Inspiring Story of a Captain Staying with his Vessel

I don't know how many on this forum might have heard of the recent capsize of one of those giant French trimarans that are setting all kinds of ocean crossing records around the world, but this one deserves exra credit.

IDEC was again attempting to set a cross Atlantic record just recently before hurricane Irene started up the coast. She was only like 50 miles offshore into the start of this record run when some really freaking conditions resulted in her capsize (and this was a sailor who had sailed single-handed races around the globe !!).

http://www.trimaran-idec.com/

The real story then begins for this captain who remains with his vessel thruout the savage operation, right thru the hurricane remnants, and now may even sail the crippled vessel under jury rig back to France for repair.

WOW !! Who wouldn't want this gentleman on their team

The capsize was just the beginning...
Post-salvage, Joyon then had to deal with Hurricane Irene

Friday September 2nd 2011, Author: James Boyd, Location: United States
The capsize last week of Francis Joyon's maxi-trimaran IDEC at the start of her attempt on the solo west to east transatlantic record proved to be only the opening chapter of the events in a dramatic week.

Joyon spent 48 hours on board the upturned hull of his 97ft trimaran, as he waited for the salvage operation to start. When Tiger Shark, the tow boat of Miller Marine Services in Port Jefferson, arrived, despite there being three commercial divers on board, Joyon insisted it be he who dived 40m beneath his trimaran in an attempt recover a section of IDEC's broken wingmast.

The upturned trimaran was initially towed to the Montauk, East Hampton, at the entrance to Long Island Sound, where with the help of Christophe Houdet and Jef d'Etiveaud, well known skipper of Robert Miller's Mari Cha giant monohulls, the maxi trimaran went through the delicate operation of being righted.

But then there was the onset of Hurricane Irene...

With the hurricane forecast to strike the eastern seabound of the USA over the weekend, so IDEC was towed 40 miles across to Rhode Island and up into Narragansett Bay, where initially she was moored off the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol. With the onset of hurricane Irene the museum was already on high alert, busy preparing their facility and their collection of more than 100 historic vessels for the powerful winds expected, but still their staff took time to accommodate the maxi-trimaran and her French skipper.

Unfortunately the mooring for IDEC at the museum proved too exposed in the building wind, already gusting to 60 knots, and so at the instigation of solo round the world sailor and local resident Jean-Pierre Mouligne, IDEC was moved once again to a small cove nearby at the Hunt Shipyard in Bristol. And of course on Saturday night, as the hurricane struck (thankfully now degraded to a Tropical Storm), Joyon remained on board IDEC throughout, with 12 mooring lines securing the boat. By Sunday morning the winds had subsided and the worst was over, IDEC saved.

Since the news of IDEC's capsize and the plight of her legendary skipper, so tremendous support has rallied on both sides of the Atlantic including Jef d'Etiveaud, Jean-Pierre Mouligne, Vendee Globe skipper Rich Wilson and Chris Segal and others. A French friend, Laurent Appollon, who Joyon had met briefly when IDEC as moored up in Brooklyn, acted at the go between with the crew of the Tiger Shark.

Even if this adventure ended up quite differently from what he envisioned, Francis Joyon thanks all those who have directly or indirectly participated in this show of solidarity to allow him to save his boat, and in particular the President of IDEC Patrice Lafargue and his assistant Prune Maguet, who instigated the salvage operation. Maguet was regularly in contact with the US Navy and Commander Wagner at the Marine Operations Department, as well as the CROSS Gris Nez in Calais, that co-ordinate rescue operations in international waters.

This week getting IDEC back to France on the deck of a cargo ship is being investigated, although this is no small undertaking in terms of both cost and logistics for a 97ft by 54ft wide maxi-trimaran. As a result Joyon is considering sailing IDEC back to France under jury rig.

"17 metres of the mast were recovered and I have saved enough sails to sail safely," says Joyon. "I still have a staysail, the ORC and a code zero."

Even with a broken boat, Joyon remains an inspiration to us all.

http://www.thedailysail.com/offshore/11/59664/0/francis-joyon-and-hurricane-irene

I don't think you have ANY idea of who this fellow is, and his accomplishments....nor any idea of the French offshore racing accomplishments in pure SAILING vessels.

Lets start here: (BTW, check out this guy's age....55)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Joyon

Then back in 2008 when he drew energy up from way down deep within to save his rig on his first IDEC vessel:
http://www.sail-world.com/USA/More-damage-on-IDEC-as-Joyon-battles-to-finish/40863

http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Joyon-in-mast-climb-to-save-rig/40779

In 2008, http://www.soundingspub.com/component/content/article/112-archives/219592

The French single-hander described the day after Christmas as his “worst day” to that point. Approaching Cape Horn from the west after 34 days at sea, he told of 40-foot seas, 50-knot winds and a “minefield” of icebergs — five in one day — as he negotiated a vast low-pressure system in the Southern Ocean. On Day 49, a mainsail halyard broke. Climbing the 105-foot mast to repair it, he discovered that the anchor fitting for the starboard shroud had come unscrewed, so he had to jury-rig a repair for that and nurse IDEC up the Atlantic to Brest so he wouldn’t pull the shroud fitting loose again.


This guy is tough as nails

In His Words, the lastest capsize

Francis Joyon’s own words on what happened during the night:

“I was in my seat to watch outside the boat. I began to extricate myself meteorologically disturbed area as close to American shores. I had managed to drive about 90 miles on the road in very irregular and highly unstable, with a poorly established wind direction varied between 10 and 30 knots. I went through some very intense storm episodes, marked by violent gusts but it’s at a time when I thought I extract myself from this area that I received as a true giant mushroom that has catapulted the boat on its side. I was sailing under reefed mainsail with three reefs, with the small CRO in the front. The violence of the gale was such that the bed sensor, alarm anti capsize so did not have time to go off I felt the pressure and I shocked the mainsail, then the cart in style. The wind continued to grow very violently and I felt the boat literally catapulted into the air. Within seconds, I was “on the roof.” I found myself under water, as plated in the nets. I tried to m ‘ guide to see how back in the open air. It was night and chaos. In energy, I found myself near a float. I’m not sure how I joined the forward beam and I was able to climb onto the platform. I then joined inside the boat through the flap survival.

.....http://www.challengeandadventure.com/archives/category/skippers-boats-and-records/skippers/francis-joyon

Tabarly was very tough also.

Well said, Kevin.

When you are seeking records you wait for that frontal passage you can surf across the Atlantic.

Do you even know what a jury-rig is?

Some Speed Records

Imagine the sort of speeds you have to sail at to AVERAGE 20kts around the world, non-stop.

http://artofsailing.info/top-fastest-sailing-boats-in-the-world/

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=3205656

21 March, 2010 (14:15) | Sailing news, Sailing records

News came in last night that French maxi-trimaran, “Groupama 3″, bettered by over two days the previous ’round the world non-stop sailing record held by Bruno Peyron on “Orange II” since 2005. These speed records are attempted and sometimes achieved in response to the Jules Verne Trophy.

“Groupama 3″ to keep on sailing non-stop for 48 days, 7 hours and a bit, at an average speed of 19 kts (18.76 kts, to be precise).

Are you talking about vessels that have sailed around the world numerous times in conditions far worst than probaby any ship you have ever been on ???