Jules Verne Trophy - IDEC Sport passes Cape of Good Hope at full speed

by IDEC Sport Sailing on 30 Dec 2016 Still at full power, IDEC Sport crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope, the first of the three major capes in the Jules Verne Trophy at 0347 hrs UTC after 12 days and 19 hours. Pushed along in front of a low-pressure system, Francis Joyon and his crew are keeping up high average speeds having sailed 879 miles in 24 hours at an average of 36.6 knots.

Since they entered the Southern Ocean 48 hours ago, Francis Joyon, Alex Pella, Bernard Stamm, Gwénolé Gahinet, Clément Surtel and Sébastien Audigane have been clocking up incredible speeds in ideal conditions. On the attack, the six sailors are taking it in turns at the helm as they fight hard to remain ahead of the system. They have therefore been able to regain a lot of the ground they lost in the South Atlantic as they aim for the record time of 45 days and 13 hours, and meanwhile have clocked up the best day in the history of the Jules Verne Trophy.

Today they are less than one day off the pace (21h and 40mins) set by the title-holder, Banque Populaire V skippered by Loïck Peyron. This deficit is continuing to fall, as conditions remain favourable for IDEC Sport with a good wind angle allowing them to remain at around 35 knots. It was at 0541 this Thursday morning that the red and white trimaran entered the Indian Ocean passing Cape Agulhas. In this cold and hostile wasteland, they are currently reaching peak speeds of around forty knots.