On Tuesday 16 December the crew of The Famous Project CIC on IDEC Sport sailed past Capes Good Hope and Agulhas, the southernmost point of the African continent.
On Day 19 at 11:00 hrs Thursday 18 Dec they were sailing at 10 knots and had covered 7,026 nm. This put them 3,925 nm off the record pace of Francis Joyon in 2017.
Alexia Barrier and her all female crew are now eyeing the next major milestone in their unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe . . . Cape Leeuwin at the western tip of Australia, and are diving a little further south with each mile, on an efficient route towards Kerguelen.
The aim is to pass Cape Leeuwin on Australia by Christmas Eve, and then the south coast of Tasmania and on to Cape Horn, the final Cape of the three major landmarks of this round-the-world race.
Earlier The Famous Project CIC crew decided to continue with the record attempt despite the mainsail being blocked at the second reef.
The mainsail hook, stuck and blocked, is preventing the mainsail from being raised above the second reef and despite each crew member taking their turn in climbing the mast for repair attempts, they have been unable to shift it.
Rather than stop in South Africa for repairs, the decision was made to continue with the aim of becoming the first female crew to complete a non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe on a maxi multihull.
The crew :
Alexia Barrier (46) – France – Captain
Dee Caffari (53) – Great Britain – First Officer
Annemieke Bes (47) – Netherlands
Rebecca “Bex” Gmuer (25) – Switzerland & New Zealand
Deborah “Debs” Blair (23) – Great Britain
Molly LaPointe (30) – American & Italian – Boat Captain
Tamara “Xiquita” Echegoyen (41) – Spain
Stacey Jackson (42) – Australia
