Solo Round-the World Sailing Record Attempt

MACARTHUR SAYS HER RECORD WILL GO
Dame Ellen MacArthur believes her solo round-the-world record will be broken by one of two Frenchmen this winter.

Francis Joyon, 51, set sail from Brest last Friday in an attempt to regain the record taken from him by MacArthur in February 2005.

Both Joyon and his compatriot Thomas Colville, who is yet to leave, are sailing longer boats than MacArthur's B&Q, which should ensure greater speed.

"I expect one of them to break it," said the 31-year-old Briton. "I don't know how I will feel about that. I just can't say until it happens."

MacArthur set the record of 71 days 14 hours.

Joyon, the 24-hour solo speed world record holder, should beat it in his 97ft trimaran IDEC II, which is 20 feet longer than the boat MacArthur used.

Colville, who had briefly to postpone his departure on Friday from Les Sables D'Ollones, has a 15ft advantage on MacArthur's B&Q in his boat, Sodebo.

The symbolic mark for the record is 70 days.

Mark Turner, MacArthur's long-time friend and business partner, hinted she would eager to reclaim the record should it be broken.

An attempt could take place after 2010, when her company's new multi-million pound sponsorship deal with BT expires. -- full article in BBC Sport

* "I have to carry an alarm that warns me as soon as the boat crosses the 31 knots of boat speed mark," explained Francis Joyon this morning. "And all night, the alarm has been going off regularly in the cockpit!"

The first 24 hours for the IDEC skipper has been tough to say the least - 423 miles covered at 17.72 knots average and, with all the usual reservations, theoretically 82 miles ahead of Ellen MacArthur's record. At this pace it will not take long to pass Cape Finisterre...conditions remain excellent with the Azores high established and a depression over Morocco. This provides a wide corridor of wind very well oriented for IDEC. "Now is the time to gain the maximum miles. The wind varies between 34 and 27 knots from the northeast, conditions very attractive to IDEC. The conditions ahead are very favorable, and we should continue to move quickly."

courtesy, TheDailySail.com

575 Miles, One Day, One Man

Wow! If this is the shape of things to come then the progress of Francis Joyon and his maxi-trimaran IDEC2 through the Southern Ocean will be a fast one. Since the 22:46 sched last night IDEC2 has been averaging 24-25 knots and at the latest update she had covered 575 miles in 24 hours. If we thought 800 miles was an impressive lead over Ellen MacArthur's benchmark time on B&Q Castorama then today finds the burly Frenchman and his 97ft trimaran more than 1300 miles ahead of her!

The last 24 hours has seen IDEC 2 skirt to the north of Tristan da Cunha thereby avoiding the unusual asthma outbreak the 275 inhabitants of this remote island group have been subject to recently. Rather than getting involved with the high pressure system that has been slowing progress for the Barcelona World Race leaders, Joyon is not constrained by having to pass any ice gates and in the early hours of this morning passed the latitude of 40 degrees S, the gateway to the Southern Ocean (at around the same time he crossed the Greenwich meridian).

Typically the transition between the South Atlantic trades and the Southern Ocean can be an awkward one, but Joyon has been fortunate with his timing and has leapt from trades straight into strong northwesterlies being generated by a depression more than 1,000 miles to his southwest.

-- from TheDailySail.com

More Record FAST Sailing

More Records

RECORD TIME FOR JOYON AT CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Francis Joyon passed the Cape of Good Hope on Saturday and since then has IDEC has continued to fly and is threatening the solo 24 hour distance record.

IDEC passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope at 17:21 on Saturday, the first of the three great Capes he will pass on his voyage (the others being Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn). Francis Joyon reached the Cape 15 days, 7 hours and 16 minutes after departing from Brest on his solo round the world record in attempt - 4 days, 2 hours and 30 minutes faster than the current record holder Ellen MacArthur (GBR) (she took 19 days, 9 hours, 46 minutes). The Cape of Good Hope is 6,200 miles on a direct theoretical route from Brest, but Joyon's course had actually taken him over 7,400 miles - giving him an average speed of 20.12 knots for the first 15 days of his circumnavigation.

Not only is Joyon's time over four days faster than the current record, it is also quicker the crewed records set in 2002 and 2003 by the giant multihulls Geronimo and Orange. The only boat to have reached the Cape faster is the current holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, Orange 2, skippered by Bruno Peyron (FRA), who recorded a time of 14 days, 05 hours, 21 minutes in 2005.

Since passing the Cape of Good Hope, IDEC has continued at across the Indian Ocean at a blistering pace, posting a 24 hour run of 595.6nm at the 07:56 UTC poll his morning. The latest polling at 10:58 UTC put his 24 run at 594.7nm and current speed at 25.3 knots. With a favourable weather conditions set to continue for the next couple of days, Joyon looks set to have a genuine chance to better the current solo 24 hour distance record held by Brossard at 610.45nm, an average speed of 25.76 knots.

Although weary of the dangers of the Southern Ocean, as demonstrated by the weekend's action in the Barcelona World Race, and "extremely pleased" with the first part of his voyage, Joyon is still looking to maximize his current advantage (at the moment he's 1,703 nm ahead of the record pace).

www.trimaran-idec.com
Translation by the ISAF, sailing.org

New World Record For Joyon

Francis Joyon onboard the IDEC trimaran has broken the singlehanded 24 hour distance record, after covering 614nm at an average speed of 25.9 knots.

The record is subject to ratification from the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). The previous best distance was set last year at 610.45nm by Yvan Bourgnon (FRA) onboard Brossard (average speed of 25.76 knots).

Francis Joyon (FRA) initially broke the record at 01:16 UTC this morning with a distance of 611.2nm, and has extended the record at every hourly poll since. At the 06:18 UTC poll the distance was up to 614.0nm and Joyon was polled at 25.8 knots, so the French skipper may well further extend his record distance later on today.

So far Joyon's passage across the Indian Ocean has been remarkable. As he enters his 19th day at sea this morning, Joyon was 1,960nm ahead of Ellen MacArthur's (GBR) pace for the solo round the world record. He is just about to pass the Kerguelen archipelago, with Cape Leeuwin the next big marker after that. However, Joyon is expecting his incredible pace to drop off somewhat soon, as the weather changes. This at least will offer him an opportunity to try and get some rest and recuperate.

The Record To Beat

Record: Longest Distance Run in 24 Hours, Singlehanded
Yacht: Brossard
Skipper: Yvan Bourgnon (FRA)
Dates: 6-7 August 2006
Distance: 610.45 nm
Average Speed: 25.76 knots

The Record To Beat

Record: Round the World, non-stop, singlehanded
Yacht: B&Q
Skipper: Ellen MacArthur (GBR)
Dates: 28 November 2004-7 February 2005
Elapsed time: 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds
Distance: 21,760 nm
Average Speed: 12.66 knots

Trimaran IDEC - www.trimaran-idec.com
World Sailing Speed Record Council - www.sailspeedrecords.com

"On Sunday, the ground team for Francis Joyon and his magnificent 97-ft trimaran IDEC were hoping to gain another day on Ellen MacArthur's previous record with B&Q Castorama from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin," reports Javier de Muns, our man in Brittany, "and they got it. Joyon's improvement to date over MacArthur on the round the world solo attempt now stands at more than seven days.

But what's even more impressive is that Joyon also beat — by 21 minutes — the record for that stretch set by Bruno Peyron and his fully-crewed 121-ft Orange II in '05. Even the modest and even-tempered Joyon was astonished to learn that he'd set another new record. "That's really classy, isn't it?" he joked.

It's also interesting to compare the condition of MacArthur during her great record-setting run, and Joyon during his current attempt. MacArthur was, understandably, in a state of near mental and physical exhaustion for much of her trip. Joyon, despite having dramatically improved on her pace, is being described as "serene."

In fact, being only 700 miles from the Antarctic, Joyon took the opportunity to encourage the world's governments to reach an agreement to combat global warming so, among other things, the ice of the Antarctic and the wildlife living on it could be preserved.

In the big picture, Joyon is now less than 1,000 miles away from the halfway point of the course. If he covers it in two days, as is likely, he'll have covered the distance in 24 days. That means he could sail two days slower on the second half and still beat Orange II's around the world record with a crewed boat!

But Joyon's ground team is being even more cautious than they were a week ago, pointing out that Joyon's challenge is to beat MacArthur's record, not the crewed record. The reason is simple. During MacArthur's record run, she reached Cape Horn four days ahead of Joyon's old record with the previous IDEC and, due to adverse weather conditions, lost almost all of that advantage between the Horn and the equator.

On the other hand, the majority of top French multihull skippers — including Yvan Bourgnon, whose 24-hour solo record Joyon just beat — believe that what Joyon has done so far proves the potential he and his boat have.

Being human, Joyon hasn't succeeded in all his endeavors. Last Friday, for example, in light winds that slowed his average speed to just 17 knots, he said, "I'm feeling kind of weird, not seeing spray and waves constantly over my boat." Seemingly impervious to the cold, the mental stress, and the physical rigors, he decided it would be a perfect time for some recreation. So he built himself a whistle with the goal of "taming" a group of petrels flying above IDEC. Alas, the birds completely ignored him and his whistle.

courtesy of- latitude / rs

Sodebo and IDEC Streak Around the World

December 21, 2007 – Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Javier de Muns, our man in Brittany with his finger on the pulse of solo around the world racers, filed this report:

"Last Monday's weather window, with 40 to 50 knots wind, big seas, and an air temperature of 30 degrees seemed to have done the trick for Thomas Coville and his 105-ft trimaran Sodebo, as they are already in the warmer latitudes of the Canary Islands, having averaged 20 knots since the start. As it stands now, Coville is 11 hours ahead of Ellen MacArthur's current record time — and was even a few miles ahead of Francis Joyon's pace with IDEC. But light winds have slowed Sodebo, so she's now about even with where IDEC was.

Thomas Coville took advantage of a decent weather window and left France on Monday for his assault on the solo round-the-world record.

"However, it wasn't an easy start for Coville, whose trimaran was hit by lightning at dawn on his first full day at sea. The lightning strike broke the tri's wind vane wand at the top of the mast, but a circuit breaker prevented any damage to the rest of Sodebo's electric and electronic systems.

"Coville is praising the design of Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret in similar terms that Joyon has done. 'Sodebo goes through the seas exceptionally well. When the leeward float disappears in the water, it comes out without brutally accelerating. With the same sea conditions, I feel safer than in a ORMA 60 trimaran. Those designs are airborne more often, more like birds because of their daggerboards. Sodebo is more like a fish. She doesn't fight the seas, but goes right through the troughs without stopping.'

"Coville says that he's not fighting against MacArthur's or Joyon's times because they all had different weather conditions. But from what we've seen so far, Sodebo and Coville have equal potential to that of IDEC and Joyon.

"At the antipodes, sailing already in the Pacific Ocean at 54º south, Joyon continues to push IDEC so as not to be caught by a high that would slow him. Joyon plans to head south close to 57º south to dodge a high. 'The interesting thing with a fast boat such as IDEC,' he reports, 'is that you can play with the elements and situate the boat at the best place in relation with the weather system.'

"Having passed the halfway point in his record attempt, Joyon is only 27 hours behind the crewed record set by the 125-ft Orange II! But with Joyon's ground team having told him of Coville's fast start, Joyon will have additional pressure to push even harder.

"Three days ago we had the historic occasion of a man racing solo around the world in a very fast trimaran. Now we have two men who — despite Coville's words — will be fiercely racing against each other for a new record during the next weeks."

- jdm

Sailing Video, but in french

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/multimedia_videos_popup.asp?id=7

The Around The World Fellows...

...courtesy ScuttlebuttEurope

Francis Joyon and IDEC2 continue their easterly surge across the Pacific section of the Southern Ocean with Cape Horn some 2,350 miles away at the latest sched, or just under five days' sailing at their present pace.

Over the weekend man and boat's progress has continued to be impressively good, around the 500 mile mark and on Friday Joyon's advantage over Ellen MacArthur's benchmark record passed 3,000 miles. In the virtual world, Ellen has since clawed back some miles... Nonetheless this still represents a six to seven day advantage over her record.

Over the course of Saturday Joyon put in a long gybe to the northeast and with the depression he has been riding having finally overtaken him, the wind has backed. Accordingly Joyon has gybed back on to starboard on a heading just south of due east, directly for Cape Horn.

-- TheDailySail.com

* Report from Thomas Coville on December 24:

Despite a far from perfect weather sequence since the start, Sodeb'O is currently sailing at 2 degrees North and is likely to pass the equator tonight, after a little over 7 days racing, that is with a day and a half's lead over Ellen and a few hours extra than Francis Joyon's record time. It has to be said that Thomas Coville has been going flat out since Ushant despite harsh conditions and that it's at the cost of some intense physical effort that he'll pass into the Southern hemisphere this Christmas Eve.

In the coming hours, Sodeb'O will hit the SE'ly tradewinds. The squalls are gradually becoming rarer even though, mid conversation with us at the start of the afternoon, a rather ominous black cloud was climbing quickly towards him. This type of cloud is typical of the doldrums and brings gusts of violent wind. They're forcing the solo sailor to stay on the look out for fear of capsize.

The underperforming weather part of the scenario will become more complicated with the obligatory rounding of the Saint Helena High, which is barring the route in the middle of the Southern Atlantic and is today preventing him from benefiting from the shortest route for joining up with the roaring forties and the big downwind conditions in the West.

www.sodebo-voile.com

* Franck Cammas and his team have gone back to Code Red after there was some hope of a Christmas Eve departure for their Jules Verne Record attempt... Sylvain Mondon, weather expert for Cammas cited poor weather conditions near the equator for the delay. With no chance of a departure for at least 5 days, the team was able to spend Christmas with their families. The team remains on standby until at least early February and expect a weather window to open in the coming weeks.

-- www.cammas-groupama.com

Tired & thru Storms & Ice

27 Dec GMT

Francis Joyon is this morning less than 1,000nm from Cape Horn. Joyon has been able to maintain his average at nearly 20 knots over the last 24 hours on a direct route to the Horn.

The major problem to maintain this high speed has been the sea state. As soon as the swell grows a bit and especially continually sweeps from both sides together, IDEC lengthens her stride with disconcerting ease. If these conditions could be meet, Joyon will reach the end of his tough crossing of the Pacific as soon as Saturday morning.

At 06:50 UTC - With 7,800nm to go to the finish, Joyon is now 3,164nm ahead of Ellen MacArthur's record and covering over 460nm each 24 hours.

After 33 days at sea Joyon is reporting some fatigue - 'I am only 80% of what I can do!'

Joyon has reduced sail regularly but still IDEC was sailing at 20 knots in the 45knots winds under storm jib only, and he admits that he has almost capsized in the confused seas. Handling the huge mainsail has been a strength sapping job for Joyon and it is this which has made him realise how tired he is. At one point, IDEC2 was under bare poles for eight hours.

But, he is upbeat about his situation now that he is moving away from the ice fields and looking forward to sunnier days to do some work on IDEC - 'The boat is in good condition because I repairs the small damage ...'

At 1,000 miles from Cape Horn, despite the difficult times, Joyon still finds the opportunity to appreciate the magic of the inhospitable lands crossed. One corner of blue skies, a light strongest among the grains, which swell and calms Francis resumes his dream, his unquenchable quest to Wonderland.

...courtesy SailWorld NZ

Around Cape Horn

Joyon is amazing

At 22:31 GMT last night, Francis Joyon and his 97ft trimaran IDEC 2
passed the longitude of Cape Horn, the third and final of the 'great'
Capes he has sailed past on this extraordinary singlehanded non-stop
round the world record attempt.

IDEC 2 passed the Horn 35 days 12 hours and 36 minutes after setting out
from Brest. On the shortest course this represents 14,600 nautical miles
or an average of 17.13 knots. In fact Joyon has sailed closer to 17,900
miles at an average of 21 knots...

In comparison, Ellen MacArthur, the present holder of the solo non-stop
round the world record reached the Horn in 44 days 23 hours 36 minutes.
Thus Joyon has bettered the record by 9 days, 11 hours or around 21%
faster. If Joyon is able to continue this pace up the Atlantic then
he'll be on for a 56.5 day circumnavigation and this will be faster than
every other non-stop round the world record, fully crewed or
singlehanded with the exception of Orange II's present Jules Verne
Trophy time or 50 days 16 hours.

At present Joyon's time non-stop from Brest to the Horn is the second
fastest ever. While he has managed it in 35.5 days, Orange II took 32
days 13.5 hours, while before her Cheyenne fully crewed took 39 days 16
hours in 2004 and Geronimo 40 days 16 hours in 2003. When Bruno Peyron
and the crew of Commodore Explorer set the first Jules Verne Trophy in
1993 they took 53 days 6 hours and 42 minutes to reach Cape Horn from
Brest!

Joyon also set a number of other intermediate reference times:

Cape Leeuwin-Cape Horn: 12 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes
(previously Ellen MacArthur on Castorama in 2004: 15 days, 09 hours, 31
minutes)

Record of the Pacific Ocean between the south of Tasmania and Cape Horn
(pending ratification by the WSSRC): 10 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes,
Ellen MacArthur on Castorama in 2004: 12 days, 13 hours and 39 minutes.

...courtesy the Daily Sail

With less than 6000 miles to go before he finishes his solo round the world journey, Francis Joyon has the potential to take an incredible seven days from Ellen MarArthur's record, set just under two years ago.

He is on his 39th day of the journey, well into the Atlantic and heading north east, and almost 3500 miles ahead of the time set by Ellen MacArthur at this stage.

According to reports today from Joyon, he has even been able to get some rest in the last few hours, and is expecting favourable conditions in the next 24 hours.

Thomas Coville, a fellow Frenchman, who set out just 24 days after Joyon to perform the same solo circumnavigation, is ahead of MacArthur's record at his current position, but well behind Joyon.

The question is, Ellen MacArthur set out, and succeeded in breaking Joyon's previous record for the solo circumnavigation – now, unless something goes radically wrong, it seems as though Joyon will break her record. Will Ellen MacArthur try again?

To recap:

February 2004: Francis Joyon became the fastest world solo yachtsman, setting a time over 20 days faster than the previous record for a circumnavigation of 72 days 22 hours and 54 minutes and 22 seconds of covering more than 28,000 nautical miles (51,900 km) at an average speed of 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h) on the 90 foot(27.4m) trimaran IDEC. IDEC, formerly known as Sport Electric, had previously taken 71 days to win the Jules Verne Trophy. Joyon took only an extra day on his own with a boat not designed for single-handed sailing, original (over 10 year old) sails and no weather router.

February 2005: Ellen MacArthur beat Francis Joyon's existing world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation. MacArthur in the trimaran B&Q/Castorama sailed 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) at an average speed of 15.9 knots. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds beat Joyon's then world record time by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. This record granted her a world fame never seen for a female sailor.

November 23rd 2007: Francis Joyon set off in IDEC II in an attempt to beat Ellen MacArthur's current world record for a single handed circumnavigation, and therefore putting his name at the top of the list again.

December 17th 2007: Thomas Coville set off in Sodeb'O, while Joyon's attempt is still in action, trying to obtain the same record.

by Nancy Knudsen of Sail World

ICE bergs !

The trimaran Sodeb' O spent this afternoon in a field of icebergs whereas nobody really expected any this latitude 48 40 S. Bergs in all the directions, marking the beginning of the long run East for Thomas and for now it's impossible to know if it is an ancient and large insulated iceberg or if there are others of them, which makes navigation rather dangerous.

The skipper of the maximum trimaran was serene when we joined her a few minutes ago, she currently sails in a rather strong swell in winds of almost 30 knots average and the temperature of the water has fallen to 6 °C.

Impressed but happy, he has just sent photographs and video to us.
http://www.sodebo-voile.com/actu/news/157-Thomas-Coville-au-rayon-frais.html

Pericles

Ice Damage & New Record Distance

Translated from Sodebo website.

Exactly 5 minutes after having beaten the record of distance over 12 midnight, and whereas it sailed with the latitude of the Kerguelen Islands, Thomas goes upon the bridge to reduce and discovers that it lost the crash landing box of the starboard float.

Even if it is too early for saying if it is following a shock or not, Thomas which had seen yesterday two icebergs of several hundred meters length, noted that there were growlers - pieces of drift ice between two in the water around the boat. The crash landing box is there to avoid breaking all the boat in the event of shock and must guarantee the sealing of the float.

The trimaran is currently diverted towards Capetown (South Africa)distant of 1300 miles. One imagines the disappointment of the skipper which had just beaten - with 0H45 UTC is 1H45 French hour - the 24 hour old record as a
result. Thomas traversed 619.3 miles with the average of 25.8 nts. He thus beats of three miles the record held by Francis Joyon (616.03). The record is currently on standby of homologation at the WSSRC. It should be noted that Thomas beat the record at the time from his 20 2nd day of navigation, just like Francis Joyon, and in the same zone of the Indian Ocean, with which more is a rather similar diagram weather, in front of a depression.

Very disappointing for Thomas.

Pericles

Trouble with IDEC !!

Joyon Nurses IDEC Toward Home
January 11, 2008 – Tropical North Atlantic

Francis Joyon's trip up the Atlantic Ocean so far has been anything but an easy home stretch for his non-stop solo round-the-world record attempt. After battling the South Atlantic high, which whittled his pace down to as little as 139 miles one day, Joyon once again seemed to be reeling in the miles toward the finish off Brest, France. Pausing only to raise his daggerboard to avoid catching the line of the equator while crossing into the Northern Hemisphere, Joyon had bettered record-holder Dame Ellen MacArthur's pace to that point by 12.5 days. But after a draining night fighting through the doldrums, a failed gennaker halyard forced Joyon to climb IDEC's rig.

That broken halyard may have saved his record attempt because when he reached the top of the rig, Joyon noticed that the starboard cap-shroud terminal was working loose from the mast, threatening to dismast IDEC. To prevent the rig from toppling in the confused seaway, Joyon descended, tucked in three reefs and changed to a small jib before heading back up the rig to try and stabilize the the shroud terminal. On the second ascent, he took a beating.

"The boat was moving so much at the time of my second climb, I injured my ankle," he relayed, now waiting for the Northeasterly trades to settle the sea state. "I'm taking time to recover and think of a solution."

For now, he's using the gennaker halyard as a back-up shroud, but will need a more permanent fix in order to carry more sail and let his 97-ft trimaran IDEC stretch her legs. He is in contact with his shore team who are attempting to devise a fix that can be implemented with the minimal tools and materials onboard. Unless Joyon and his team can find a way to make a repair that will allow him to carry more sail, he might need all of that lead over MacArthur to reclaim the record, or simply get home intact. Stay tuned . . .

latitude / rg

Worries, Troubles And An Epic Final Sprint

....almost flawless begining and much of the way around, but mechanical problems are springing up

WORRIES, TROUBLES AND AN EPIC FINAL SPRINT TO COME

More damage has slowed down the giant trimaran, IDEC's progress during the night. This time it was the staysail stay that paid the price of the repeated slamming into the swell. "The sail went flying everywhere," explained Francis, "There was incident after incident, with a broken block, which caused a hole in the deck... I had to get the tool box back out and put some resin on it, repair the deck and recuperate my sail..." 27, 28 knots of wind coming straight at us in some tricky seas really shook up IDEC throughout the night. At daybreak, the wind shifted more clearly towards the east. More than ever in record mode, Francis hoisted some more canvas and soon as the wind eased off slightly, let out a reef and hoisted his staysail instead of his stormsail. "I still can't really play around with the staysail, admitted Francis, as the furler drum is broken.. I didn't get much rest as the boat was being banged around so much".

Obsessed by the fragility of his mast, Francis remains focussed on his trajectory and the timing required to hop on to the weather systems coming up ahead. This 53rd day of sailing should offer him a little respite with some cleaner seas and a more favourable wind angle. Less than 36 hours ahead of his bows, he can see the Azores high coming up. IDEC will leave this to starboard, in order to reach the south south westerly flow, requiring a gybe. Francis will by then have taken advantage of the calm close to the centre of the high-pressure area to go back up the mast once again; "I'll make the most of it to check out the movement of the spindle, which holds the shroud in place," he explained. "I think I'll jam it in place by hammering it. Then, I'll wrap a bandage around the mast. I have already put up a halyard to add support to the starboard shroud."

Having done everything within his power, Francis will then be on the home run, the final sprint that with the 40-45 knot winds that are forecast looks like being an epic end to the voyage.

JOYON STEPS UP THE PACE TOWARDS BREST
Exactly as he planned yesterday, Francis Joyon is working hard today to find the best sailing conditions for the final few days of his round the world voyage. The SW'ly wind has allowed him to remain on the Great Circle route, taking him directly towards Brest. Caution is still very much the watchword, as he listens to his boat, worn out after 55 days of sailing and with more than 25,000 miles on the clock after the voyage around the world's oceans. This evening, IDEC will start to experience some gales, generated by a low-pressure area circulating in the North Atlantic. On seas, where the swell is now in the right direction, the large red trimaran will be picking up speed again, but her skipper will continue to remain attentive right up until the end, in order to look after his equipment and avoid any breakages. Going through the Azores at lunchtime today gave the single-handed yachtsman a taste of home ... "IDEC will manage to obtain some more fine days, with 450 to 500 mi! les under her belt..." With 1100 miles to go to the finish, Francis is now expected to arrive in Brest sometime on Saturday night..

While still refusing to talk about Brest and the finish, Joyon has nevertheless confirmed that he will be taking advantage of some fine conditions to reach the tip of Brittany very quickly: "Going through the Azores, it is true that it is beginning to feel a bit like home," he admitted. "IDEC will manage to achieve some more good days of sailing 450 or 500 miles..." With 1100 miles to go to the finish, Francis is now expected to arrive in Brest sometime on Saturday night...

Joyon Shatters Round The World Record

At the age of 51, Francis Joyon is once again the fastest solo yachtsman around the world, having completed his non-stop record attempt in 57 days, 13 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds. He has shattered the previous record, held since 2005 by the British yachtswoman, Ellen MacArthur by 14 days, 44 minutes and 27 seconds. Joyon and the 97-foot IDEC trimaran crossed the finishing line off Brest on Sunday 2 th January 2008 at 00h39'58.

Onboard IDEC, Francis Joyon covered more than 26,400 nautical miles at an average speed of 19.09 knots. Throughout the passage, IDEC sailed 'cleanly', without the use of any fossil fuel (no engine), generating its own energy with a wind turbine and solar panels.

Francis Joyon becomes the only solo sailor in the world to have established the non-stop single-handed round the world voyage record aboard a multihull on two occasions (first set in 2004). Additionally, Joyon's passage achieved the second best time ever for sailing around the world, including crewed
voyages! Joyon surpassed the crewed record set by Steve Fossett's giant Cheyenne (58 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes in April 2004), with only the crew of Bruno Peyron's maxi-catamaran Orange II still holding the outright record in just over 50 days.
http://www.trimaran-idec.com

* Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0119

* Curmudgeon's Comment: Joyon's program was criticized early on by the English speaking press, as his sponsor apparently did not see the need to translate their daily updates from French. However, as the success of his effort became imminent, the updates started coming in English too. Now, his team has provided a blow-by-blow account of Joyon's record-setting voyage in English. Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0120