On stand-by for nearly a month, the crew of Groupama 3 are carefully observing any favourable changes in the weather situation
in order to set off on the Jules Verne Trophy record, held since 2005 by Orange II (50d 16h 20'). The ten men are waiting,
but are making the most of the time to go over the basics again...
On a rather sunny Wednesday 9th January, the crew of Groupama 3 got together for a trip out on the water, bound for Penmarc'h
and then Belle-Île off the NW coast of France, prior to returning to the submarine base of Lorient. Over a hundred miles was
quickly devoured in a moderate 15 to 18 knot W'ly, which enabled the trimaran to flirt with 33 knots of boatspeed and gave
the crew a chance to get together around Franck Cammas for a series of manoeuvres. They sailed with a mixture of upwind, slightly
eased sheets and downwind, accompanied by sail changes, refined trimming and the rediscovery of sensations at the helm. On
a fine Atlantic swell, the men were able to "go over their homework" as they await the Jules Verne Trophy `composition'. The
sailing conditions were excellent for reinforcing the crew bond and checking how the boat handles, whilst validating the repairs
carried out on the foils.
A short tour as they await the big one...
"A fine trip: it's the second time that I've sailed on Groupama 3 and for want of doing a circumnavigation, we did a
tour of the Glénan Islands... This trip enabled us to validate the foils, which were revamped following a problem with the
adhesion of the outer carbon skin on the foam. It's also good to get out on the water to keep up our automatisms, revise the
manoeuvres and remind ourselves of the deck layout! As the stand-by continues, it's a long wait and the pressure has dropped
off again: this day on the water also enabled nearly all of us to see each other again (with the exception of the South African
Jan Dekker and the Swiss sailor Steve Ravussin) but we're itching to set off really... Orange II set off at the end of January
in 2005 so we're not outside the time!" indicated Jacques Caraës, one of the three bow crew (No.1) on Groupama 3.
A wait means you have to keep up the motivation, your physical fitness and the need for patience in order to remain
vigilant to the slightest weather window, as Frédéric Le Peutrec explains: "You have to remain alert and be physically
and mentally prepared. As a result I practice sport on a regular basis, I try to eat well and sleep well to store up some
energy before the start. I get the weather forecasts every morning to follow the latest developments and to find out if there
is a possible opening over the coming week. I'm also making the most of this time to follow those who are sailing around the
world at the moment: Francis Joyon and the duos in the Barcelona World Race, as that enables you to get into the right mindset,
to be apprehensive of the Southern Ocean and to project yourself into what will be our daily routine in the future..."
Patience is the mother of safety
However, the days that go by without any opportunity to depart aren't easy to cope with on a daily basis as Ronan Le Goff
tells us, back from Brazil ten days ago: "It's not very easy or very pleasant to hang around, especially for me as I'm
used to being in Brazil in the winter... But it was the same scenario for the record on Orange II! You have to find the right
`weather window' prior to rushing into it and for the time being, we are still in the right period to head off into the Southern
Ocean. We're a bit stuck because we can't plan or do anything more than three days in advance since you have to be able to
be operational very quickly as soon as you get into Code Orange..."
The wait will continue then over the
next few days since the train of lows, which are sweeping across the Atlantic aren't over yet and the wind remains positioned
between the South and the West without ever staying in the North for long enough, which would enable a rapid departure from
Ushant... The mid range forecast indicates that there won't be a `weather window' opening up before midway through next week...
