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A collective and committed adventure
This extraordinary challenge is carried out by eight talented and experienced women:
Alexia Barrier, Dee Caffari, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmuer, Debora Blair, Molly Lapointe, Xiquita Etchegoyen and Stacey Jackson. After several months of intense preparation, training sails and weather briefings, the crew is ready to follow in the footsteps of Francis Joyon and his men. Their ambition? To make history by becoming the first 100% women's crew to complete this round-the-world voyage as part of the Jules Verne Trophy.
A narrow weather window... but a promising one
The official start is scheduled for Saturday, between 11am and noon, from Brest, with a passage over the start line located between the Créac'h lighthouse (Ouessant) and the Lizard Cape lighthouse (England) around two hours later. The meteorological configuration of the North Atlantic, marked by the circulation of two anticyclones, opens up this opportunity.
"There's no such thing as a perfect weather window "says Alexia Barrier. But this, explains router Christian Dumard, would allow a start in a north-westerly flow of less than 30 knots, with a rough but manageable sea. A deliberately cautious strategy: there's no question of getting into the red in the first few hours. The challenge will be to avoid being trapped by a ridge of high pressure off Cape Finisterre âeuros, or risk having to turn back.
Setting course for a global challenge
The Jules Verne Trophy course is simple on paper but formidable in its execution:
- Cut the Ushant / Lizard line
- Leaving the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn to port
- Completing the loop by crossing the start line
A total of 21,760 nautical miles (around 40,300 km) to be covered at high speed, at the mercy of winds, southern lows and the hostile seas of the Deep South. The record to beat :
40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, held by Francis Joyon and his five crew since 2017 at an average speed of 22.84 knots.
One team, one vision, one project
The Famous Project CIC, beyond its sporting objective, carries a strong message of inclusion, female performance and solidarity. This challenge is not just a race against the clock: it's also a committed human adventure, designed to inspire and move the lines in the world of sailing and beyond.
" All our teams, both at sea and ashore, are more mobilized than ever to make a success of this departure and enter into the great adventure that awaits us confides Alexia Barrier, determined but lucid in the face of the elements.
