Archives: Log

Loïck Peyron: “We’ve driven the trimaran hard for 2 days. The sea we have is a bit choppy, it’s a bit stressful to see a big baby like this jump from wave to wave. We’re going along the southern edge of the Azores High, going around the Canaries by the north so as not to go through the islands. This way we avoid having the wind go down. The wind is going to drop, we’re going to lose a bit of ground in the next four hours. We’re not going straight to the target, but 90° away from it. We’re going west instead of south. It’s an investment, we’re going to have to lose some ground by going west before finding a good strength of wind after, and especially a better direction. We’re not going for the best time to the Equator.”

Loïck Peyron: “We’re not cruising at all anymore. For almost 24 hours now, we’ve been in the Roaring Forties that are roaring away quite fiercely. We have 30-35 knots of wind, and we’re going at 30-35 knots, in water at 8° and falling. We were welcomed by a few albatrosses yesterday. We’re in the Great South. This is where it’s at and we’ve taken out all our polar jackets. It means a lot to us to have a lead on Franck’s record, but it isn’t enough to keep us calm. It’ll never be enough until the end because anything could happen to us. But everything’s fine for now.”

Loïck Peyron: “It’s impressive, we’re almost four days ahead. For now, the weather conditions are not necessarily as favorable as before, but this boat has incredible potential. That’s why we keep saying that we have to go gently, gently, gently, because it’s pretty complicated to manage the mechanics of this huge machine. (…) We’re in the middle of a nice little storm, with a bit of swell, and we’re going along calmly. It’s a bit bumpy. This is the start of quite a strong storm. We’re going to jibe south overnight to its heart. We’re forced to, we have to make headway otherwise we’re going to fall into no wind at all, in the anticyclone beneath Hobart. So we’re skirting around the difficulty by the north. The sea is still a bit choppy which is the only thing that holds Banque Populaire back.”

On Sunday 25 December, Loïck Peyron and the 13 men on the Maxi Banque Populaire V sailed 700 miles north of South Georgia and 950 miles south of Argentina. On the daily radio session, the skipper from Brittany confided: “We had quite a lot of action on Christmas night, not many presents, some maneuvering problems (but this is what we’re here for as well), and a wind that wasn’t going our way. It’s as if the fireplace were blocked and needed a good sweep! But anyway, we’re going in the right direction. The wind’s going to calm down, we’re going to get into the tip of a high, Saint Helena’s, split into two, which we’re going to have to scoot through.”

Upwind in very variable upwind conditions, the maxi Banque Populaire V is continuing its curved climb up to Ushant, with a lead of more than 1,000 miles on the record. Taking advantage of its situation, the crew is making the most of relatively comfortable conditions to recuperate a little before the final assault and to ensure that its mount stays in good shape. Those on board know that they’re back to winter and that with it, speed will soon follow: “In a dozen hours or so, we’ll accelerate again and take the high-speed train home. We won’t jibe because the wind is only going to turn in our favor. We’ve been on starboard tack for about eight days and we’re going to stay like that at the edge of the anticyclone and depression. The course is going to be very curved and all on the same side. It’s my longest ever starboard in my whole career as a navigator.”

This time tomorrow, the maxi Banque Populaire V will be in Ushant and have the arrival line in its sights. The giant trimaran is expected to stop the clock at around midnight, between Friday and Saturday, after respecting a little “constraint” imposed by the World Sailing Speed Record Council – that of passing at least 4 miles from Créac’h lighthouse on the northwest tip of the island so that the official sighter can record its passage. Mathematically, the fourteen sailors on board are experiencing their last moments at sea, the last hours of communal life on a machine tailored for performance but not necessarily comfort.

Loïck Peyron: “If there were an image to illustrate what we feel at the moment, it would be a desire to gallop in slow motion, so that we go quickly but with this hidden desire to slow it all down. You really need to appreciate every minute of this type of adventure that you don’t experience everyday.”

Lionel Lemonchois: “We’re at the edge of the Madeira depression and the temperatures are much milder than yesterday… It’s a bit grey out there but it’s starting to get really nice. We’ve already picked up speed without going crazy with the boat: we’re here to go around the globe, effortlessly and calmly… We’re unrolling the gennaker at the moment because we’ve been going at twenty-eight to thirty knots with the solent jib and one reef in the mainsail until now. The sea’s not very orderly, but in the next few hours, we should have got through the strongest of the wind. Five years ago, we weren’t very fast on Orange 2: at that time I was with Ronan Le Goff and Jacques Caraës. Perhaps I’ll be back again in five years’ time!”

Thomas Coville: “We’ve been paddling along quite well for the last 48 hours, we’ve caught some wind and we’re going really fast, sliding along. We’re making averages of 32-33 knots, sometimes 40. The boat’s in perfect condition, us too. Careful attention is required at the helm at night. Above all, you really need to feel the boat, whether in terms of speed or the state of the sea. You need to put the boat in exactly the right spot, and above all, not to let it collide against a wall of water or drop into a hole. Being at the helm is a delicate task, but above all, a real pleasure. The more you enjoy it, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more you enjoy it. It’s very much a virtuous circle. The leg ahead of us, Good Hope – Leeuwin, is the one that I dread the most on our course. The Indian is the hardest ocean in terms of the sea’s state. These are places where nature merely tolerates us, but they also set me dreaming, I never get tired of them.”

Franck Cammas: “We’re going fast and that’s good for approaching Cape Horn and the arrival line, as well as for performance’s sake, even if it’s less comfortable on board at high speed due to the impact against waves. But for now, we’ve had good wind that’s never been very violent, and a sea that’s not too high either, even if it’s been a bit choppy like last night. We’ve gone past an island at a distance of 3 miles. It was great to see land – something we haven’t seen since Ushant. It was an uninhabited island, extremely wild, with waterfalls that drop into the sea. This island at the world’s end, lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, was such a pleasant sight. We’re going to live in coldness for the next 4 to 5 days, and getting round Cape Horn will be a real deliverance for us. But it’s also what we’ve come to do, this is what we love, and it’s a beautiful human adventure.”

Loïc Le Mignon: “The morning was quite chaotic with a very choppy sea, and then it calmed down gradually, so we’ve gently hoisted the sails again. The wind has turned, we’ve jibed and we’re going south again to position ourselves. We expect to find wind again around the 310 tomorrow at midday and then should be able to go out again with the start of the front in the direction of the Horn. The routers have chosen a northern route in quite calm sea, to make the most of the boat’s full power. This should allow us to go very quick even if we’re not cutting straight across by going via the south. The wind is too strong down there. It’s cold, we’ve all taken out our double polar jackets and gloves. The humidity rate in the boat is 120% and nothing can dry. We’re beginning to be in a hurry to pass Cape Horn and go a bit further north again because we’re really soaked. The boat’s in a good state. We don’t have any major problems with the structure or rigging.”