The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has set sail this Sunday, 10 January, on a second attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy record.
Franck Cammas, Charles Caudrelier, Morgan Lagravière, David Boileau, Yann Riou and Erwan Israël had to wait a few hours offshore to absolutely nail their departure slot.
Finally in a NE’ly wind of around twenty knots on manageable seas, they bid a final farewell to Le Créac’h, the iconic lighthouse synonymous with this passage across the line.
It was a timing of pinpoint precision skilfully calculated with their onshore weather router Marcel van Triest, the boat’s genuine 7th man, because in a record like the Jules Verne Trophy, every minute counts.
They have to beat the time of 40 days 23 hours and 30 minutes, set by Francis Joyon and the crew of Idec Sport.
After 9 hours of sailing they were on a heading of 196 deg at 32+ knots.
To beat the record and become the 10th crew to etch its name on this monument to offshore racing, the men on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild should be back offshore of the north-west tip of Brittany prior to 20 February at 01 hours 3 minutes and 15 seconds UTC.
In the meantime, the crew has nearly 22,000 nautical miles to cover and a high-speed planetary adventure awaits.
Follow their progress at www.gitana-team.com/en
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