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2008/02/06 - 20h56
The Atlantic in less than 2 weeks!
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| Jules Verne Trophy |
| The passage of the Cape Agulhas is the second intermediary point of the Jules Verne Trophy: Groupama 3 has accumulated a lead
here of 23 hours and 30 minutes over Orange II in 2005, by reaching the longitude 20° East after 13 days 8 hours and 47 minutes!
A new reference time was achieved this Wednesday at 1637 UT.
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By leaving the Atlantic Ocean, Groupama 3 has already covered 7,200 miles, or over quarter of the Jules Verne Trophy course,
the complete loop amounting to 24,530 miles according to the optimal route possible. In conserving a lead of 23 hours and
30 minutes over Orange II's reference time at the passage of Cape Agulhas, the outer edge of South Africa, Franck Cammas and
his men are demonstrating that they are well on the pace of a Jules Verne Trophy attempt of below fifty days... Despite the
weather conditions being trickier to negotiate than three years ago, Groupama 3 hasn't lost any time on the descent of the
South Atlantic and is therefore keeping its hopes alive of beating the round the world speed record. The crew has nevertheless
had to contend with numerous gybes and has racked up more miles than its predecessor, yet still clawing back a lead of 2 hours
and 57 minutes on this section of the course between the equator and South Africa.
"If all goes to plan, we should
improve on Orange II's time on entering the Indian Ocean, but it'll be a close run thing! We've covered a lot more ground
than Bruno Peyron in the Southern Atlantic, and heading into the North at the start of the Indian Ocean doesn't set us up
particularly well for the next stage. The maxi catamaran sailed a superb course between the equator and South Africa, but
we are still inside the time of the Jules Verne Trophy... It's reassuring! Of course we're disappointed by the weather, which
is complicating things, but this intermediary time warms your heart a little..." said Franck Cammas at the radio
session this Wednesday lunchtime.
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Enormous seas in the Indian OceanIndeed, the difficulty lies in the next three days as Groupama 3 won't be able to adopt a normal course. Due to a large low,
which is picking its away along under the bows of the giant trimaran, generating very big to enormous seas, with 12 metre
waves, Franck Cammas and his nine crew having to adopt a more N'ly course as a result. Added to this, they will have to sail
700 miles further! However, to avoid these building seas, they're going to have to lay low for a while...
"We
shouldn't have to reduce the sail area too much as we don't want the calm conditions to catch up with us, but if things become
too bad, we'll bear way a little more... The wind won't be too strong over the coming days, at around 25 knots, but 500 miles
to the South of us, there is 70 knots with a big swell, which may well cause us some bother from tomorrow morning. We should
find a more manageable ocean from tomorrow evening, which will enable us to make easting again (rather than a course to the
NE)... But that's the name of the game: Orange II also lost some time over certain periods."
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Slight bulkhead damageIn addition, the skipper of Groupama 3 indicated that a bulkhead had come unstuck a week ago: "We are in a zone with five
metre waves, which are well orientated but then, within the space of ten degrees, it can be a different ball game... Due to
the impact, which causes waves of vibrations from forward to aft, everything is being shaken about down below, the men and
the structure alike. A bulkhead came away in this manner a week ago: we have laminated it but we need to intervene again...
This messed up the organisation aboard a little since I'm doing the navigation and Yves Parlier is taking care of the work:
it's not easy. We eased off the pace on the helm a bit too much, but that hasn't changed much as regards our course and our
average speed. The worst point is going to be in 24 hours time once the seas are more abeam of us... We look forward to coming
out the other side!"
Stéphane Guilbaud, team manager of the trimaran, explains the situation: "The
part in question is a central bulkhead on the aft beam, referred to as the C-0 because it's right in the middle of the beam.
For the time being, this slight damage isn't causing a problem and the crew is at the end of the repairs. The first part of
the intervention consisted of laying a sheet of carbon on the area the day after the incident... The cause of the problem
stems from the fact that it's not solid enough in light of the stresses it absorbs. The technical team had already encountered
this problem on Groupama 2, without it preventing the trimaran from completing its races." The sailing conditions aren't
going to be very pleasant then over the next 48 hours...
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