Crewed 'Round-the-World' Record Attempt

Now its time for the crewed version of this sailing event known as the Jules Verne race

Franck Cammas' 105-ft trimaran Groupama 3 is already slightly ahead of Orange II's 2005 record pace, when skipper Bruno Peyron and his crew of 13 rounded the world in 50 days, 16 hours.

Only 24 hours after departing the English Channel, Cammas and his crew of 10were already south of Lisbon, Portugal, having covered 616 miles. The road ahead looks to hold some light patches, but in addition to being capable of sustained speeds of 40 knots, Groupama 3 is reportedly more suited to traversing these speed bumps than Peyron's 125-ft catamaran.

Cammas' team say they believe they're capable of a 45-day trip, and they'd likely know, given that they've already set the outright 24-hour speed record with their craft — 794 miles, set last July on the same trip they whittled four-and-a-half hours off Orange II's New York-Lizard transatlantic record.

http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en/index.jsp

(Day 6 - January 30, 2008; 18:38 UTC) The passage of the equator is the first intermediary time, which enables a direct insight into how capable a candidate is of winning the Jules Verne Trophy. Nearly a day ahead over the round the world reference course, the 103-foot maxi trimaran Groupama 3 has gained a 408 mile lead and has just achieved the best ever time by a yacht between Ushant, France and the equator: 6 days 6 hours 24 minutes!

Already sailing in the Southern hemisphere this Wednesday afternoon, Groupama 3 confirms what it had already demonstrated last summer when it racked up four Atlantic records: though it has no inhibitions in wind in excess of 25 knots, in relation to Bruno Peyron's catamaran, it has demonstrated remarkable pace below fifteen knots of breeze! Weather conditions haven't been particularly favorable to this point, and Cammas theorizes that a time of five days would have been achievable given a similar weather sequence that Francis Joyon enjoyed during his recent solo round the world record run.
http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en

Jules Verne Trophy

The connection with the tradewinds of the Saint Helena High were timed to perfection this Thursday lunchtime, and after a reduction in the pace due to the Doldrums and the passage of the equator, Groupama 3 has kicked up her heels again and is making nearly thirty knots.

Their lead over Orange II has shot up to over 500 miles... Given that the weather conditions are forecast to be stable for at least two days, we can expect a lot of headway to be marked out on the map as we approach the second weekend of sailing.

"In two days, we shall be quite far South to track down a front, which is shifting to the West and will enable us to "take the corner" and close on the Cape of Good Hope. It's almost an ideal scenario even though we'll have to go quite far South, and therefore a little outside Orange II's course. We are lucky to have a front, which will traverse the Saint Helena High level with Tristan da Cunha.... We still have some leeway today to aim for the most favourable point to hook onto the low, slipping along nicely for most of the time. The moment where we hoist the gennaker to adjust the place where we will encounter the Argentinean front will be important. We're handling Groupama 3 with kid gloves by lifting the foil a little and raising the daggerboard. Since the passage of the equator, there haven't been too many manoeuvres and the crew has been able to rest, do a bit of washing, clean up the gear and tidy up a bit." recounted Franck Cammas ! at the noon radio session.

Sylvain Mondon (Meteo France), onshore weather expert for Groupama 3: "What we imagined would happen at the start off Ushant has become a reality: high pressure conditions up to Cape Finisterre, then a more complicated disturbed passage around the Canaries and Cape Verde. The expected scenario has been confirmed with the Saint Helena High being pushed eastwards by a fairly active low, which is shifting across the South Atlantic: the tradewinds are orientated more to the East as they fill in. The situation will carry Groupama 3 to the roaring 40's fairly rapidly... There is also a corridor of air which gives us some cause to hope for an entry into the Indian Ocean at the start of next week! We have been pretty surprised in the light airs as regards the trimaran's performance: it is capable of going twice as fast as the strength of the wind." -- translation by Kate Jennings, Scuttlebutt Europe

Detailed cartography at: cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne

In the early hours of tomorrow morning, Groupama 3 is set to cross the longitude of the most S'ly cape of Tasmania, and thus enter into the Pacific Ocean. In the meantime, the end of the Indian Ocean has been more characteristic of late, since a long W'ly swell is enabling the giant trimaran to skim thirty knot averages. If they manage to maintain this pace, Franck Cammas and his crew may be able to snatch the record for crossing the Indian Ocean, but it's going to be tight...

In a 30-35 knot W to NW'ly air flow with gusts, Franck Cammas and his men have been racking up the miles since midnight with an average of nearly thirty knots! As a result it's shaping up to be a great day for Groupama 3, particularly as the conditions are enabling the crew to re-establish its overall lead over the reference time: from less than 300 miles on Thursday evening, their lead has increased by 60 miles in half a day and given that Orange II wasn't very fast over this approach to Tasmania, this bonus is likely to stretch still further over the course of the weekend...

During today's radio session, Franck Proffit was exchanging a few words with Bruno Jeanjean, the bowman aboard the giant trimaran during the North Atlantic record attempt last summer. The watch leader on Groupama 3 made the most of the opportunity to give a little run-down on the state of the boat and the shape of the crew, as well as the current situation: 'It's cold at the moment but we've seen worse: we are in a stiff W'ly breeze and the water is at 6°C. We're beginning to cover ourselves up: we're entering into the Indian Ocean atmosphere, slipping along in a thirty knot breeze under two reefs and solent jib, on fairly short seas and a messy swell coming from the West and the North. We're holding off on the pace a bit as we wait for the seas to become more ordered... Our current performance demonstrates the boat's potential, as we're still ahead of Orange II's wake and still have a twelve hour margin for error. Technically the boat is going well even though we broke a batten slide yesterday, which was immediately repaired. The crew is still in great shape, with no decline in standards, at a rhythm of three hour watches, which is enabling them to rest well and manoeuvre quickly. We're all nice and fresh!'

It is tonight then that the crew will conclude its `Indian' crossing and enter the Pacific. At this pace, Groupama 3 could improve on Orange II's time over this stretch of the course, and in this way snatch yet another new WSSRC record: the Indian Ocean in less than 9 days 11 hours 04 minutes! This would once again demonstrate that the giant trimaran is still faster than the maxi catamaran as soon as the seas are on the boat's side... In reality though, two thirds of the Indian Ocean didn't live up to their reputation, causing Groupama 3 to lose a lot of miles for nearly a week! However, the future is considerably rosier for Franck Cammas and his nine crew, who will be now be tackling a more cooperative Pacific Ocean.

'In the coming hours, we're going to make a slight inroad into the zone of high pressure, which is to the South of Tasmania, where the wind will shift round to the SW. We're going to gybe in 24 hours time and try to play the sea state to lengthen the stride, despite the weather systems, which are positioning themselves fairly North and being a little unfavourable for us... The low, which is to the E of New Zealand has stabilized a little and we're going to skirt Stewart Island, which Yves Parlier knows all too well! The weather system is forcing us onto a fairly N'ly course and we shouldn't be too bothered by icebergs. We're likely to have three to four days of good conditions for slipping along in! If the swell becomes more organised, we should exceed 700 miles a day... that will all depend on the sea state, but there's still some power under the bonnet!' enthused Franck Proffit.

Interview with Franck Proffit, watch leader and helmsman on Groupama 3:
'Everything's working well aboard: it's professional and there's a very good atmosphere! With Jacques, Steve... The choices of sail are made at a good pace and as regards repairs, everything is completed straightaway. We have a boat in perfect condition at the approach to the midway mark. Of course, the comfort is limited as the boat is very stiff with some very violent buffering and very fast acceleration. You have to hold on and be careful when you move. The living area works very well and you can really rest up in a dry zone. The next stage in the course promises to be downwind with a fine running sea... Spaghetti is on the menu today: it's varied and we have enough calories!'

http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fp150208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Bruno Jeanjean, bowman on Groupama 3 during the 2007 records:
'I find that the performance by the boat and the crew is fantastic, given the weather conditions they've had since leaving Ushant. With these boats, it's not so much the wind as the seas, which are important: they had a difficult passage at the entry to the Indian and now it's better. I'm sure that if the situation had been more favourable, they would have amassed a much bigger lead. The trimaran has been prepared to perfection and they haven't suffered any major worries. If the weather becomes more cooperative, I think that their lead will increase quite considerably.
The onboard manoeuvres on Groupama 3 are pretty hard nevertheless: you have to lug the sails from one side to the other and they're very heavy! A gybe with the movements of the foils and the sails takes around fifteen minutes; taking in a reef requires four minutes, or more if you have to hoist the sail... All that demands energy, especially when it's beginning to get cold as it is now. Restricted in our foulies, moving about becomes more complicated and you have to wear gloves.'

Recovery

Wednesday, February 20 -- News sources in New Zealand are reporting that
the giant French multihull, Groupama 3, has being recovered and is under
tow back to New Zealand. The reports say that she is due to arrive
sometime this morning, under tow from the Clan MacLeod. Groupama 3
capsized 80nm off the coast of Dunedin early Monday afternoon, NZT.

The Clan MacLeod was engaged by the Groupama 3 crew on Tuesday, leaving
at 20:00hrs on Tuesday night arriving at the upturned hull and debris on
Wednesday morning. At that stage it was expected that the trimaran would
have drifted north and out to sea to be 120 nm from the New Zealand
coast. The plan was to retrieve the broken mast on board the Clan
Macleod, and tow the two pieces of hull structure.

Fortunately conditions in the area were perfect for the salvage attempt,
and from television footage it would have been expected that the
operation would proceed very quickly, if it was going to be possible. It
would seem that is exactly what has happened. Next task will be to find
a way of shipping the damaged multihull back to France, where it is
intended to effect repairs and make another attempt of the Jules Verne
Trophy. Sail-World website,
http://www.sail-world.com/uk/index.cfm?nid=42003&rid=3

Salvage Video

http://www.cammas-groupama.com/do/mediatheque?type=V&sscat=171&page=0&media=1741

and some other videos:
http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en/courses/jules_verne_trophy/news/actu_jules_verne_76.jsp

Shore Side arrival

The 32 metre French multihull, Groupama 3, is alongside a wharf in Dunedin harbour.

She was towed into harbour by a Port tug, after having taken 23 hours to reach the safety of harbour after her capsize 80nm off the coast of Dunedin on Monday.

All major components have been recovered except for a small part of her mast and part of the port hull which had sheared off on Monday afternoon, causing the capsize which bought a premature ened to her Jules Verne trophy attempt.

It would seem that part of the port hull had rolled under the main hull of Groupama 3 supporting it in the water, and making the main hull float much higher that would have otherwise been the case.

This meant that there has been less ingress of water into the main hull, reducing the potential for damage.

The two into harbour began at 1100hrs and took about three hours in a 20knt breeze and against an outgoing tide. The yacht had remained under tow overnight behind the Clan MacLeod rather than attempting to anchor.

So ends a very fortuitious saga for Groupama 3, after capsizing at the closest point they had been to land in 26 days, within helicopter range and in conditions which moderated considerably soon after the capsize. The tow to shore was also undertaken in very good conditions, with a storm hitting only after she had been tied up in Dundein harbour.

Martin Balch reports from Dunedin:

At around 1430 hours this afternoon, the overturned trimaran finally reached the safety of the Dunedin harbour basin. After standing off the coast overnight, the rescue convoy was cleared to enter the harbour around 1000 this morning. The tow was transferred to the Port Otago works tug, the Kapu, and while progress was snails pace initially, once the tide turned progress was steady at 3 knots.

Within minutes of securing alongside, the crew were pumping the water from the main hull, which despite 3 days upside down was floating high with the decks almost clear of the harbour waters. The remaining section of the broken hull is firmly wedged under the rear of the main and starboard hulls, helping to keep the rear of the yacht floating high. Two large section of the main mast and some sails have been landed from the rescue boat, the Clan McLeod. The broken section of the port hull was unable to be secured and had to be abandoned at sea, as was a small section of the mast. The mainsail also didn’t survive, washing away and sinking during efforts to salvage it.

The rescue team had no trouble locating the drifting wreck, aided by the GPS left on board, and initially spotting its white and green hull glinting in the morning sunlight. Conditions were described as moderate to rough initially but improved to ideal for the difficult task of dismantling the rigging and only getting rough and sloppy at the end waiting for commercial traffic to clear the harbour and allow the rescue team to enter.

While the forecast was predicting 35 knot on shore north-easterly gales building to 50 knots storm force winds, the breeze did not exceed 20 knots until the tow was near Dunedin city, well inside the safe and protected harbour waters.



by Martin Balch and Richard Gladwell, Sail-World






Images of Groupama's return to shore
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?SEID=2&Nid=42074&SRCID=0&ntid=0&tickeruid=0&tickerCID=0

Here is a pretty good photo of that:

Crew Interviews

Back in France after righting Groupama 3 in the New Zealand port of Dunedin, eight of the crew of the giant trimaran were in Groupama's press centre in Paris today to answer questions from journalists and web surfers during today's press conference.

The most important news from this meeting is the confirmation by Groupama's Managerial staff that the adventure is continuing. Indeed, the damage suffered by the giant trimaran is considerable but reparable. Franck Cammas indicated that Groupama 3 was going to be loaded onto a cargo ship around 13th March with an arrival at the technical base in Lorient scheduled a month later.

The skipper also specified that the current assessment still hadn't revealed the reasons behind the breakage of the float between the forward crossbeam and the port foil casing: 'We're going to discuss all this with the architects, the yard and the structural engineers. If this amounts to a design fault, then that means we were wrong but sailing remains a mechanical sport... We have a working base, which defines the stresses that the boat should be able to withstand and in the general project strategy, we never wanted to take risks: we didn't put any less carbon in it than for Geronimo! We may have to look at our calculations again but the concept isn't at fault. The way Groupama 3 handled, its sensations at the helm, its performance and its Atlantic records confirm that the project is viable: we want to head back out again next winter with a trimaran, which will handle in the same type of way, but without any doubts in the back of our minds about the reliability of the boat...'

The giant trimaran will therefore go into the yard as soon she returns to France, but in the meantime, the shore crew is already preparing for the work in the knowledge that numerous parts of the boat can be recuperated (rudders, deck hardware, hooks...). The engineers and the designers will also look into means of consolidating the trimaran: 'It will be necessary to rebuild one entire float and reconstruct the puzzle: a launch at the start of November can be envisaged, followed by a month of fine tuning and validation for the start of stand-by in December for the Jules Verne Trophy' detailed Franck Cammas.

Jan Dekker went directly home to South Africa, whilst Loïc Le Mignon remained in Dunedin (New Zealand) to monitor the loading of the giant trimaran onto the cargo ship with two members of the shore crew from Lorient, Olivier Mainguy and Jean-Marc Normant, who came out to join him,. The eight other crew are already in the process of preparing for new competitions with the Spi Ouest France competition looming for one designs, sports catamarans...

Interview with Franck Cammas, skipper
'The weather didn't spoil us and I hope the Deep South isn't like that all the time! We had a lot of messy seas, which was painful for the boat and the men alike... We also had to extend our course to remain to the North of the lows and we were blocked for a long time by a front which wasn't making headway: in the end we had just one good day in the whole of the Indian Ocean! Even that was still behind a low, in SW'ly winds. From New Zealand we had just started to find more favourable seas and winds...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Back in France after righting Groupama 3 in the New Zealand port of Dunedin, eight of the crew of the giant trimaran were in Groupama's press centre in Paris today to answer questions from journalists and web surfers during today's press conference.

The most important news from this meeting is the confirmation by Groupama's Managerial staff that the adventure is continuing. Indeed, the damage suffered by the giant trimaran is considerable but reparable. Franck Cammas indicated that Groupama 3 was going to be loaded onto a cargo ship around 13th March with an arrival at the technical base in Lorient scheduled a month later.

The skipper also specified that the current assessment still hadn't revealed the reasons behind the breakage of the float between the forward crossbeam and the port foil casing: 'We're going to discuss all this with the architects, the yard and the structural engineers. If this amounts to a design fault, then that means we were wrong but sailing remains a mechanical sport... We have a working base, which defines the stresses that the boat should be able to withstand and in the general project strategy, we never wanted to take risks: we didn't put any less carbon in it than for Geronimo! We may have to look at our calculations again but the concept isn't at fault. The way Groupama 3 handled, its sensations at the helm, its performance and its Atlantic records confirm that the project is viable: we want to head back out again next winter with a trimaran, which will handle in the same type of way, but without any doubts in the back of our minds about the reliability of the boat...'

The giant trimaran will therefore go into the yard as soon she returns to France, but in the meantime, the shore crew is already preparing for the work in the knowledge that numerous parts of the boat can be recuperated (rudders, deck hardware, hooks...). The engineers and the designers will also look into means of consolidating the trimaran: 'It will be necessary to rebuild one entire float and reconstruct the puzzle: a launch at the start of November can be envisaged, followed by a month of fine tuning and validation for the start of stand-by in December for the Jules Verne Trophy' detailed Franck Cammas.

Jan Dekker went directly home to South Africa, whilst Loïc Le Mignon remained in Dunedin (New Zealand) to monitor the loading of the giant trimaran onto the cargo ship with two members of the shore crew from Lorient, Olivier Mainguy and Jean-Marc Normant, who came out to join him,. The eight other crew are already in the process of preparing for new competitions with the Spi Ouest France competition looming for one designs, sports catamarans...

Interview with Franck Cammas, skipper
'The weather didn't spoil us and I hope the Deep South isn't like that all the time! We had a lot of messy seas, which was painful for the boat and the men alike... We also had to extend our course to remain to the North of the lows and we were blocked for a long time by a front which wasn't making headway: in the end we had just one good day in the whole of the Indian Ocean! Even that was still behind a low, in SW'ly winds. From New Zealand we had just started to find more favourable seas and winds...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Franck Proffit, watch leader
'The story ended very radically whilst we were still inside the round the world record time. Despite difficult weather, we got off to a great start, but the conditions weren't in our favour, especially in the Indian Ocean. The boat is exceptional. It's very quick, with a fabulous crew and the alchemy was positive for producing a great performance...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/fp270208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Steve Ravussin, watch leader
'Going as fast as this for so long is something I've never done! It's a fairly stressful pace when you're down below but we never pushed the boat too far in my view. Unfortunately, the seas were often very difficult...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Sébastien Audigane, helmsman
'Groupama 3 is a very, very, very quick boat! Of course, in big seas, Orange II was more pleasant but the trimaran's potential is remarkable and things should go well next winter...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Frédéric Le Peutrec, helmsman
'Between Club Med and Groupama 3, which are of a similar length, the trimaran is a lot faster and has much greater potential! Orange II is at the other end of the scale and passes better through the water, but that's not enough... This type of boat requires a lot of concentration and selflessness, but we never experienced the kind of stress you can encounter sailing single-handed on a 60 foot trimaran!'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Ronan Le Goff, bowman
'We all knew at the start of the Jules Verne Trophy that it wouldn't be easy! But we'll make another attempt next year...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Jacques Caraës, bowman
'In this type of challenge, it's the seas which let you past as Francis Joyon said on his arrival. They didn't let us past... Groupama 3 has the ability to be in phase in the transition zones, which is a huge asset in relation to Orange II. The Indian Ocean is always hard and powerful and we suffered behind a front. On Orange II though, we didn't have the sea breeze and the catamaran just slipped along... I also believe that carbon has a memory and that's why it broke.'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/sailing/groupama/jc270208a_fr_e.mp3

Interview with Yves Parlier, navigator
'Finding yourself on shore after two hours with this incomplete circumnavigation is a strange sensation: My head is still in this round the world and my mind is still thinking about the days which were set to follow, where we were set to make really good speed at the start of the Pacific Ocean...'
http://www.windreportmedia.com/saili...0208a_fr_e.mp3

The crew of Groupama 3
Franck Cammas: skipper & watch leader 1
Franck Proffit: watch leader 2
Steve Ravussin: watch leader 3
Yves Parlier: navigator
Sébastien Audigane: 2nd helm
Loïc Le Mignon: 2nd helm
Frédéric Le Peutrec: 2nd helm
Jan Dekker: bowman
Ronan Le Goff: bowman
Jacques Caraës: bowman

...courtesy of Sail-World.com

Righted and loaded for France

The broken remains of the Jules Verne trimaran Groupama 3 were loaded aboard the ship Egelantiersgracht at Dunedin’s Victoria Wharf this morning. The ship leaves to carry the boat back to France for rebuilding at 1400 this afternoon.

The 32 metre trans-oceanic multihull Groupama 3 capsized 80nm off the New Zealand coast, just over half through an attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the planet.

The crew were rescued in a text book operation, and three days later the remaining parts were located and towed back to Dunedin where she was righted.

Since then the majority of her crew have returned to France leaving a small group behind to supervise the loading and shipping back to France.

From the Groupama 3 release:

Clearly the teams working on Groupama aren't hanging about. Three weeks after its capsize off New Zealand on 18th February 2008, Groupama 3 has been loaded onto the Eglantiersgracht, a Dutch cargo ship measuring 140 metres, which is transporting fruit and vegetables to Europe.

Under the expert eye of Jean-Marc Normant and Olivier Mainguy, the crew has craned the maxi-trimaran aboard, along with the pieces of mast and the float. Strapped down firmly to the deck, Groupama 3 will take about five weeks to get to France, where it will be unloaded around its home port of Lorient or in Quiberon bay in Brittany, depending on which yard is chosen for the reassembly.
During this crossing, construction of a new mast will begin at Lorima, along with the construction of a new float at Multiplast in Vannes.

However, conclusions still need to be drawn by the two teams working together to determine the cause of the damage suffered in the Pacific Ocean. These conclusions will enable the structure of the new float to be altered and the relevant modifications to be made to the starboard float, which was spared.

Groupama repair

...from their website, an interesting repair note

On 18th February 2008, whilst sailing with a day's lead over Orange's record, Groupama 3 fell victim to serious damage to her port float. In a matter of seconds, the maxi trimaran skippered by Franck Cammas flipped over.

Five days later, thanks to a great chain of solidarity, Groupama 3 was righted in the New Zealand port of Dunedin and then loaded onto a cargo ship.
After five weeks at sea, the Atlantic record-breaking trimaran was unloaded in Lorient and then delivered to the Multiplast yard where it was built.

Whilst the list of work to be undertaken was as long as a day without wind, the architects and engineers have not yet decided with any degree of certainty about the precise cause of the damage. Experts and members of Groupama team's design office have a host of hypotheses: "Fatigue of the materials where there has been impact with a floating object may be the source of the damage. What we are sure about is that the construction is not in question" details team manager, Stéphane Guilbaud.

In these conditions, the shipowner Groupama rapidly made a decision: "Groupama 3 must be repaired according to the book so as to be fit to continue its record campaign in the best possible conditions. To take risks by working quickly would make no sense as, beyond performance, it is the safety of our crew that takes precedence. Delaying the attempt for a year to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy is the best decision we can make today" declares Frédérique Granado, the group's communications manager.

Alongside them, skipper Franck Cammas continues: "maxi trimarans like Groupama 3 are increasingly quick. In big, messy seas like those you face in the Indian Ocean, any impact is incredibly violent. To live aboard sometimes becomes almost an impossibility. With the wealth of experience we've gained, we have decided to alter the two floats by replacing the honeycomb-carbon sandwich with monolithic carbon. Groupama 3 will be a little heavier whilst continuing to be high performance".

Team manager Stéphane Guilbaud explains the repercussions of this: "To alter the two floats will extend the duration of the work by nearly two months. Rather than being relaunched at the start of November, Groupama 3 won't be able to leave the Multiplast yard prior to January. Suffice to say this will be too late to attempt to contest the Jules Verne Trophy again in 2009".

For the shipowner, Groupama, risk management has become second nature rather than simply a job: "We have been placing our trust in Franck and his team for over ten years now. It's them who are aboard, in good times and in bad. The attempt to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy has been put back a year, but we're going to tackle other records like that of the Mediterranean, or even attempt to improve on our own record for the Atlantic crossing in 2009" concludes Frédérique Granado.

Franck Cammas furthers this to say: "With Groupama 3, we have already broken four records. The Jules Verne Trophy is still on our wish list and we're not giving up. Thanks to Groupama, we're not only going to repair the trimaran but also improve on it. The whole team is working on her and she really deserves it as she's a fabulous boat. And we're already really looking forward to the winter of 2009-2010" adds the skipper, who is currently training aboard Groupama 2 to contest the SNSM Trophy (French lifeboat association) for which the start will be given in St Nazaire, France on 22nd June 2008.