep us pretty busy for the rest of today.”
The all female crew are hoping to making good progress today, despite a dying low pressure system, before picking up a new breeze that will set them on their way again and continue to increase as a cold front comes in.
At 09h00 this morning, Caffari and crew were passing Southend-on-Sea and were approximately 10 hours ahead of the pace required to beat the outright record.
Round Britain and Ireland Record Overview
§ Dee Caffari, the British yachtswoman who made history by becoming the first woman to sail solo, non stop both ways around the world, set off at 21:09:36 on Monday 15th June to attempt to break the record for sailing around Britain and Ireland
§ Caffari is joined onboard her racing yacht Aviva by an all female crew, including fellow British yachtswoman and Vendée Globe race rival Samantha Davies, sailor Miranda Merron and boat captain Alex Sizer
§ The current outright record stands at 7 days 4 hours and was set in May 2004 onboard Solune
§ Another record in their sights is for an all female crew, which stands at 10 days and 16 hours recorded by Samantha Davies and her crew onboard Roxy in June 2007
§ The route is almost 2500 nautical miles around the British coastline and the crew
