The trimaran Idec Sport, with Francis Joyon and his five crew aboard, is continuing to swallow up the miles and gain a lead over the Jules Verne Trophy holder (Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire V in 2012). After a double record at Cape Leeuwin, the six sailors have just set an intermediate record.
At over 32 knots, after 20 days of racing and just 2 days after Cape Leeuwin, it's now the Tasmanian wind they've just picked up. This intermediate record is not homologated, but it does underline the fine performance of the men on the red trimaran. The Ushant-Tasmania Record thus passes into the hands of Joyon, Pella, Surtel, Gahinet, Stamm and Audigane with a crossing of 18 days, 18 hours and 31 minutes, as opposed to the 20 days, 4 hours and 37 minutes set last year by Spindrift 2 and her 14 sailors.
From now on, Idec Sport is in the Pacific, with a lead of more than 1,060 miles over its virtual rival, the title holder Banque Populaire V. The gap should nevertheless stabilise over the coming hours as Loïck Peyron and his 13 crew have established some fine averages over this part of the course.
Francis Joyon and his crew are back above the 800 mile mark, after a calmer period. They are still averaging around 35 knots. Less than 1,000 miles from the Antimeridian, Idec's men should have completed the first half of his circumnavigation of the globe if they continue at this speed.
For the record, Idec is in fact catching up with the tail end of the Vendée Globe fleet, which started on 6th November 2016, six weeks before the start!
