The Official
Website of the
International
Sailing Federation

On crossing the line marking the longitude of Cape Leeuwin (115° 08' E) at 04:17:47 UTC this Monday 22 February, Groupama 3 has obtained the best time over the section of course between Cape Agulhas, which marks the entry into the Indian Ocean, and the SW promontory of Australia: 6 days, 22 hours and 34 minutes.

Good weather, smooth seas and a point in their favour rounds up the latest news for Franck Cammas and his nine crew. At 04:17:47 UTC this Monday morning, Groupama 3 crossed the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, picking up the award for best reference time along the way on this their third Jules Verne Trophy attempt.

Response In Tasmania

This excellent crossing of the largest and toughest section of the Indian Ocean, which will come to an end to the south of Tasmania has, most importantly, enabled Groupama 3 to draw even with the reference time of round the world record holder Orange 2.

With a deficit of just 120 miles, or around four hours, skipper Franck Cammas (FRA) and his crew are fully respecting the goal they set themselves when they began to attack the roaring forties: to go fast without rushing the boat.

Be that as it may, this beautiful section of the Deep South has provided the trimaran with her third best reference time in the Jules Verne Trophy: 5d 15h 23' from Ushant to the equator in November 2009 (second attempt), 7d 02h 22' from the equator to Cape Agulhas in February 2008 (first attempt) and 6d 22h 34' from Cape Agulhas to Cape Leeuwin today...

Next on the agenda is to keep pace with the high speed, which is set to be the case this Monday morning with some almost perfect sailing conditions: organized seas, a stable and steady NW'ly wind of 20 knots, clear skies, a pretty crescent of a moon, the starry vault of heaven in the company of the Southern Cross and spring temperatures!

Franck Cammas, Steve Ravussin, Fred Le Peutrec, Lionel Lemonchois, Thomas Coville, Stan Honey, Loïc Le Mignon, Bruno Jeanjean, Ronan Le Goff and Jacques Caraës don't appear to need anything more than they have already, serenity reigns...

Reference time between Cape Agulhas and Cape Leeuwin
Groupama 3 (22 February 2010): 6 days, 22 hours 34 minutes
Improvement in relation to Orange 2 in 2005 (7d 05h 35'): 7 hours and 1 minute

Groupama 3's log (departure on 31 January at 13h 55' 53'' UTC)

Day 1 (1 February 1400 UTC): 500 miles (deficit = 94 miles)
Day 2 (2 February 1400 UTC): 560 miles (lead = 3.5 miles)
Day 3 (3 February 1400 UTC): 535 miles (lead = 170 miles)
Day 4 (4 February 1400 UTC): 565 miles (lead = 245 miles)
Day 5 (5 February 1400 UTC): 656 miles (lead = 562 miles)
Day 6 (6 February 1400 UTC): 456 miles (lead = 620 miles)
Day 7 (7 February 1400 UTC): 430 miles (lead = 539 miles)
Day 8 (8 February 1400 UTC): 305 miles (lead = 456 miles)
Day 9 (9 February 1400 UTC): 436 miles (lead = 393 miles)
Day 10 (10 February 1400 UTC): 355 miles (lead = 272 miles)
Day 11 (11 February 1400 UTC): 267 miles (deficit = 30 miles)
Day 12 (12 February 1400 UTC): 247 miles (deficit = 385 miles)
Day 13 (13 February 1400 UTC): 719 miles (deficit = 347 miles)
Day 14 (14 February 1400 UTC): 680 miles (deficit = 288 miles)
Day 15 (15 February 1400 UTC): 651 miles (deficit = 203 miles)
Day 16 (16 February 1400 UTC): 322 miles (deficit = 376 miles)
Day 17 (17 February 1400 UTC): 425 miles (deficit = 338 miles)
Day 18 (18 February 1400 UTC): 362 miles (deficit = 433 miles)
Day 19 (19 February 1400 UTC): 726 miles (deficit = 234 miles)
Day 20 (20 February 1400 UTC): 672 miles (deficit = 211 miles)
Day 21 (21 February 1400 UTC): 584 miles (deficit = 124 miles)

The Record To Beat

Record: Round the World, non stop, crewed, any type
Yacht: Orange II
Skipper: Bruno Peyron (FRA)
Dates: January-March 2005
Elapsed time: 50 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes and 4 seconds
Distance: 21,760 nautical miles
Average Speed: 17.89 knots

http://www.cammas-groupama.com/