Joyon sails back to the shores France with a spectacular achievement

January 21, 2008

By an astounding 14 days, or 20 per cent, France native Francis Joyon has re-taken the solo record for sailing around the world from Ellen MacArthur, who had previously beaten the Frenchman’s 2004 record.

51-year-old Joyon set off from Brest on November 23rd aboard his 97ft red trimaran Idec II, and passed the Ushant start/finish line at 11:39 PM GMT on Saturday night, setting a time of 57 days 13 hrs 34mins for the 26,000-mile circumnavigation of the globe. This slashed a full two weeks and 44mins off MacArthur’s record.

During his trip, Joyon faced gale-force winds, near-collisions with other craft and suffered a damaged mast, which almost ended his bid, but the Frenchman climbed up the 105 ft to repair it four times, and sailed on.

How did Joyon shatter the standing record by such a wide margin? Especially since Nigel Irens, the British co-designer of Idec II said that his original computer predictions showed only a 3% improvement by the Idec over Ellen MacArthur’s 75ft B&Q.

Good weather, favorable winds and the larger size of the ship are all factors that are being put forth in the sporting world. Some also cite Joyon’s unorthodox methods to streamline both his budget and his technique. He used a less costly resin to have Idec II built, proving that more expensive is not necessarily better or faster. And he eschewed heavy, cumbersome and energy-gobbling communications equipment, relying instead on a simple Iridium telephone for all his contact with the outside world. He used wind turbines and solar panels to power automatic piloting.  He also made do without standard electricity generators, which made the boat lighter, but which also meant he had no heat on board while sailing around glaciers.

MacArthur, greeting the Frenchman on his return, was gracious and even admiring in giving back the title she last wrested from Joyon. “I really had to give everything I had to beat his 2004 record. Today he betters mine by 14 days. Amazing seamanship, ideal weather and a faster boat are the key factors, but above all I cannot express how much respect I have for the man.”

However, MacArthur has not ruled out trying to reclaim the record one day. “Records are set to be broken,” she smiled.

Written by Web in France team - Filed Under Featured, News

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