Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire V Daggerboard Repair (Photo courtesy Banque Populaire)
After running into an ‘unidentified floating object’ overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, Pascal Bidegorry and his men had to head North for a while, in order to reach better sea and wind conditions to lift the daggerboard out of its case and evaluate the extent of the damage. The operation, which took about three hours, showed that the impact tore 2m20 of the submerged part and confirmed the disappearance of the crashbox. Brought back on deck, the daggerboard currently takes full attention from the Maxi Banque Populaire V crew, which is doing everything possible with the means available on board to get back to normal racing on this Jules Verne Trophy.
Pascal Bidegorry came back on the operation on the phone this morning: “At night, we arrived in an area allowing us to lift the daggerboard without too much difficulty. The handling took us nearly three hours during which we lied off. Emmanuel Le Borgne took the “benefit” of it to dive under the Maxi Banque Populaire V to assess possible damage onto the rudder blades and hull bottoms. There is nothing serious on those matters. Once the dagg on the deck, we found out that there is a missing piece of roughly 2m20. The shock was so intense that it broke the structural bar of the dagg. We are currently trying to cut out the end of it, which is reduced to shreds. However the mission is not that simple at all with the few tools we have. We are using a hacksaw and a drill. Once cut, we will study the possibility to stratify it. Our objective is to shut the lower part of it to make it waterproof. Otherwise, it would continue to delaminate with speed.”
A lot of work is expected for the next 24 hours, during which the Maxi Banque Populaire V will have to sail at a reduced pace.
“We are sailing under Solent with 6 knots of wind, and what is sure is that all this does not help us gaining time! We hope we will able to lift the gennaker fast enough but for now we need it to steady the dagg. We will do everything to succeed in this approach. We will move forward, hour by hour, trying to relaunch this Maxi Banque Populaire V history in this Jules Verne Trophy. We will make the appropriate decision once we have tried everything to resume on our progress around the world with normal navigation and safety conditions. But for now, we carry on and facing the events, I tell myself that I am very fortunate to sail with a highly united crew who do not hesitate to roll up its sleeves in adversity! “.
So these are difficult times that lie ahead for Pascal Bidégorry and his men who nevertheless keep their full determination to continue this wonderful story. Activity looks intense at sea, but in this thirteenth day of racing, the Maxi Banque Populaire V still leads by 195 miles on the timetable. The race against time continues.
The record in figures
Record to beat
To become holder of the Jules Verne record, the Maxi Banque Populaire V has to be back no later than the 11th March 2011 at 7 pm 55 minutes 37 seconds (Paris time).
Reference time
Groupama 3 (Franck Cammas): 48d 7h 44min 52s
Lead / Delay at 3:00pm
156.1 miles ahead of the reference time
Maxi Banque Populaire V’s crew list
Off Watch :
Pascal Bidégorry : skipper
Juan Vila : navigator
Watch n°1
Yvan Ravussin : Watch leader, in charge of video and composite
Brian Thompson : Helmsman / Trimmer
Thierry Chabagny : Helmsman / Trimmer
Pierre-Yves Moreau : Bowman, in charge of fittings and composite
Watch n°2
Fred Le Peutrec : Watch leader
Emmanuel Le Borgne : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of medics
Erwan Tabarly : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of electonics
Ronan Lucas : Bowman, in charge of security
Watch n°3
Jérémie Beyou : Watch leader
Kevin Escoffier: Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of video
Xavier Revil : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of food
Florent Chastel : Bowman, in charge of medics and rigging
Marcel van Triest : Shore weather routeur
Banque Populaire Mediterranean Record (Photo by B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
It was 5.56 am (Paris time) this morning when the Maxi Trimiran Banque Populaire V crossed the Equator, just 5 days 17 hours 44 minutes and 15 seconds since leaving Ushant. The maxi trimaran skippered by Pascal Bidegorry recorded the second fastest time in history on this section of the record attempt (Ushant to Equator). In doing so they have covered 3575 miles, at an average of 25.9 knots, keeping a slight advantage on the reference time of the Jules Verne. The crew is now recovering after a difficult crossing of the Doldrums and before the next challenging obstacle: The Saint Helena High.
Crossing the Equator
Crossing the equator is a not just a geographic area of note, but it also remains a true religion for sailors and the passage of this imaginary line has been celebrated as it should be on board the Maxi Banque Populaire V. The fourteen men have were glad to ease off the pressure they were under through the Doldrums and enjoy the mixture of superstition and tradition.
Three crewmen (Ronan Lucas, Xavier Revil and Pierre-Yves Moreau), who were crossing it for the first time, qualified as rookies for the traditional ‘crossing the line’ ceremony. For this impromptu party, Yvan (Ravussin) made a mixture of olive oil, tea, Tabasco, soya sauce, lemon, nuts, pepper and coffee! “I asked them to wake me up to celebrate it altogether” explained Xavier. “Yvan’s preparation was really tasty! I am sure he put everything he could find on board! But it was important to share this moment as we had been fighting hard for the past 24 hours to reach the Equator! And the sailing conditions were perfect to do so, at 28 knots under gennaker: rather exceptional apparently.”
It was then Neptune’s turn to be celebrated. For Brian Thompson, who was crossing it for the thirteenth time, this moment was particularly important : “ I made an offering to Neptune of some of France’s finest saucisson, something I would have enjoyed , but better to propitiate the god of the sea, just in case, and to keep the tradition. This is my 13 crossing now, so it has worked so far!”
The Santa Helena dilemma
Getting through the Doldrums was not an easy task for the Maxi Banque Populaire V as the skipper, Pascal Bidegorry, explained: “It’s liberating to get out of there! It was pretty tense yesterday as it is not obvious how to sail in under 2 tiny knots of wind! We should gradually reach better conditions and we are now sailing at 27 knots in 15-17 knots of wind with full mainsail and solent. The wind still oscillates a little, but should stabilize in few hours with a clearer sky.” Such conditions give the crew some time to recover a little, before having to tackle another tricky system.
Indeed, the weather situation is not very clear off the Brazilian coast. With the Saint Helena High blocking the shortest route to the Cape of Good Hope, Banque Populaire V might have to get round this high pressure area spread out from East to West. “The situation is not very clear for now but we might have to go around the northern side of it, which would imply taking a big detour to reach Good Hope. We are attentively looking at the satellite images received every hour. One certain thing is that we do not have a crystal ball to look into but we definitely won’t let any opportunity go, and make everything we can to increase our lead on the reference time” concluded Pascal.
Maxi Banque Populaire V’s crew list
Off Watch :
Pascal Bidégorry : skipper
Juan Vila : navigator
Watch n°1
Yvan Ravussin : Watch leader, in charge of video and composite
Brian Thompson : Helmsman / Trimmer
Thierry Chabagny : Helmsman / Trimmer
Pierre-Yves Moreau : Bowman, in charge of fittings and composite
Watch n°2
Fred Le Peutrec : Watch leader
Emmanuel Le Borgne : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of medics
Erwan Tabarly : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of electonics
Ronan Lucas : Bowman, in charge of security
Watch n°3
Jérémie Beyou : Watch leader
Kevin Escoffier: Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of video
Xavier Revil : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of food
Florent Chastel : Bowman, in charge of medics and rigging
Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire V ( Photo © B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
It was just before 9 am this morning when the Maxi Trimaran left the dock, in the Port du Chateau in Brest. Between the excitement of leaving and the emotion of leaving families, the moment was really intense for the 14 crew.
Extremely focused on attacking this first attempt, the skipper Pascal Bidegorry is happy about leaving today, even though the weather conditions are not that clear: «we will be leaving downwind and sailing around a depression. Below this depression, we cannot hide from the fact that the forecast is not straight forward. However, we have been waiting for this moment for a long time and we cannot let this opportunity go. I am really excited to be going to sea and I really think that we deserve it. I am looking forward to tomorrow morning, tomorrow night or in two days time and realising: “that’s it ! We’re there!”. These stand-by periods are somewhat painful and I am really looking forward to saying that we are in the Jules Verne Trophy, the objective of the past four years. This is a great moment in my life. “
Indeed, the weather situation is not that clear over the Atlantic, as Brian Thompson explained just before leaving the dock: “We are confronted by two different weather models: the European and the American ones. They are showing us different things so we decided to go for the pessimistic one, the European, in order to avoid falling in light winds. In fact, there is a low pressure off the Canaries which is going to kill the trade winds a little bit and then another massive low crossing the Atlantic. As this latter comes closer, it might completely kill the trade winds.
It will be no mean feat for the Skipper, Pascal Bidegorry and his 13 crew onboard Banque Populaire V, and for them the 10th March will be highlighted in their diaries as the date to aim for as they attempt to sail into the record books.
Off Watch :
Pascal Bidégorry : skipper
Juan Vila : navigator
Watch n°1
Yvan Ravussin : Watch leader, in charge of video and composite
Brian Thompson : Helmsman / Trimmer
Thierry Chabagny : Helmsman / Trimmer
Pierre-Yves Moreau : Bowman, in charge of fittings and composite
Watch n°2
Fred Le Peutrec : Watch leader
Emmanuel Le Borgne : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of medics
Erwan Tabarly : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of electonics
Ronan Lucas : Bowman, in charge of security
Watch n°3
Jérémie Beyou : Watch leader
Kevin Escoffier: Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of video
Xavier Revil : Helmsman / Trimmer, in charge of food
Florent Chastel : Bowman, in charge of medics and rigging
Marcel van Triest : Shore weather routeur
Banque Populaire V On Standby (Photo by BPCE/Benoit Stichelbaut)
After 7 weeks of yard work for a complete check up, the Maxi Banque Populaire V is now all set for the start of the term! The skipper, Pascal Bidegorry, is pleased to announce his crew list and welcomes three highly experienced sailors on board, enriching its existing strong core team for their attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy. As of today, everybody is in Lorient to start training and validate the different changes made on the trimaran before entering the stand-by period of the Jules Verne Trophy on the 1st of November.
A spectacular crew!
Since her launch two years ago, Banque Populaire V has been victorious in every record undertaken: the North-Atlantic crossing, the 24 hours record and lately the trans-Mediterranean record. For this attempt around the world, Pascal Bidegorry and Ronan Lucas have logically kept the core crew which participated in these victories: Yvan Ravussin, Emmanuel Le Borgne Jeremie Beyou and Florent Chastel, who have been sailing with Pascal for many years, along with members from the Banque Populaire Team, such as Ronan Lucas, Kevin Escoffier and Pierre-Yves Moreau. Sailors sharing other competences such as Xavier Revil, Thierry Chabagny and Erwan Tabarly were also part of these records.
Three highly experienced sailors join today the existing sailing team. First, Fred Le Peutrec who benefits from a strong experience in multihull sailing and won the Jules Verne Trophy last year aboard Groupama 3.
The crew will also be composed of two international sailors who have sailed around the world on the most famous races: Brian Thomson and Juan Vila. Brian is recognized as being one of the most experienced British sailors with a vast experience in offshore sailing and holds no less than twenty-five sailing records to date and won the Jules Verne Trophy aboard Cheyenne in 2004. On the other side, Juan totalizes no less than 4 participations in the Volvo Ocean Race (winner in 2001) and 5 participations in the America’s Cup, including one victory in 2007 on board Alinghi.
Pascal Bidegorry explains: “I wanted to enrich the crew with solid experienced of round-the-world sailors and it now the case with their arrival. We have already had the opportunity to sail all together in the Mediterranean and on the convoying return, and there is an excellent atmosphere when they are on board, which does not waste anything! I am delighted with this 2010 vintage. It goes the right way and supplements a crew which is already famous for his great quality. We will have interesting navigations in the coming weeks “.
Heavy program!
After a few days in the water at her base in Lorient, the Maxi Banque Populaire V is already sailing with her crew. There is no time to waste to engage the season the best way: “I’m obviously very pleased to be back sailing aboard the Maxi Banque Populaire V” confided Pascal. “We will peacefully put the boat back into racing conditions; confirm the changes made on the wardrobe as on the new sails. We will also test some small modifications made on riggings in order to ease maneuvers. This week will be devoted to sailing by the day and we plan in staying a little longer at sea next week.”
With the mix of competence and experience, added up to the heavy work that will be carried out before the stand-by period, it can safely be said that Pascal Bidegorry and the Banque Populaire Team are seizing every opportunities to make this Jules Verne Trophy a victory.
The crew on the Maxi Banque Populaire V for the Jules Verne Trophy
Out of the watch system
Pascal Bidégorry: skipper
Juan Vila: navigator
Watch n°1
Yvan Ravussin : Watch leader, in charge of video and composite
Brian Thompson : helmsman – trimmer
Thierry Chabagny : Helmsman – trimmer
Pierre-Yves Moreau : Bowman, in charge of fittings and composite
Watch n°2
Fred Le Peutrec : Watch leader
Emmanuel Le Borgne : Helmsman – trimmer, medical attendant
Erwan Tabarly : Helmsman – trimmer, in charge of electronics
Ronan Lucas : Bowman, in charge of safety
Watch n°3
Jérémie Beyou : Watch leader
Kevin Escoffier : helmsman – trimmer, in charge of video
Xavier Revil : helmsman – trimmer, in charge of the food on board
Florent Chastel : Bowman, in charge of riggings and medical attendant
Marcel Van Triest : weather router
Banque Populaire Mediterranean Record (Photo by B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
The maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V has set a new TransMed record from Marseille to Carthage, Tunisia taking 2 hours 47 minutes and 47 seconds off Groupama 3′s previous record.
The new record time is now 14 hours 20 minutes and 34 seconds, subject to confirmation by the WSSRC.
The 40m trimaran sailed from Marseille at 03:56:56 GMT Saturday morning and finished at Carthage, Tunisa at 18:17:30 GMT for an average speed of 33.24 knots over the 477 mile course. She hit a peak speed of 43.1 knots.
Banque Populaire Crew (Photo by B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
Subject to ratification of the WSSRC
Banque Populaire (Photo by B.STICHELBAUT/BPCE)
Cheer with the crew of the record of the Mediterranean
Thierry Chabagny – coxswain/ruler
Florent Chastel – number one
Kévin Escoffier – coxswain/ruler
Emmanuel the One-eyed one – coxswain/ruler
Ewen Clech – number one
Jean-Baptiste the Valiant one – coxswain/ruler
Ronan Lucas – number one
Pierre-Yves Moreau – ruler/number one
Yvan Ravussin – coxswain/ruler
Xavier Revil – coxswain
Erwan Tabarly – coxswain
Marcel Van Triest – router with ground
