Past the Cape Verde archipelago with a considerable lead over the reference time, Groupama 3 is now preparing to negotiate the Doldrums, a very cloudy, turbulent zone which announces the entrance to the Southern hemisphere. Navigator Stan Honey is fighting fit again and is working relentlessly to find a favourable `tunnel’ through… 

Groupama 3 is ahead of schedule! The weekend proved to be a positive one with nearly 1,200 miles covered in 44 hours… As such, this average speed of 27 knots has reversed the trend: 115 miles behind at Cape Finisterre in relation to Bruno Peyron’s record, the separation has switched to nearly 450 miles this Monday afternoon, in favour of Franck Cammas and his men. A lead of over a day! Added to that, the next stage of the course also promises to be positive since the Doldrums is already practically within sight. Indeed it seems to be positioned at 8° North without being overly active, with the exception of some big clouds spanning less than a hundred miles. Furthermore the E’ly wind of around a dozen knots isn’t likely to drop off dramatically, other than for brief periods beneath the clouds. 

 

Running smoothly
The harsh, headwinds from the first day at sea are already a distant memory: tropical heat, downwind conditions and smoother seas on which to slip along nicely, have this Monday enabled the crew a short spell of recuperation after the weekend’s supersonic speeds and prior to attacking the Doldrums. However, they are going to have to remain on their guard against variations in the wind and squalls…

“This lunchtime, we’re just a stone’s throw away from a squall which is about to hit… We’re sailing under large gennaker, staysail and full mainsail. We’ve performed a fair number of manoeuvres since gybing off Madeira. We’re staying on the same heading but constantly adjusting the sail area. Six or seven of us at a time are carrying out all the manoeuvres according to which sails need changing ; that way the resting watch can conserve their energy. The preparation we’ve been doing since the spring is bearing fruit: the manoeuvres are smooth and quick. Things are going really well amidst an atmosphere of total mutual trust. The only relative difficulty is getting to sleep in the intense heat” indicated Frédéric Le Peutrec at the midday radio session. 

 

Flying fish
Since passing offshore of the Cape Verde archipelago, the NE’ly wind has eased slightly (around 16-20 knots), but Groupama 3′s average speed remains locked above 25 knots. This is set to continue as far as 8° North, which translates as the end of the night on the water, as the tradewinds back (become more E’ly than NE’ly). The upshot of this will be a beam wind enabling the giant trimaran to maintain her current speed before tackling the tradewinds of the Southern hemisphere which will shift round to the SE.

“Our navigator is a lot better this morning and has a lot on his plate monitoring developments in the weather: it’s reassuring to see that he’s better as he really wasn’t very well at all for the first few hours. We thought it was due to the violent introduction, but it was something else: after suffering with migraines and a fever, he’s fighting fit now… The point of impact with the Doldrums is something he’s been working on for what has already been two days, with Sylvain Mondon, our onshore router, but we’re having to adapt to the direction and strength of the wind. We hope it’ll be virtually inexistent!” added Groupama 3′s watch leader. In the meantime, a `plague’ of flying fish have been landing on the multihull’s trampolines: “However, they’re too small to even consider preparing them with lemon juice and a dribble of olive oil” concluded Fred. 

 

The crew and organisation aboard Groupama 3
• Watch No.1: Franck Cammas / Loïc Le Mignon / Jacques Caraës
• Watch No.2: Stève Ravussin / Thomas Coville / Bruno Jeanjean
• Watch No.3: Fred Le Peutrec / Lionel Lemonchois / Ronan Le Goff
• Off watch navigator: Stan Honey goes up on deck for manoeuvres
• Each watch lasts three hours
• One watch system on deck, one watch on stand-by ready to help manoeuvre, one watch totally resting

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 At 15h 50′ 22”  Groupama 3 set off from off the Créac’h lighthouse (Ushant Finistère) in a good NW’ly breeze and big seas. Franck Cammas and his nine crew will have to be back from their circumnavigation of the globe spanning over 24,000 miles, prior to the morning of 26th December… 

A granulated sky, gusts, intermittent showers, setting sun, big Atlantic swell, squalls, breaking waves: here we have the setting for this latest departure to gain a new reference time in the Jules Verne Trophy, the round the world record held by Bruno Peyron and his crew since 2005 (50d 16h 20m). Groupama 3 left the pontoon of the port of Le Château in Brest, NW France this Thursday 5th November at 1300 hours before a warm crowd of locals and the crew’s families, which came out as far as the Petit Minou lighthouse to bid them farewell. Under two-reefed mainsail and a small jib, Groupama 3 then released her tow at 1400 hours and headed out to sea in a building swell… As such the giant trimaran had to put in a few tacks to get to the North of Ushant before setting the clock running at 15h 50′ 22” UT. 

 

A muscly introduction

The NW’ly wind associated with the low, which passed over Brittany on Wednesday, was still very active: the stormy sky with its cumulonimbus was generating a twenty to twenty-five knot breeze, gusting to over thirty-five knots… Above all though, the seas were hard at the exit from the English Channel with waves of nearly seven metres offshore! As such conditions weren’t ideal for the start, but the next stage in the programme is highly favourable, once the crew reaches the Portuguese coast. As a result, for half a day, Franck Cammas and his nine crew are likely to be tackling beam winds and may even have to sail close-hauled for a few hours…

“We’re going to set off under reduced sail to get free of the continental shelf. After that this NW’ly wind will shift round to the West for three hours at which point we’ll have to sail close-hauled. It’s not the ideal scenario for starting out, however the weather window is pretty favourable after that. In fact, from tomorrow lunchtime, Friday, Groupama 3 should already be sailing along the coast of Portugal. At that stage we’ll hit some N’ly and then NE’ly winds, which are set to accompany us to the archipelago of Cape Verde” indicated Franck Cammas a few minutes after leaving the pontoon.

The crew didn’t appear to be concerned about this choppy introduction to proceedings: being in a position to head out early in the season, not to have to hang around waiting for a favourable “firing window”, just after a preparation session in the mountains at the end of October, and knowing that the aim of the record is for the crew to be back before Christmas, all makes for a serene departure.”We’re going to be shaken about at the exit from the English Channel because the seas are big, but that makes for a good introduction before we slip southwards. It’ll be hot from this weekend, we’ll be at the equator in the middle of next week and the Southern Atlantic appears to be willing to enable us a swift passage”> explained Lionel Lemonchois.

As such Groupama 3 must cross the finish line off Ushant before 26th December at 08h 09′ 26” (UT)… 

 

A tour of the weather
“Groupama 3 is setting off as the NW’ly wind is easing slightly to 25 knots with gusts at 35 knots and a reduction in the number of squalls: the storms have dissipated. Nevertheless, it is important to remain prudent as the big seas are set to last for a few more hours yet, due largely to a big NW’ly swell. The crew will have to deal with these tricky conditions right the way across the Bay of Biscay, because although the wind will continue to ease and it will be less gusty, there will still be big seas until Friday morning. As such the exit from the Bay of Biscay will be all the trickier as a result of a cold front moving in from the West, which will come face to face with Franck Cammas and his crew in the second part of the night. The approach of this front will cause the wind to shift round to the West as it becomes less steady, before clocking back round to the NW again on Friday morning. The main reason that Franck Cammas and his crew have opted to tackle such conditions is in order to be in a position to exploit some much more favourable conditions further along the track, in particular those level with the NE’ly tradewinds off Portugal and further to the South”. Sylvain Mondon from Météo France

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Less than a day since Groupama’s announcement that it is renewing its partnership with the French sailor Franck Cammas until 2015, the skipper is announcing the switch to code green. This colour means that Groupama 3, on stand-by in Brest since 1st November, will set off on Thursday 5th November on her bid to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy, a round the world record attempt under sail. 

50 days and 16 hours: this is the time to beat in order to snatch the record for the fastest yacht to circumnavigate the globe. Since 2005 the record has been in the hands of Bruno Peyron aboard the maxi catamaran Orange 2.

For his second attempt at the record, Franck Cammas has put together the perfect team to steer Groupama 3 through what is a hostile yet fascinating universe: “The time to beat is very quick. In order to succeed, besides an excellent boat, you need a crew which blends experience, performance and solidarity. As such a loyal and ambitious partner is required, which has been the case with Groupama for over twelve years. The renewal of our partnership until 2015 is an additional source of motivation in paying Groupama back for the trust they’ve shown in me” says the French skipper.

Accompanying him in this round the world adventure via the three capes are the loyal members of the Groupama team: Swiss sailor Stève Ravussin with whom Franck has already won two Transat Jacques Vabres, Fred Le Peutrec, Loïc Le Mignon, Ronan Le Goff as well as Jacques Caraës. Alongside them are some newcomers to the team in the form of Lionel Lemonchois, reigning champion of the Route du Rhum, Thomas Coville, solo Transatlantic recordman, Stan Honey, winning American navigator from the Volvo Ocean Race as well as Bruno Jeanjean, World Champion Match Racer.

This dream team has been preparing for the attempt in earnest since the start of the year, covering 15,000 miles or two thirds of a circumnavigation of the globe since that time: “We know each other well, we get on well and we’re eager to go, even though we know it will be difficult. Circumnavigating the globe under sail as fast as we can isn’t something you do everyday. We’ll have to be quick without causing Groupama 3 to suffer and by manoeuvring her well. Added to that we’ll have to choose the best course” adds the skipper.

Watching the weather for the past week, Franck Cammas, Stan Honey and Sylvain Mondon from Météo France appreciate the quality of the window opening up on Thursday: “There’s going to be strong winds and big seas off Brest with 30 knots of breeze and five metre waves. We’re going to be shaken about at the start but, from Cape Finisterre, the wind will become more favourable. We should then be able to smoothly hook onto the trade winds” wrote the skipper of skipper of Groupama 3 in an email to his nine crew yesterday.

This analysis is confirmed by Sylvain Mondon who will be accompanying Groupama 3 throughout his attempt from his office at Météo France in Toulouse: “The weather window expected for Groupama 3′s Jules Verne Trophy attempt isn’t exactly classic for this type of attempt. Indeed, by choosing to set off on Thursday 5th November, just after the passage of an active zone with numerous squalls and strong gusts in what are still big seas, Franck Cammas and his men haven’t taken the easy option. This is evident in the strong NW’lies which are set to blow across the Bay of Biscay until Thursday morning, picking up big seas (waves in excess of 6m), calling for the crew to be prudent.
Though Groupama 3 is setting off in such conditions for the first 24 hours at sea, things are likely to be much more favourable for the next stage in the proceedings. The NE’ly tradewinds will notably be established and steady as far as the Cape Verde archipelago. This tradewind configuration is very different from the conditions Groupama 3 experienced in 2007 during the previous attempt with numerous remnants from recent storms originating from a low between the Canaries and the Azores.

As far as the Southern Atlantic is concerned, it is still too early to have an accurate idea of what awaits Franck Cammas and his crew. Nevertheless, the overall conditions can be described as favourable with established SE’ly tradewinds to the South of the equator and the Saint Helena High is expected to be a little closer to Africa rather than South America”.

In Brest this evening for a final crew supper, the ten men on Groupama 3 intend to leave the quayside at the port of Le Château on Thursday at 1100 hours, in order to present themselves on the start line for the Jules Verne Trophy between 1600 and 1700 hours local time, in front of the Créac’h lighthouse on the island of Ushant. 

 The  Crew of  Groupama 3
Three watches of three people:
• Franck Cammas, Loïc Le Mignon, Jacques Caraës
• Stève Ravussin, Thomas Coville, Bruno Jeanjean
• Fred Le Peutrec, Lionel Lemonchois, Ronan Le Goff
• Stan Honey, navigator, off watch 

 Challenge  and Adventure wishes Franck Cammas and Crew Good Luck and a safe journey.

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Jessica Watson has started her world record attempt after being bid farewell by family, friends and many spectators when she sailed out from Sydney Heads on Sunday morning.

Her spokesman Andrew Fraser said Jessica got off to a good start and many people came out in boats and lined the headland to cheer her on when she took off aboard her yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, from the Spit in Middle Harbour.

‘There is probably about 100 boats out here (seeing her off),’ he said.

Mr Fraser said the weather conditions were good and that winds should pick up once she got past the heads.

NSW Maritime boats escorted Jessica out of the Heads.

The teenager from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and her team spent Saturday ‘fine-tuning’ their preparations and planned to get a good night’s sleep.

Mr Fraser said she was relieved and upbeat to be finally beginning her voyage, after being delayed in Sydney by gusty winds last week.

‘I said: How are you feeling?’,’ Andrew Fraser told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

‘She said: I wake up tomorrow and sail around the world’.’

Jessica is setting off on her quest despite calls for her to abandon the voyage from the likes of the Queensland government and some of Australia’s most experienced sailors.

Concerns were heightened when her yacht collided with a 63,000-tonne cargo vessel off North Stradbroke Island during an aborted journey to Sydney last month.

But Mr Fraser dismissed the doubters.

‘Let’s have this conversation in eight months,’ he said, referring to the time Jessica is expected to take to sail around the world.

‘It (the collision) may have been a blessing in disguise, to be honest,’ Mr Fraser said.

‘I think we’ve learnt a lot from that experience, (and) Jessica has learnt a lot.’

After leaving Sydney the 16-year-old will head towards northern New Zealand, then to Fiji, Samoa, South America and South Africa, then sail the final leg of 4,000 nautical miles back to Australia.

Her route will be similar to that taken by Australian Kay Cottee, who became the first woman to sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around the world in 1988.

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Hilary Lister, 37, smiled as she was applauded when she sailed into Dover harbour, Kent, and into the record books.

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17 year-old British sailor Mike Perham has become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world. His 50ft yacht Totallymoney.com  crossed the traditional Lizard/Ushant line marking the start and finish point of his 30,000 mile record-setting in bright sunshine at 09:47:30 secs (local)am this morning – two months inside the previous age record set by American teenager Zac Sutherland.

Aged 17 years, 164 days old the teenager from Potters Bar Hertfordshire, was escorted across the line by Royal Navy guard ship HMS Mersey, a helicopter from 771 Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, and a small flotilla of press boats that had been on standby overnight to record his finish.

Mike said: “I’ve made it, I’ve made my dream come true and it feels amazing. A BIG BIG thanks to my Dad, Mum, all the sponsors and every one who has helped me along the way.

I can’t believe that the Royal Navy has sent HMS Mersey and a helicopter to witness my crossing the line. I feel very honoured.”

Mike’s Dad said: “Mike is a very special son, he has done incredibly well. He has shown that with determination, you can succeed even in the most adverse circumstances. He has shown the world that he is an extraordinary young man and an inspiration to us all.”

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, KCB OBE ADC passed a message to  Mike Perham as he sailed past The Lizard passed on a congratulatory message via Lt Cdr Carl Wiseman Captain of HMS Mersey:

“The Royal Navy offers its sincere congratulations to Michael Perham on his record breaking single-handed sailing circumnavigation. This is a remarkable and inspirational achievement in one so young, another impressive event in the rich Maritime history of this island nation and of the Perham family”.

“Michael’s family have strong maritime connections, with his father having been a merchant naval officer, his grandfather having served with the Royal Navy during World War 2, and his great grandfather as a Royal Marine in the Crimean war.”

“Michael sets a fine example showing remarkable character, grit and self discipline in completing this historic record-breaking voyage and the Royal Navy is delighted to participate in welcoming him back home to the UK as an honoured and much respected fellow seafarer.”

After crossing the finish line Mike was joined by his Dad, Peter to continue sailing back to for a homecoming welcome at Gunwharf Quay at 11:00 on Saturday.

 

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17 year old British sailor Mike Perham set out from Panama tlast night on the final stage of his record attempt to become the youngest solo yachtsman to take on the world. Sailing the Open 50 race yacht  TotallyMoney.com.  Mike set out on this extraordinary odyssey from Gunwharf Quay Portsmouth, England on November 15, 2008 and now expects to make a triumphant return within four weeks.

Mike from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, first hit the headlines two years ago when he became the youngest person ever to sail across the Atlantic single-handed at the age of just fourteen – a record recognised by the Guinness Book of Records.

The Guinness encyclopaedia of record facts and feats is monitoring Mike’s progress once more. Earlier this month, American teenager Zac Sunderland returned to Los Angeles to claim the youngest solo circumnavigation record, but Mike is three and a half months younger and has until mid November to get his name into the record books. Mike Broughton, the British weather guru, who has been advising Perham throughout his record attempt, forecasts a 29 day voyage back to Portsmouth to give the 17 year old more than 2 months to spare.

During Mike’s circumnavigation, which is sponsored by TotallyMoney.com , Vocalink, Skechers Footwear, Mastervolt, Kemp Sails and many other companies, he has overcome everything nature can throw at him including storm force winds and 50ft seas. He has also had to overcome major problems with his yacht’s self-steering system, rudder bearings and electrics. Stopping for repairs added months to the voyage and led to Mike missing the seasonal weather window for rounding Cape Horn. Continued bad weather in the Southern Ocean, which had Totallymoney.com surfing down waves at crazy speeds up to 28knots, eventually forced the teenager to sail much further north than he had intended and sensibly, he re routed his return to the Atlantic via the Panama Canal.

Mike’s daily blogs and videos have been an inspiration to thousands who read and watch them each day. Mixing picturesque sunsets with ferocious seas, he describes with remarkable insight, his encounters with whales and dolphins, – and contrasting rubbish that litter the sea. Mike said today: “I’m finally on the last leg and it feels just great. I only have about 5,000 miles to go, so I am hoping to be home inside four weeks. I really can’t wait, but I won’t push the boat too hard, as I would not want anything to happen that might have been preventable.“

Money raised by Mike during the 28,000-mile voyage is being donated to Save the Children and the Tall Ships Youth Trust.

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 The Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage of Discovery mirrors Ellen MacArthur’s first solo round Britain voyage in her 21ft yacht, Iduna in 1995. Starting from Cowes on 3rd May, 85 young people will sail the 48 foot Scarlet Oyster the 2000 nautical miles around Britain on a four month voyage stopping at 17 ports around Great Britain including Dover, London, Ipswich, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow (Largs), Belfast, Douglas, Liverpool, Holyhead, Cardiff, Torquay and Southampton. The Voyage provides a unique opportunity for young people in recovery from cancer and leukaemia to return to the paediatric oncology wards of the hospitals they were treated in and communicate their experiences and recovery path to those currently undergoing treatment for cancer. Throughout the course of the Voyage the Trust is aiming to raise £100,000.Trust Patrons Dame Ellen MacArthur and double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Roberston will both be taking part in the Voyage. Ellen MacArthur will be giving a series of public talks at venues across Britain in conjunction with the Voyage. Visit www.roundbritain.org to see more about this worthy cause and give a dollar a mile if you can.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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