Spindrift 2 har nu passerat ekvatorn i sin jakt på rekord. Linjen passerades 0131hrs UTC fredag 27 november, lite mindre än fem dagar efter starten. Yann Guichard och hans besättning seglar med världsrekordfart för närvarande. Genomsnittsfarten hittills är hela 26,99 knop.
Den nuvarande rekordhållaren av Jules Verne Trophy, Banque Populaire V, korsade ekvatorlinjen på 5 dagar, 14 timmar, 55 sekunder när rekordet sattes 2011.
Snart blir det tuffa vägval för Guichard & Con., då de ska bestämma vägval på södra halvklotet och avgöra vilken väg de tar runt Goda Hoppsudden.
Spindrift 2 och trimaranen IDEC Sport, som startade två timmar tidigare, fick en fördel av mycket bra väderförhållanden. Det blåste ordentligt, något som besättningarna gillar och behöver inför de 3 171 Nm mellan Ushant island (Bretagne) och ekvatorn. Seglingen avverkades på endast 4 dagar, 21 timmar, 29 minuter och 2 sekunder. Det innebär en genomsnittsfart på hela 26,99 knop.
Här är mer och engelsk information från teamet:
Full steam ahead!
Spindrift 2 is 17 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds up on 2011 record, or 13% faster than the previous time, and over 277 miles ahead, thanks in particular to the fairly straight route taken by the trimaran. Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard have sailed only 3,326 miles, having made only one major manoeuvre, a jibe off the Azores, whereas the current record holder sailed 3,582 miles to reach the equator, a difference of 256 miles to reach the same latitude! Spindrift 2 will now sail along the Brazilian coast in 15-knot south-easterlies until they reach the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, where they will need to hook onto the first southern hemisphere depression to catch a fast ride to the Roaring Forties.
Yann Guichard spoke by telephone on Thursday evening:
“We were still in the doldrums at the end of the afternoon. There were small windless squalls all round and speeds varying from 4 to 25 knots. We’ve been in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ : violent squalls alternate with dead calm) since 2 am on Thursday, when the first squalls kicked in, but we’ve always had a bit of wind, with really strong gusts every now and again. This is all pretty usual for the doldrums, where the wind is unstable, but unfortunately they moved south with us!”
“It meant we had to do quite a few manoeuvres and make sail changes, sometimes almost immediately after having just finished one. One reef, two reefs, gennaker, genoa, jib. We’ve had almost the entire wardrobe out! But we’ve never been at a full halt. We can just make out a little sunshine to windward with clouds starting to form, which suggests that the end of the tunnel is nigh. I hope we manage to latch onto the more stable south-east trades by nightfall, in which case we might make it across the Equator in the middle of the night. If we make it by 5:02 (CET), that would mean less than five days, but our friend (Francis Joyon and his crew) is not far behind and is sailing fast!”
“The crew has been working hard since the tough start across the Bay of Biscay, and now in the doldrums. But everyone is in the swing of things now. We’ve been able to give the boat a good check-up and everything’s fine on board. We’re ready for the next stage! The guys are just a little disappointed not to have had big rainy squalls today; they’ve not been able to take a shower! But anyway, we’ve had a nice start and now we’re going to concentrate on the southern hemisphere and follow on as fast as we can to the Cape of Good Hope.”
– Exclusive drone HD images of the boat in the Atlantic are available on the Spindrift TV server. The latest HD footage of the Equator crossing and an interview with the skipper Yann Guichard in English will be also made available on the Spindrift TV server soon.
The footage is rights free and available for news usage.
– The latest news and photos from on board is available in the press area.
– Click here to download the Spindrift 2 press pack
OUESSANT-EQUATEUR :
Banque Populaire V times, Loïck Peyron:
Ushant departure, Tuesday 22 November 2011 at 08:31:42 UTC
Equator crossing, Saturday 27 November 2011 at 23:26:00 UTC
Ushant-equator in 5d, 14h, 54m, 18s
Spindrift 2 time, Yann Guichard:
Ushant departure, Sunday 22 November 2015 at 04:01:58 UTC
Equator crossing, Friday 27 November 27 at 01:31hrs UTC
Ushant-equator in 4d, 21h, 29m, 2s
Lead over Banque Populaire V: 17h 25m 16s
Spindrift 2 pace schedule for Jules Verne Trophy record attempt:
Day, date (dd.mm.yy), 24h distance covered, 24h av. speed, gap on record pace at 4 am UTC
Day 0, 22.11.15, departure at 4:01:58
Day 1, 23.11.15, 727.9 n. miles, 29.4 kn, +26.96 miles
Day 2, 24.11.15, 639.5 n. miles, 26.6 kn, +15.17 miles
Day 3, 25.11.15, 736.5 n. miles, 30.7 kn, +273.59 miles
Day 4, 26.11.15, 726.0 n. miles, 30.2 kn, +346.13 miles
Jour 5, 27.11.15,
THE JULES VERNE TROPHY:
Time to the Equator: 4 days, 21 hours and 29 minutes
Start and finish: a line between Créac’h lighthouse (Ushant island) and Lizard Point (England)
Course: non-stop around-the-world tour travelling without outside assistance via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council, www.sailspeedrecords.com
Time to beat: 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds
Average speed: 19.75 knots
Date of current record: January 2012
Holder: Banque Populaire V, Loïck Peyron and a 13-man crew
Stand-by start date for Spindrift 2: October 19th, 2015
SPINDRIFT 2 CREW:
Yann Guichard, skipper
Dona Bertarelli, helmsman-trimmer
Sébastien Audigane, helmsman-trimmer
Antoine Carraz, helmsman-trimmer
Thierry Duprey du Vorsent, helmsman-trimmer
Christophe Espagnon, helmsman-bowman
Jacques Guichard, helmsman-trimmer
Erwan Israël, navigator
Loïc Le Mignon, helmsman-trimmer
Sébastien Marsset, bowman
François Morvan, helmsman-trimmer
Xavier Revil, helmsman-trimmer
Yann Riou, onboard reporter
Thomas Rouxel, helmsman-bowman
Jean-Yves Bernot, onshore router
Photos © Eloi Stichelbaut – Spindrift racing and Yann Riou – Spindrift racinng
Info: www.spindrift-racing.com
