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2007/04/24 - 10h20
Groupama 3's first scratch-time attempt
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| Cadix - San Salvador |
| Groupama 3 set off from Cadiz today, 24th April at 9h 47mn and 17s French time (7h 47mn 17s U.T.) on an attempt to beat the
first scratch-time of their record campaign: The Columbus Route (Cadiz - San Salvador). Franck Cammas and his nine crew are
retracing Cristopher Columbus' "historical" traces, and aiming to beat the time established in February 2003 by Steve Fossett,
on the maxi catamaran Playstation : 9 days 13 hours 30 minutes and 18 seconds.
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Happy to finally be trying out his "speed machine", Franck Cammas described the situation to us shortly before casting
off : « At the end of stand-by period we had decided to set off even if the "window" that is open to us today is not perfect.
It is true that if it were the end of March rather then mid-April, we would not consider leaving... But the more we approach
the date we had set ourselves, the less we can afford to be choosy. It's the way of the game!" remarked the Groupama trimarans'
skipper before continuing : "In spite of everything, this weather window is viable and allows us to follow the course. The
forecast today talks about wind that could turn out to be a bit weak. But what is interesting is that Groupama 3 has been
conceived and built to be particularly performing in these conditions.»
The
crew of Groupama 3
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