Start of stand-by
François Gabart and his trimaran Macif are now ready for their single-handed round-the-world multihull record, held by Thomas Coville since 25 December 2016 . The skipper has just started his stand-by period and is now waiting for the right weather window to set off around the globe. The skipper of Sodebo set off on 6th November 2016 to beat the record hitherto held by Francis Joyon by 8 days 10 hours, 26 minutes and 28 seconds! With a course time of 49 days 3 hours 7 minutes 38 seconds, he therefore passed under the symbolic 50-day mark... A difficult challenge to take up.
"Today, a weather window is expected to extend roughly to the equator. What we're looking for first is good weather all the way to the southern hemisphere. As we set off, we obviously have a little idea of what lies ahead at the transition between the North Atlantic and the lows in the South Atlantic, but it's still very uncertain. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed that the sequence goes smoothly behind" explains François Gabart.
Simplify the departure procedure
With his team and the routing cell, the skipper of Macif has simplified the start procedure as much as possible, as he explains "The advantage of a single-handed record is that we don't have the constraint of a crew to bring home. On the other hand, we still have around thirty people working on the project and therefore need clear information. It's also important to inform the public, so that people can come and see us on the day of departure and follow the adventure."
Choosing the right time
To leave, we follow a colour code, from red to green to orange. " Colour red, it means that nothing is taking shape, it indicates the number of days ahead of us during which we are sure not to leave. It could be very short, or it could last four or five days, it will never be much more. Then, we switch to orange if a window appears, and finally to green if we decide to leave." details François Gabart, who will decide on the final go.
The routing cell, an indispensable element
To choose the day of the start, but also to make the right strategic choices throughout his journey, François Gabart will be able to count on the expertise of Jean-Yves Bernot, router, with whom he has been working since the beginning of the Macif project. The latter will help him in his weather analysis and will give him the route options to follow according to the forecasts.
"I've known Jean-Yves since my beginnings in Figaro ocean racing, but already, when I was doing the Optimist, I read and reread his books! Above and beyond his experience and competence, which are indisputable, he's a very pedagogical person, capable of explaining very complicated things in simple terms".
He was already the one who was alongside the skipper of Macif during his victories in the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2015 and The Transat bakerly in 2016 (routing was not allowed on The Bridge). In fact, he has established a real relationship of trust with the man nicknamed "the wizard" on the pontoons.
"She's total and indispensable, because she'll probably be the person I'll talk to the most during the round-the-world trip. Jean-Yves will be my partner, my alter ego ashore. This relationship works both ways: I think he also has confidence in what I'm capable of doing on the boat and in my ability to apply the strategy that he will suggest to me."
Jean-Yves Bernot will also be surrounded by Julien Villion, who has been working with him for several years, as well as three members of the Macif trimaran team: Antoine Gautier, Guillaume Combescure and Emilien Lavigne.
"The idea is to rely on Jean-Yves' expertise in pure routing, but also on people with a good knowledge of the MACIF trimaran. Antoine, Guillaume and Emilien work on the boat all year round. The first two participated in The Bridge, they are able to provide Jean-Yves and Julien with valuable information on how to run it in such and such conditions. This is also the reason why the latter have sailed alongside me a lot during training outings. It was important for them to get a good feel for the boat, to see how she behaves in windy conditions, in windless conditions, during the day and at night..."
From the start of stand-by and throughout the record, the routing cell will be operational without interruption. The objective will be to offer François Gabart the best possible trajectories to beat this record with very little room for manoeuvre.
"During the record, they'll be at work 24/7, analysing weather situations, thinking, running routing, giving me answers if I have questions, but also processing the data that will come in from the boat." says the skipper of Macif. "It's true that it's an area that I enjoy, I like to spend time in it, confront my points of view, but I may have to accept from time to time to let myself be guided more and focus only on performance." he concludes.
