The Famous Project CIC, the immense challenge of the all-female crew put together by Alexia Barrier to take on the Jules Verne Trophy record — a crewed, nonstop, unassisted round-the-world sailing attempt — begins today, Monday 17 November, its weather-watch phase, its standby. Alexia and her seven-woman crew, supported by the shore-based routing team led by Christian Dumard, will now be monitoring the evolution of major weather systems almost hour by hour, not only in the nearby North Atlantic but also beyond the equator.
From the discussions between meteorologists and sailors, a fateful departure date and time will eventually emerge, sooner or later, to set off on the assault of the planet’s oceans and the benchmark time set in 2017 by this same maxi-trimaran, IDEC SPORT: 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds.
Unlike an ocean race, where the start date and time are, except in extraordinary circumstances, set in stone long in advance, a record attempt gives its protagonists the privilege of freely choosing their “ideal” weather window to set off in the best possible routing conditions, in order to put the challenge on solid footing right from the start against the benchmark times of the course.
Like in a casino
“Looking for the ideal window to set off on a record attempt is like trying to line up all the symbols on a slot machine. It never happens!” jokes Alexia Barrier.
A view shared by routing expert Christian Dumard: “The planets never really align. With the improvement of weather-analysis tools, sailors are becoming increasingly demanding and are looking for forecasts and possible routing options over longer and longer timeframes. We are actually entering a phase of discussion between the routing team and the crew to determine the best compromise, because the final decision will inevitably be a balance between short-, medium- and long-term options: estimates of fast routes over these timeframes, sea state, the evolution of nearby and distant systems… A choice driven by the quest for performance, of course, but also by the safety requirements for the women and the boat, and by the need to get into the rhythm. We will define in advance what Alexia and her team consider to be their ideal weather window, taking into account the necessary acclimatization to sea conditions and the absolute need to avoid breakage!”
Patience and foresight
“The standby exercise is new for me,” admits Alexia, despite more than 20 years of offshore racing on every type of ocean-going boat.
“This is the first time I’m setting off on a record attempt. I’ll have to learn to be patient. It’s reassuring to have Christian Dumard by our side. I’ve known him since my 2007 Transat Jacques Vabre. Every day, he’ll give us a detailed analysis of the different scenarios, both short- and long-term. We’ll discuss them collectively within the crew to weigh the pros and cons of the wind and sea conditions, the proposed routes, and to look as far ahead as possible — to the equator and beyond. Ideally, we naturally want downwind conditions generated by a North Atlantic low and its northwesterly rotation that hasn’t raised too much sea state, or a high-pressure system with its easterly winds, or even a depression centred very far south whose northern edge we could skirt.
We are setting off with the idea, the desire, the ambition to cross an ocean — Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, then the Atlantic again — every 10 days, meaning 40 days at sea! Whatever happens, our main goal is to carve our path, enjoy every mile, and set a reference time for an all-female crew.”
Closing the final files…
“We are closing all the technical files this week,” continues Alexia. “We’ll sail one last time for final checks. But the entire shore team, led by Clément Surtel, is fully operational. A phenomenal amount of work has been accomplished since the beginning of summer, within the time and budget available. The crew is incredibly motivated and fully involved in managing this standby. With the help of the health and nutrition committee we’ve set up, we are now focused on preserving ourselves to set off in the best possible condition.”
For informations…
The current record between Ushant and the Equator within the Jules Verne Trophy is 4 days, 19 hours, and 57 minutes, set by the trimaran Spindrift 2 (skippered by Yann Guichard) in January 2019. IDEC SPORT (skipper Francis Joyon), during its triumphant 2017 attempt, took 5 days, 18 hours, and 59 minutes to cover this segment, a distance of 3,556.3 nautical miles at an average speed of 25.6 knots.
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