IDEC

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="" />

Rounding Cape Horn

almost 10 days ahead of the record now!

thats some serious COJONES! damn

Faster than Orange II to the equator and between Good Hope and Australia. Was fast in the Pacific too. The guy may finish under 60 days. Impressive...

Joyon had near perfect condition all the way to Australia. Unfortunately another competitor is not been so fortunate,
Thomas Coville is already 2 days behind Joyon's schedule and losing.

Coville's Location
Trimaran Sodeb'O

that's a very cute animated gif jake

Disagree.
Francis Joyon made this happen: picked up the right date to start, negotiated very well the doldrums and st Ellen highs, pushed hard in front of a system in the indian ocean to stay in the right wind/sea etc... The guy is good at dealing with weather, which is a very important part of the record.

Also at a critical moment as he was rounding Africa, he stayed awake 24 hours so he could push the boat speed to the limit to catch a low pressure system. He has had good weather but I agree with Tiger (did I just say that!?)...the physical and mental strength required for this has got to be unbelievable...especially when the boat rarely goes below 18 knots.

Wow, I guess there really is "no second place..."

Joyon is 10 days ahead of the record, and Coville is 2 days behind. Using my math, that puts Coville 8 days ahead of the record too. Isn't 8 days enough to be considered also destroying the old record???

These guys have to be absoulutely certifiable...

Mike

I don't know how somebody can sleep AT ALL, when alone on a boat that is hurtling across the ocean at incredible speeds. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Coville is not very far along into his route and has been slipping on Ellen McArther's 2005 pace. At the point Coville is at now, Joyon was 2 days ahead of the virtual Ellen.

You're both wrong actually, Joyon was 5d15h ahead on Ellen time and Coville is now only 1d12h ahead of Ellen and 4(!) days behind Joyon.

See how perfect Joyon's course was from the equator towards Cape Town?
Some might not agree with me but IMHO some luck is involved considering that Coville is as good (if not better) a sailor than Joyon.

Well, my point wasn't about the accuracy of the times (since I only know what I'm reading here), just that the poor bastard running second isn't getting accolades for running ahead of Ellen (assuming that he still is)...

Just to show my complete ignorance, are these guys running through the icebergs while trying to sleep?

Mike

They're trying to stay north of the ice / growler field but Joyon had some pretty wild pictures of some big bergs and reports that it's further north than he has ever seen it. Radar picks up the ones that are floating well above the surface....

But isn't Joyon running without radar? I have not checked but read he had very limited electronics aboard. Does that include radar?

Picked up "Race Against Time" over xmas...it's Ellen's day to day account of her record breaking '05 run. Highly recommend this to anyone that wants to get any sense of what it's like doing an around-alone record attempt.

She too reported 'bergs well North of where they had been sighted by other ships...and she also comments that none were showing up on her radar.

Mike.

What are the specs for IDEC vs what Ellen sailed (B&Q/Castorama).

I believe both boats are purpose built, Neil Irens designs...but how are they different?

What I cannot grasp is how the heck can one person do all the sail changes...WITHOUT stopping! Ellen reports doing 12-20 sail changes in a 24 hr period!!!

I sail on Afterburner, a 52 ft "beachcat"...we race with 6 aboard and it is a major effort all round when changing a head sail. We cannot raise/lower the main or engage reefing points without going head to wind...and even then it takes five burly guys to hoist the main up, one guy using the biggest winch on the boat and the rest of us "rowing" the extremely taught halyard. This inches the sail up the 80 ft mast.

Amazing stuff.

Coville's Sodeb'O:
* Designers: Nigel Irens / Benoît Cabaret
* Length: 32 metres (105 feet)
* Width: 16,55 metres (55 feet)
* Weight : 12 tonnes
* Draught: 2,50 mètres
* Surface main: 227 m²
* Surface solent : 152 m²
* Surface gennaker : 305 m²
* Surface Jib ORC : 48 m²
* Mast height: 35 m

Joyon's IDEC:
* Designers: Nigel Irens / Benoît Cabaret
* Length: 29.70 metres
* Width: 16,50 metres
* Weight : 11 tonnes
* Draught: <Unknown>
* Upwind Area: 350 m²
* Downwind Area: 520 m²
* Mast height: 32 m

Ellen's B&Q/Castorama:
* Displacement: 8.3 tonnes
* Length: 22.9m
* Beam: 16.2m
* Mast height: 30.6m
* Standing rigging: 253.2m
* Maximum break tonnes (Genoa): 43 tonnes
* Main hull surface area: 143.9 m2
* Main hull internals surface area: 37.29 m2
* Crossbeams surface area: 51.34 sq m
* Floats surface area: 151.48 m2
* Floats internal surface area: 35.78 m2
* Total surface area: 419.79 m2
* Designers: Nigel Irens/Benoit Cabaret (Nigel Irens Design)
* Builders: Boatspeed, Australia
* Project management: Offshore Challenges project

Coville has no experience for this type of records and a lot less multihull under the belt.

Very sad news...

From: www.sodebo-voile.com


"RETIREMENT OF THOMAS COVILLE FROM HIS SINGLE-HANDED ROUND THE WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT IN A MULTIHULL

Precisely 5 minutes after beating the 24 hour distance record and whilst sailing at the latitude of the Kerguelen Islands, Thomas went up on deck to reduce the sail area and discovered that he had lost the crash box from his starboard float. Even though it's too early to say whether it's the result of impact or not Thomas, who saw two icebergs measuring several hundred metres long yesterday, observed that there were some growlers - pieces of partially submerged ice, around the boat. Acting as a kind of bumper, the crash box is there to avoid breaking the whole boat in the event of impact with something and also ensures the float’s watertightness.
The trimaran is currently rerouting to Cape Town (South Africa) some 1,300 miles away.

We can imagine the skipper’s disappointment after just beating - at 0H45 UTC – the single handed 24 hour record. Thomas covered the 619.3 miles at an average of 25.8 knots. In so doing he beats the record held by Francis Joyon (616.03) by three miles. The record is currently awaiting approval from the WSSRC.
It should be noted that Thomas broke the record during his 20th day at sea, just like Francis Joyon, whilst in the same zone of the Indian Ocean, with a fairly similar weather pattern, ahead of a depression.

Follow the latest news about the Trimaran Sodeb'O on the website www.sodebo-voile.com"

Yeah, that is sad news.

Crossing back the equator 12 days and 11 hours ahead of the record.

Under 60 days, I tell you.

From SA today:

"With more than 22 800 miles on the clock, covered at high speed, IDEC is showing signs of getting tired. At the end of a dantesque night, fighting squalls in the Doldrums, Francis Joyon has reported two problems, are slowing his progress towards the finish.

A breakage of the mainsail halyard forced Francis to undertake a first perilous ascent of the mast, last night, and at the head he discovered a much more serious problem, where the starboard stay is anchored. This heavy cable, which keeps the mast in position laterally, is fixed by a spindle that had started to unscrew. This meant that Francis had to descend for tools, then climb the mast again to try to stabilize the stay and screw home this vital part.

Francis has an ankle injury

These ascents of the mast, in extremely dangerous conditions, subjected Francis to numerous bodily shocks and he sustained an ankle injury during the second climb. He has now decided to have a rest and wait for a more regular northerly wind to calm the sea a little: "I hurt my ankle during my second climb, because the boat was moving so much." he said. " I will take a little time to recover and to think about the best way to resolve the problem." Under three reefs and staysail, IDEC is only moving slowly away from the Doldrums.

'I'm trying to advance as best as I can for the time being." Said an obviously tired Francis Joyon "I am in around 18 knots of wind, but I cannot go quickly bearing in mind the shape of the sails is now aimed at preserving the mast."

A difficult repair

With a very confused sea and without appropriate tools, Francis only succeded in attaching the genaker halyard, to help the stay and - if the stay should detach - to slow the rate of fall of the carbon mast. Sea conditions make it impossible to make further repairs.

Francis has been on the phone to his shore team and the mast designers to discuss possible ways of preventing the spindle unwinding and best managing the risks involved. "

It looks like Joyon is a shoe in for the single handed record, provided nothing breaks. Has anyone figured out how close he is to the outright record set by Orange?

He has uber problems. Shroud or cap shroud is coming unscrewed; he does not have the tools to do it back up properly.

He's (last night) got 3 reefs in and storm jib up, Spi halyard is bing used as a jury rig to support the mast while he works out what to do. He's been up the mast again today to strap it up spectra and he thinks it's strong enough to shake out another reef.

Et voila!

He crushed the record.

Fantastic Joyon.

He is over the line now? Well ahead of schedule then? Fantastic! He has got to be made of steel!

clocks still ticking on the website...

13 miles to go!

my grandmother got to live in the time of both the wright brothers and concord while sailing took a break

but now in my lifetime we've gone from Sir Robin Knox-Johnston taking 313 days to round the globe solo, in 1968/69 to Francis Joyon, doing it in 57 days today

how much more can be taken off that?

incroiable

57 days 13 hours 34 minutes 6 seconds. I'm gobsmacked

Bested the old record by Dame Ellen McArthur by a tad over two weeks !!!!!

That is a 20% improvement, wow !

Wouter

He is only 5 hours short of the record set by the fully crewed Playstation!

According to "madforsailing" he was FASTER than Steve Fosett.
" To give some comparison the year before Orange II's attempt, Steve Fossett and the crew of Cheyenne took 58 days 9 hours and 32 minutes while Olivier de Kersauson and Geronimo, again fully crewed, took 63 days 13 hours and 59 minues"

/hakan

Not to take away from the achievement, but how much of that improvement was due to weather routing technology?

Weather routing aside, someones still got to drive the thing hard for all that time!