Author: Grégoire Chéron

Sails of Change will not cast off this year to challenge the round the world Jules Verne Trophy record and is calling a halt to the stand-by period that has kept the team in Brest, France, for several months during the autumn and winter waiting for a weather window that has remained elusive.

 

 

Another time! While the crew remain ready and motivated, like other contenders, the team could not launch a challenge on the record this year due to unfavourable weather conditions.

 

The stand-by must end sometime !

“We’ll return the maxi-trimaran to our base in La Trinité/Mer today. Although we extended our stand-by period, there were no weather windows,” said Yann Guichard. “We have pushed the deadline as late as possible, but nothing is presenting over the next few days. The challenge is no longer to cross the Equator in under five days (the team still holds the best time: 4 days 19 hours and 57 minutes) but to reach the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope in approx. 12 days!”

Francis Joyon and his team had very favourable conditions for their Southern Ocean leg, so today’s record challengers need some margin before venturing into the Indian Ocean. “It’s a difficult decision, but you have to stop sometime. Of course, it is disappointing, and we have to consider what comes next. Dona (Bertarelli) and I gathered the sailors and technical team together on Tuesday at lunchtime – it was a special moment,” added Yann.

“We have been preparing for this Jules Verne Trophy for 10 years now, and at the end of each attempt or stand-by period, you have to know how to turn the page. The emotion remains and it is always tough! What we have built with a whole team around us cannot be allowed to dissipate,” said Dona Bertarelli.

It is important to understand the context behind these decisions, with autumn approaching in the Southern Ocean, the low-pressure systems become faster and more violent, the nights become longer, and the rougher seas prohibit sailing at the kind of speeds required to break the record. Plus, this year there were icebergs drifting at higher latitudes, as far up as the Pacific, which would have meant increasing the distance sailed, without reducing the time to beat.

“The record remains, and even if it is broken, there will always be someone that will improve on it one day! That is the beauty of records,” added the skipper of Sails of Change.

Going forward, the team is preparing for a new season of TF35 racing which kicks off in mid-May on Lake Geneva.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

Having cast off from Lorient in the early hours of this Sunday morning, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild crossed the start line off the island of Ushant at 13h 9 min 30s UTC in her attempt to secure the Jules Verne Trophy. At the helm of the 32-metre giant, Charles Caudrelier, Franck Cammas and their four crew are taking on the prestigious round the world race against the clock. The aim: to beat the record of 40 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes set in 2017 by Francis Joyon and the men of IDEC. To achieve this, Gitana Team will have to make it back to Brest and the Le Créac’h lighthouse before 25 March 2023 at 12h 38min 59s UTC. Though rather unique, the weather window on offer to the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is certainly worth a go, as there might well be a series of great opportunities for the five-arrow crew to snap up along the way.

 

 

A far from standard weather window

Since Friday morning, the skippers of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and their router, Marcel van Triest, have been eyeing up a serious opportunity to finally get things underway in their sprint around the planet. However, from one grib file to the next, a series of discrepancies have made a tough choice even harder for the weather cell. Ultimately, true to the team’s philosophy of being bold and committed, early this Sunday afternoon the large flying trimaran fitted out by Ariane and Benjamin de Rothschild set sail on this iconic record of offshore racing.

Like Charles Caudrelier, all the members of Gitana Team freely admit that “the weather window is rather atypical,” a choice that the recent winner of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe explains in more depth: “though we have a very precise idea of what may happen in the North Atlantic, the same cannot really be said in the South Atlantic. A low pressure system to the south of Brazil is a little uncertain according to the weather models.”In short, the team will have to locate “a bolt hole”, says Morgan Lagravière and “have a bit of luck with the sequence of weather systems,” continues Franck Cammas. However, the first few days at sea have been well identified with “upwind conditions to start and a front to hunt down tomorrow,”explains Erwan Israël. If the weather sequence subsequently proves less favourable, the crew reserves the right to turn back level with the Canaries in a bid to hunt down a better launchpad from the tip of Brittany.

Focused, determined and particularly enthusiastic, the six crew on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have set sail on their first attempt of the year, the third in all for the Verdier design following two aborted campaigns in 2020 and 2021. The latter came to an end after 12 days of racing at the entrance to the Southern Ocean, with the team ahead of the record having just secured the best ever time to the Agulhas Cape. Though setting sail in mid-February might appear quite late in the season, some has set off even later in the day, including Sport-Elec (Olivier de Kersauzon, on 8 March 1997) and Orange II (Bruno Peyron, on 2 March 2002).

 

 

Charles Caudrelier, Franck Cammas and their crew now have their eyes glued to the upcoming waypoints, particularly one offshore of South Africa. “We need to have a lead of at least 24 hours over Francis Joyon’s passage time at the Cape of Good Hope (12 days, 19 hours),” stresses Charles. As a result, the team has a set of well identified goals and the race against the clock is most definitely on!

 

Quotes of the crew:

Charles Caudrelier: “It’s a fairly atypical weather window, but we’re getting to the end of standby and we’re keen to give it a go, especially with the grib files indicating some good passage times yesterday evening. Though we have a very precise idea of what may happen in the North Atlantic, the same cannot really be said in the South Atlantic. There’s a low pressure system to the south of Brazil, which is a little uncertain according to the weather models. However, we’ve decided that it was worth having a go, even if we have to turn back when things don’t play out that way. The aim is to get as far as possible. One of the areas where we can gain the most time in relation to the previous record is in the Atlantic. We need to have a lead of at least 24 hours over Francis Joyon’s passage time to the Cape of Good Hope (12 days, 19 hours). He set the bar very high and we know his record is going to be a tough nut to crack. The toughest thing about this record is managing to finish with a boat at 100% of her capacity. That said, we believe the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has reached maturity!”

Franck Cammas: “It’s the first time we’ve crossed the start line this year. We’re well aware that if we are to pull off this record, it’s important to have a bit of luck on our side with a good sequence of weather systems. The days we lose during the first phase could well be detrimental to the record, which is why we’ve taken time to set sail. We cannot afford to waste any time, especially as the reference time posted by Francis (Joyon / IDEC) is very good in the southern hemisphere! To break records, you first need to have a go.”

Morgan Lagravière: “I wasn’t really worried about whether we’d set sail. When you see how dynamic Charles and Franck are, we knew we were going to go for it. It’s a powerful moment, it’s also a moment when you’re bidding farewell to family, so emotions run high and there’s a sense that you’re united in the moment. Overall, it’s a very positive sentiment. After that, we have to keep a cool head as we know that there are a fair few uncertainties with this weather window. We really want to get down into the Southern Ocean. It’s a box I’m yet to tick in my career. The boat’s exceptional, the crew’s excellent: these are very good conditions for enjoying ourselves and doing something truly unique. We’re going to believe that luck is on our side and that the planets are aligned in terms of the weather.”

David Boileau: “Naturally, our mindset is a conquering one! We’ve been waiting for a month and a half so inevitably we’re very happy to be setting sail. There’s a sense of release for all of us. We know that the weather window isn’t great, but we’re going for it and we’re going to try our luck. If the weather doesn’t prove so favourable, we’ll turn back and we’ll wait for the next one. However, things are moving forward and we’re keen to have some fun and give our all!”

Erwan Israël: “It’s only the second time I’ve changed my clothes in the boat since the start of standby (laughs)! Ultimately, we’d never really planned to set sail, but this is the one this time! Inevitably, we were all a bit fed up with standby and monitoring the weather… Right now, we’re delighted, we’re all smiling and we believe in it. Though there is some uncertainty, the North Atlantic is pretty good and the weather window is interesting. We’re going to head upwind and hunt down a front tomorrow, which makes the challenge all the more appealing!”

 

Figures to note:

Crossing of the line: on 12 February 2022 at 13h 09min 30s UTC
Deadline for the finish to beat the record: 25 March 2023 at 12h 38min 59s UTC
Latest date to begin a record attempt: 8 March (in 1997, Sport-Elec)
Record to beat: 40 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes => Record held by Francis Joyon and his crew (Idec Sport) since 26 January 2017.

 

Charles Caudrelier, Franck Cammas and their crew left the port of Lorient at daybreak this Sunday 12 February to make for the Jules Verne Trophy start line offshore of the island of Ushant. On standby since late December, the men of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild have decided to try their luck, despite the rather atypical weather window. Gitana Team is preparing to take on an almighty challenge: to beat the famous record set by IDEC (2017) in 40 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes. Always an exciting and emotional moment, the passage across the line is scheduled for midday this Sunday. The timing will be tweaked during the delivery trip to Ushant in consultation with Marcel van Triest, router for the five-arrow team.

 

 

It’s the start of a great adventure and so begins at last an oceanic race against the clock and one of the most thrilling challenges on the sailing planet. Charles Caudrelier and Franck Cammas, two of the most experienced sailors in the discipline, together with their four crew, are preparing to make a bid for the Jules Verne Trophy, the outright record for circumnavigating the globe under sail, unassisted and without stopovers.

 

Gambling on a unique weather window 

The build-up to this moment has required a great deal of patience, a careful study of the evolution of conditions and the hunt for a favourable weather sequence between the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic. The standby commenced on 22 December 2022, just weeks after Charles Caudrelier’s victory in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. Since Friday, the meetings between the men of Gitana Team and their router, Marcel van Triest have been steadily increasing. Indeed, a window has opened up for the team to set sail from the north-west tip of Brittany, though it’s not an obvious one. Having deliberated for quite some time – the option looking less pertinent on Saturday morning – the situation turned around again in the hours leading up to the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild’s departure this Sunday morning from her port of registry in Lorient.

 

 

There’s no doubt that it’s a big gamble for the team, particularly in light of the atypical weather window. “It’s nigh on impossible to have the perfect scenario in any case,” Charles Caudrelier has admitted many times over recent weeks. Though the North Atlantic looks very favourable, the gateway into the South is not so obvious. Everyone knows that the team will need to give it their all, plus they’ll need an element of luck and success to facilitate their passage offshore.

 

 

Such are the intricacies of trying to establish a new record and the whole crew was well aware of this when casting off from the dock in Lorient this Sunday morning. Hearts were racing, faces became a little more intense and the ambiance was a mixture of excitement and heightened concentration. Indeed, at the end of this adventure, which will require everyone to give their best, there is an opportunity to rewrite history. On everyone’s minds is the previous record, set in 2017 by Francis Joyon and his men following an exceptional sequence of weather conditions: 40 days, 23 hours and 30 minutes.

 

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

The Sails of Change crew had been watching for the weather window that opened today (Saturday 14 Jan) in the North Atlantic since the middle of last week. Yann Guichard was keen to seize what would have been the first opportunity for a start since the maxi trimaran went on standby last October, even though it was packed with uncertainty. 

 

 

Yann Guichard, how would you describe the weather window that up until today looked promising?
“It was excellent as far as the Equator – the router had us there in just over five days. But after that there was no favourable low-pressure system to link up with the trade winds and reach the Cape of Good Hope inside 13 days, which is not a good time. This was the first opportunity for a start since we went on standby, but it was far from perfect. We studied the files again late last night alongside the overall forecast* that came in at around 23:00 before our router Jean-Yves Bernot, our navigator, Benjamin Schwartz, and I made a decision.”

 

In your heart of hearts, did you think you should start?
“I really wanted to leave today, just behind the front which passed through at around 14:00, so in the middle of the afternoon. But it’s a very difficult decision to make. Postpone for better weather in the southern hemisphere and the Bay of Biscay becomes impassable due to the sea state until next Wednesday. And on Wednesday, the window in the North Atlantic shortens and may very well close again. We are already mid-January with a month of standby left. It is a double-edged sword, interesting and challenging!”

 

Yann Guichard and the 10 Sails of Change crew members remain fully focused on the evolution of the weather window.

‘Code red’ has been trending for Yann Guichard and Dona Bertarelli’s team onboard the maxi-trimaran Sails of Change since they went on stand-by on 24 October last year. Jean-Yves Bernot, the shore-based router, throws some light on what has been an unprecedented weather situation. 

 

 

The team – on its fourth Jules Verne Trophy record attempt – moored the trimaran in Brest on 10 November to be able to respond quickly to a weather window and subsequent code change, and there it has remained, tugging on its lines. ‘Rouge sur rouge, rien ne bouge’ goes the adage, loosely translated as ‘Red over red, no movement ahead’. The stand-by code has not changed colour since last autumn.

“Last year, we didn’t start although certain scenarios could have been tempting, even though the subsequent transitions were not promising. This year, there has not been one day that left room for doubt,” said Jean-Yves.

Overall, there are two scenarios that are favourable for a Jules Verne Trophy record attempt : setting off on the tail-end of an Atlantic low pressure, using the north-westerly shift to head south in strong downwind conditions. Or setting off on the back of a winter high pressure system stuck over Europe, synonymous with favourable easterly wind conditions. “This year, the low pressures haven’t shown any clear shifts with the wind remaining in the South-West,” explained Jean-Yves. “And when the cold snap hit France at the beginning of December, the anticyclone was positioned in such a way that it blocked the route to the Moroccan coast. Most importantly, these weather patterns have been long-lasting. In meteorology, we call them blocking patterns.”

 

 

To have a hope of breaking the record set by IDEC Sport (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes), the team knows that it must be very punchy at the start of the Atlantic phase, and then nail all the transitions until they get down to the first of the southern lows. “IDEC Sport made great time in the Indian Ocean, had a decent Pacific experience, and an excellent finish,” continued Jean-Yves. “The section that can really be improved on timewise, is the Atlantic. If you are two days late to the Cape of Good Hope, you’re done, game over. We have run 2,000 simulations, and four of them went through to the finish!” 

In short, there is no point in setting out to tackle such a demanding record with the only certainty being a very unfavourable start. The question is how long does the Sails of Change team wait? While there is no cut-off date currently in place, ultimately the cycle of the seasons will dictate. Putting aside the fact that the nights will get longer in the high latitudes from February onwards, the Sails of Change router warns of the dangers of the Southern Ocean in the southern hemisphere’s autumn months. “It’s like comparing the situation at home between the end of September and the end of October, it’s not the same atmosphere at all. In the South, from mid-February onwards, the winds are so strong that you can’t sail a multihull at its optimal speed anyway.” 

A few weeks remain in this complex waiting game, the outcome of which ultimately lies with Mother Nature. Yann Guichard, owner and skipper of the maxi-trimaran Sails of Change explains : “The stand-by of the maxi Sails of Change is planned until the 15th of February, date beyond which it is more complex to leave because of the end of the summer and the systems of depression in the Great South. We have a window of a little more than a month ahead of us, we remain very optimistic because the situation can change.”

Sorry, this entry is only available in French.

The Maxi-trimaran Sails of Change, on stand-by since October 24, 2022, for a new attempt on the round the world sailing race, the Jules Verne Trophy, arrived in Brest today. The delivery trip from La Trinité-sur-Mer went smoothly in a moderate southerly wind. Now based near Ushant, the boat and crew are waiting for a favourable weather window that will allow them to reach the Cape of Good Hope in around twelve days.

Yann Guichard and his crew have attempted this record three times: in 2015 (47 days, 10 hours, and 59 minutes) with Dona Bertarelli, who became the fastest woman around the world, in 2018, and in 2019 when they were forced to retire due to rudder damage just past the Kerguelen archipelago. The Jules Verne Trophy record was further reduced in  2017 when IDEC Sport completed the circumnavigation of the globe in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds. The round-the-world record has become increasingly difficult to improve on with each successive attempt (over thirty in less than thirty years!): Early attempts started in the North Atlantic in a storm. Nowadays, it is thought to be better to ride on the back of a high-pressure system. Back in 2010, the aim was to reach the equator in less than a week, whereas today, the objective is to reach the Cape of Good  Hope in around twelve days!

 

 

A LAP OF THE PLANET IN STAGES

The course is made up of stages, the shortest possible direct route is a minimum of 21,600 nautical miles, but no sailing boat can follow this because of the prevailing winds. First you must cross the Atlantic from North to South across the equator, the first milestone of the Around the World (Jules Verne Trophy). To reach the Cape of Good Hope in less than twelve days means setting off in a Northerly wind, linking up with the Portuguese trade winds, and crossing the dividing line between the two hemispheres in less than five and a half day. Following that you need to round the St. Helena High and transition from a South Easterly to a North Easterly before reaching the Roaring Forties in the Southern Ocean. Then you head into the Indian Ocean. An optimal Atlantic passage is key to breaking the record. Sails of Change (ex-Spindrift 2) already holds the best time between Ushant and the equator achieved on the third attempt at the beginning of 2019 (4 days, 20 hours, and 07 minutes). But it is the sequence of events in the South Atlantic that will determine whether the reference time at the Cape of Good Hope can be achieved to enter the Indian Ocean ahead of the record. It will then take around six days to reach southern Tasmania, and another eight days to reach Cape Horn.

Once there, it’s far from over! The team must then sail north up the Atlantic Ocean, preferably along the Argentinean coast (which can take at least a week), and across the equator for a final sprint to Ushant (around six days). If you add up the various best times achieved per stage, it totals 38 days, 16 hours, 36 minutes. Therefore, the decision of when to start is pivotal.

 

A SPECIAL KIND OF LOGIC

“IDEC had some pretty brilliant conditions in the Indian Ocean and on the way up the Atlantic. So, we must have a lead when we reach the Cape of Good Hope because it will be hard to make up time elsewhere. There is a way to gain time on the southbound Atlantic stage and during the Pacific crossing, but that’s it. So, we must improve on the times that have been set by going down to South Africa and the Pacific faster. For the rest, to achieve the same times as the record holder would be quite good. For the moment and for the next few days until mid-November, there is no weather window for a start, because the trade winds are weak or non-existent and the Southerly wind is set over Western Europe”; said Jean-Yves Bernot, shore-based router for Sails of Change.

“There are no openings for now in the North Atlantic because the trade winds are not really settled : we have to be patient. Remember that IDEC left quite late! And it’s preferable to be on stand-by in Brest because we gain about half a day of weather forecasting”; added Benjamin Schwartz, navigator on Sails of Change.

This round-the-world record, which has decreased from 79 days, 06 hours, 15 mins, and 56 secs (Commodore Explorer in 1993) to just 40 days, 23 hours, 30 mins, and 30 secs in a quarter of a century, has for the most part required two or more attempts to break.