New attempt on Jules Verne Trophy imminent

After two and a half months of stand-by, Spindrift 2, skippered by Yann Guichard with his core crew in tow, is preparing to leave for a new attempt on the Jules Verne Trophy.

The crewed round the world sailing record has been held since 2017 by Francis Joyon, who completed the non-stop course in 40d 23h 30m. Spindrift 2, the giant black and gold 40 metre trimaran, is planning to leave the port of Brest for the start line off Ushant on Tuesday afternoon.

The time of just over 40 days achieved by IDEC Sport in 2017 could be broken by Spindrift 2, if the weather conditions remain favourable.

“We have been on stand-by since November 5 and there has been no real opportunity to get around the world quickly,” Yann Guichard said.

“I have never experienced a winter like this. We need to cross the equator in about five days: but we risk getting ahead of a front and having to sail to port, which is not very typical. But if we wait for this front to pass, we would then suffer at the hands of the Azores anticyclone.

“We are anticipating leaving the dock in Brest on Tuesday afternoon to reach the line off Ushant, and look to start in the early hours of the Wednesday morning, between midnight and three o'clock, but this is to be confirmed.”

By starting on Tuesday/Wednesday, the crew projects crossing the equator after five days and then hooking into a system in the South Atlantic, which could allow the team to cross the longitude at the Cape of Good Hope in less than12 days … This is the system preferred by the land-based weather router, Jean-Yves Bernot, for the team to reach the Indian Ocean in good time.

Yann Guichard has selected 11 crew, including core team members: Christophe Espagnon, Francois Morvan, Xavier Revil, Jacques Guichard and Erwan Israel.

Crew of Spindrift 2:
Yann Guichard – skipper
Erwan Israel – navigator
Jacques Guichard – watch leader/helm
Christophe Espagnon – watch leader/helm
Xavier Revil – watch leader/helm
Francois Morvan – helm
Thierry Chabagny – helm
Sam Goodchild – helm/bow
Erwan Le Roux – helm
Duncan Spath – helm
Benjamin Schwartz – helm/bow
Jackson Bouttell – helm/bow
Jean-Yves Bernot – router

Follow the attempt at: www.spindrift-racing.com

Jeanneau SO380
Windcraft
MultiHull-Central-HH44
ATL GIF
Jeanneau JY55
JPK August 2023
MultiHull-Central-HH44
ATL GIF