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A circumnavigation to the end
Alexia Barrier, accompanied by Dee Caffari, Deborah Blair, Annemieke Bes, Rebecca Gmuer, Tamara Echegoyen, Molly Lapointe and Stacey Jackson, signs a successful first attempt. Non-stop, without outside assistance, within the strict framework of the Jules Verne Trophy.
The time achieved was not intended to be an absolute record. It does, however, set the first female round-the-world reference time aboard a trimaran that knows the course very well, since Idec Sport has already won the most sought-after round-the-world record twice. Over 31 meters long, powerful and demanding, she leaves no room for approximation. For this crew, getting to grips with the boat is a matter of getting to grips with real-life conditions, which can be brutal at times.
As soon as we set sail down the Atlantic, the first signs of damage appeared. Problems with the helm, a blocked mainsail hook on December 12, 2025. The rhythm adapts, and so does the navigation. In the Indian Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope was rounded on December 16, 2025, followed by Cape Leeuwin on December 24, 2025.
Shortly before this passage, a fishing net gets caught in the starboard foil. The boat stops dead. After freeing the boat, doubts began to creep in. The diagnosis came later: the foil was delaminated and unusable. It will be blocked in the high position after Cape Horn.
Continue without foil, then without mainsail
Cape Horn was rounded on January 6, 2026. The trimaran sailed up the Atlantic without foils. Average speed dropped, but the boat remained sound. The crew fine-tuned their settings, adjusted their trajectories and maintained a solid pace all the way to the equator, reached in just over 9 days from the Horn.
On January 21, 2026, another blow. The mainsail tears. The canvas was partially lowered and secured at the second reef. Then came storm Ingrid. Heavy seas, waves close to 10 meters, gusts in excess of 45 knots. The rest of the mainsail gave up the ghost. The rest of the course will be sailed under headsail, sometimes under mast alone. The girls stay on course. Slowly, cautiously, but without deviating from the goal of bringing the boat back to the line.
A long-term project
The Famous Project CIC wasn't built in a few months. Alexia Barrier has been working on the project for over two years. Finding a boat, assembling an international crew, preparing the sailors, securing the budget, then accepting the exposure of a challenge rarely attempted by women in this format.
Prior to this attempt, only one female crew had started the Jules Verne Trophy, led by Tracy Edwards. On the eve of the finish, Alexia Barrier wrote, " We set off with that strange confidence you feel just before casting off, when the dream is intact and everything has yet to be written" alexia Barrier.
It's a performance to be proud of. Completing a non-stop round-the-world race on a maxi trimaran that's not from the latest generation, but still demanding, demands constant rigor. IDEC Sport does not forgive approximations or fatigue, especially when the boat is sailing in a diminished condition.
And in a generally less clement weather pattern, with more headwinds (both on land and at sea), they held their ground. So, yes, they didn't break any records, but they did write a fine page in the long history of ocean racing. Keeping up the pace, bringing the boat back from the brink and going all the way in these conditions is a real commitment on the part of the sailor, regardless of comparison.
