For the computer sailors:
http://trimaran-idec.geovoile.com/tourdumonde2007/
After 12 days Joyon is almost 1000 miles ahead of Ellen's pace. Presently in very favorable conditions sailing at 26 kts towards the Cape of good hope.

I’m bumping this. I can’t believe there is no discussion here, an amazing story is playing out in the southern ocean. After 20 days Idec is now almost 2000 miles ahead of Ellen’s pace and is very near the pace of the much larger fully crewed Orange II. After passing the Cape of Good Hope his router told him to put the peddle down to delay the time he would be forced to slow down as a low pressure system overtook him. Joyon never did let the low catch him, he broke the single handed 24 hr. record, then broke it again and then broke it again. It now stands at 616.07 miles. That’s averaging over 25 kts. day and night.

No doubt an astonishing feat is unfolding before our eyes. This man is a mad-man single handed sailor and he is on pace to set a record that will likely stand for a long time in a boat that is very close to the limits of one human being to control it (without the aid of hydraulics or electro-mechanical systems)

I blogged about him this morning at www.teamseacats.com

The story of this guy is incrediable. He still has a long way to go in order to beat the record. Nothing negative here, I wish him the best but man there still remains a lot of miles for him to hold it together before the finish.

How much Meth do you suppose one must take to stay alert enough, to run a boat hard enough to do that. I'm kidding about the drug part but thats incredible singlehand in I'm sure some very trying conditions.

I can't imagine trying to sleep on that thing going 25 knots for 3 days and nights! Have you read the book, The Race, buy Tim Zimmerman? He talks about the level of noise in the hulls at speed, said it's like being inside a 50 gallon drum with people beating sticks on it. And it's cold where he is too, no heater. I guess the fear of death would keep you awake for awhile. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

amphetamines... if they are good enough for F15 pilots dropping 1000 pound bombs, why not a solo sailor?

F15 pilots sleep in a warm, dry, non-motion bed after a 15-24 hour mission. Put them out at sea for two months, wet, cold, alone. I don't think you could cram enough drugs into them to keep them awake, I think it's fear.

Remember after that one French guy set a Trans Atlantic record, he fell fast asleap and ran his tri on the rocks while delivering it from the finish line back to France? The post traumatic stress release was too much and he just slept as his boat ran on the rocks, even through the alarms he had set. But I think he was up for about 5 days straight before that.

Joyon IS "that one French guy". His sponsor, IDEC, helped him build this custom monster tri after the accidental demolition of his previous boat. His last one was an old ORMA trimaran (I believe) that he converted to single handed sailing. This is his first real big money boat.

Rumors are abounding that Ellen is watching with interest and will consider another crack at this if her record is broken.

Joyon IS "that one French guy". His sponsor, IDEC, helped him build this custom monster tri after the accidental demolition of his previous boat. His last one was an old ORMA trimaran (I believe) that he converted to single handed sailing. This is his first real big money boat. [/quote]
I have always wondered if that was really an "accident".

That one French guy must have no shore life at all, to want to keep doing it, over and over again. What a sick puppy. But I would love to spend one day on that thing with him! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Joyon is pulverizing record after record on this trip, forget shore life, I'd gladly sell any semblance of a soul that I have to be able to do what he's doing.

Well get on your cat and get out there! That Atlantic Crossing on a 20' cat record is still fresh, you could start there and work your way up! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I think these guys work the opposite way Timbo
I read about a young Loic Peyron setting out late for a single-handed transatlantic race on a 50' cat. he made his bunk up against the windward daggerboard case so that he could knap with the remote for the self steering in his hand and an ear against the trunk. When the trunk was noisy, that meant that the hull was in the water and the boat was slowing and he would alter course to power up. When the trunk was quieter, that meant that the boat was flying and he could relax and SLEEP!

I've often wondered about their sanity, these guys (and a few girls) that like to spend months alone at sea. I think I'd like to do maybe a Trans Atlantic, 5 day run, but two months alone in the wet and cold? No thanks.

I've read where those 60' tris flip when racing distance solo, because the skipper was down below asleep when the wind changed and the autopilot couldn't keep up.

The French are bad a$$.

Another record...Joyon has set a new record for crossing the Indian Ocean (Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin). He beat the time set by the much larger fully crewed Orange II by 20 minutes. 7 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes. Next up.... the South Pacific.

I have always wondered if that was really an "accident". [/quote]

It was an accident. He felt asleep after the finish line of the transatlantic record and on his way home, La trinite. Brittany tip is a very dangerous area: strong tides and currents, rocks everywhere.

His old Tri was not an ORMA. It was the previous Olivier de Kersauzon boat. 90 feet long. All preparation was made by himself and no crew to help him for his records attempts. The guy is amazing. He has a long story of fixing sailing machines and racing without sponsors.

What is the best with this one is that all the energy on board is provided by solar/wind. No engine. He is proving that records and races can be done on sailboat without an engine running for energy.

It's easier to set these records cuz he doesn't have all that additional crew weight to drag around the world!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />