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2007/07/19 - 22h30
Groupama 3 faces the North Atlantic
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| New York - Lizard Point |
| Over the past 24 hours, the weather situation has caused no end of trouble to Franck Cammas and his men. On Tuesday the whole
of the Groupama 3's crew took off for the United States with the aim of setting out from Newport (Rhode Island) marina, where
the maxi trimaran has been moored since its previous record. From there the plan was to make for the start line off New York
for a North Atlantic record attempt. Since then however, the depression which was due to enable Groupama 3 to set sail for
Europe within the record time set by Peyron - 4 days 8 hours 23 minutes and 54 seconds - has deteriorated at the end of the
course. As a result Groupama 3 has gone back to code red to await a new weather window, though the team are keeping a close
eye on the situations between 9th and 11th July.
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After a month and a half on stand-by in Newport and fast approaching the cut-off date, which they initially set themselves,
Franck Cammas and his men are today seizing the final opportunity of the year to take on the North Atlantic record: "the
weather window isn't really ideal but we've got no regrets... the conditions which Orange 2 benefited from last year to establish
the new reference time simply haven't appeared for us this year!"
Whatever happens, the crossing for Groupama
3 promises to be both harsh and intense: "Crossing the Atlantic, that is nearly 3000 miles in 4 days, is bound to imply
a steady pace. We were expecting rather `virile' weather conditions, with very high speeds and intense cold over the first
part of the course, since we are going to graze the zone of icebergs as we round the Southern edge of Newfoundland" explained
Franck before setting off: "We're starting out being pushed by a twenty knot air flow which is set to fill in to around
25-30 knots or even more as we pass Newfoundland. From there things become more complicated as we won't be in a classic pattern
with a depression accompanying us from one end of the Atlantic to the other. We're going to try to catch up with a second
weather system filtering down from Greenland, which could enable us to round off this attempt with a bit of wind. It's still
too far off to be clear about the situation though so the end of the course is still very uncertain for the time being."
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24 hour recordAnother record held by Bruno Peyron since July 2006 - the greatest distance covered in 24 hours - 766.8 miles - is also being
targeted by Groupama 3 on this crossing, as the skipper from Aix en Provence detailed: "The 24 hour record is feasible,
on paper at least. This is particularly true for the first part of the course, where we are likely to be sailing close to
the wind, but conditions are relatively good nonetheless. If we end up with that record in the bag then it will already have
been a very worthwhile crossing!"
Clearly then, even though this first attempt may not necessarily result in
success, Franck Cammas is already seeing what a positive experience such a sprint can be for the crew, as well as enabling
them to hone the boat with a view to the Round the World attempt at the end of the year: "Since the start, our campaign
has been above all else a campaign to prepare for the Jules Verne Trophy. If we don't break the Atlantic record this year,
we'll be back next year... One thing for sure though, on what promises to be a pretty harsh crossing, we'll be able to test
the crew, the boat, the gear and the organisation under some difficult conditions.... This will doubtless be a positive step
in our training" concluded the skipper
UTC*: universal time corresponds with London time - 1 hour
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