This Is Inspiring!

[TaoJones]

And the beat goes on!

Here's the latest, from 'Lectronic Latitude:

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"Joyon Gets Ready to Rip Again

"December 14, 2007 – Southern Indian Ocean

"The day after setting a 24-hour singlehanded record of 616 miles with his 97-ft trimaran IDEC, Frenchman Francis Joyon followed it up with a near 600-mile day yesterday. Today, however, the winds have died and he's limping along at a mere 15 to 17 knots. But Joyon says the winds will pick up again tomorrow, at which point he'll be 'galloping' again. . . .

<snip>

"Joyon isn't in it for the glory, he just loves to sail.
© 2007 Jean-Marie Liot / DPPI / Idec

"What kind of man is Joyon? We put that question to Javier de Muns, Latitude's man in Brittany, who is privy to the innermost circles of French multihull sailing: . . . "

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To read the entire piece, go to:

Latitude 38 - The West's Premier Sailing & Marine Magazine

TaoJones

[Tnflakbait]

I like his cockpit\pilothouse setup. Looks more comfortable than alot of the other giant multis you see. The little house is a good place to watch the weather and relax in the dry as well.(As much as you can at least) Cool stuff!

[Ex-Calif]

Wow - The first shot of this guy without two hulls in the air. Only 17 kts? He must be absolutely bored out of his mind - LOL

[TaoJones]

Here's today's update from 'Lectronic Latitude:

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"Joyon Continues Phenomenal Record Pace

"December 17, 2007 – Deep South Pacific

(Click on the photo to enlarge it.)
"Despite the solitude and rigors of sailing solo around the world, Joyon's state of mind has been described as 'serene.'
© 2007 V. Curutchet/DPPI/IDEC

" 'On Sunday, the ground team for Francis Joyon and his magnificent 97-ft trimaran IDEC were hoping to gain another day on Ellen MacArthur's previous record with B&Q Castorama from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin,' reports Javier de Muns, our man in Brittany, 'and they got it.' Joyon's improvement to date over MacArthur on the round the world solo attempt now stands at more than seven days."

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For the entire article, and the latest on what's happening with Joyon's challenger, Thomas Coville, go to"

Latitude 38 - The West's Premier Sailing & Marine Magazine

TaoJones

[TaoJones]

Today's update, from 'Lectronic Latitude:

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"Joyon Roars into the South Pacific

"December 19, 2007 – South Pacific

" 'I do my job as a sailor, that's all.' So Francis Joyon said modestly after he and his 97-ft trimaran IDEC left the Indian Ocean and sailed into the deep South Pacific. He crossed the Indian Ocean in just 9 days, 12 hours, more than 33% faster than current solo record holder Ellen MacArthur did with B&Q Castorama, and just 59 minutes slower than Bruno Peyron and crew did with their 125-ft cat Orange II."

(No link today - this is the entire piece.)

TaoJones

[44'cruisingcat]

Just as an aside, the solo non-stop record used to be held by a monohull (skippered by Titouan Lamazou) - at 109 days. Joyon's previous record was a mere 37 days faster. Yes, more than one whole month.

[TaoJones]

Here's today's update from 'Lectronic Latitude on Francis Joyon's effort, and that of Thomas Coville who's trying to "one-up" Joyon:

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"Sodebo and IDEC Streak Around the World

"December 21, 2007 – Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

"Javier de Muns, our man in Brittany with his finger on the pulse of solo around the world racers, filed this report:

" 'Last Monday's weather window, with 40 to 50 knots wind, big seas, and an air temperature of 30 degrees seemed to have done the trick for Thomas Coville and his 105-ft trimaran Sodebo, as they are already in the warmer latitutes of the Canary Islands, having averaged 20 knots since the start. As it stands now, Coville is 11 hours ahead of Ellen MacArthur's current record time — and was even a few miles ahead of Francis Joyon's pace with IDEC. But light winds have slowed Sodebo, so she's now about even with where IDEC was.'

"Thomas Coville took advantage of a decent weather window and left France on Monday for his assault on the solo round-the-world record."
© 2007 Jean Marie Liot/ DPPI/ Sodeb'O

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For the rest of the story, go to:

Latitude 38 - The West's Premier Sailing & Marine Magazine

And here's a link to the Sodeb'O website (like Joyon's, in French):

Sodeb'O Voile - Record du tour du monde en solitaire et sans escale

TaoJones

[Ex-Calif]

It appears if one wants to venture into the high stakes of "fastest around the world solo" one should be prepared to be satisfied with "around the world solo pretty fast."

[dcstrng]

See: Round the World Solo: Francis Joyon & IDEC back up to speed, but there could be icebergs about | BYM Sailing & Sports News

Asked how he was faring, Francis said “The name of the game is not to get too big a sleep deficit, but I usually manage to get the required 4 hours sleep a day, in bits and pieces. On the food side, I must say that I’m not making any Christmas dinners, but things that keep me going; a fish soup here, a noodle dish there; nothing very original, but it does keep me going.”

Dec 22...

[Steve Rust]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

I dunno....... that boat doesn't look seaworthy........it's built for speed........not heavy enough.......etc. etc....

You must have hit your head against a deckbeam as it seems you were channeling Joli. I hope you are feeling better now. By the way where is he? He usually lurks around waiting to drop in a thinly disguised critical remark.

Though I don't follow racing that much this is pretty exciting. That boat is truely amazing and I am very impressed in the way it moves through the water. To borrow a phrase from another thread, this requires some "testicular fortitude". The Open 60's, Volvo 70's , and especially Americas Cup looks pretty tame in comparison. Maybe they should all just stick to round the buoys racing.

[44'cruisingcat]

He's about 3 days away from Cape Horn now, and around 8 days ahead of the record. Amazing.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

It appears if one wants to venture into the high stakes of "fastest around the world solo" one should be prepared to be satisfied with "around the world solo pretty fast."

Yeah, either Joyon will hold the record for a short time only, or Covill will miss out by a short time. Gotta feel some sympathy for whichever one loses out.

[44'cruisingcat]

Joyon is now well past Cape Horn, heading North East up into the Atlantic.

[44'cruisingcat]

From the looks of it, he'll be home in around 2 weeks. Possibly more than a week faster than the existing record.

[44'cruisingcat]

Joyon Nurses IDEC Toward Home
January 11, 2008 – Tropical North Atlantic
Francis Joyon's trip up the Atlantic Ocean so far has been anything but an easy home stretch for his non-stop solo round-the-world record attempt. After battling the South Atlantic high, which whittled his pace down to as little as 139 miles one day, Joyon once again seemed to be reeling in the miles toward the finish off Brest, France. Pausing only to raise his daggerboard to avoid catching the line of the equator while crossing into the Northern Hemisphere, Joyon had bettered record-holder Dame Ellen MacArthur's pace to that point by 12.5 days. But after a draining night fighting through the doldrums, a failed gennaker halyard forced Joyon to climb IDEC's rig.
That broken halyard may have saved his record attempt because when he reached the top of the rig, Joyon noticed that the starboard cap-shroud terminal was working loose from the mast, threatening to dismast IDEC. To prevent the rig from toppling in the confused seaway, Joyon descended, tucked in three reefs and changed to a small jib before heading back up the rig to try and stabilize the the shroud terminal. On the second ascent, he took a beating.
"The boat was moving so much at the time of my second climb, I injured my ankle," he relayed, now waiting for the Northeasterly trades to settle the sea state. "I'm taking time to recover and think of a solution."
For now, he's using the gennaker halyard as a back-up shroud, but will need a more permanent fix in order to carry more sail and let his 97-ft trimaran IDEC stretch her legs. He is in contact with his shore team who are attempting to devise a fix that can be implemented with the minimal tools and materials onboard. Unless Joyon and his team can find a way to make a repair that will allow him to carry more sail, he might need all of that lead over MacArthur to reclaim the record, or simply get home intact. Stay tuned . . .