At first light tomorrow morning, Thursday, the maxi trimaran Groupama 3 will be leaving her home port of Lorient bound for Brest. From here she will set off on her latest attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy as soon as a favourable weather window presents itself.
As was the case during their last attempt, Franck Cammas and his nine crew have opted to set off from Brest to make for the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy off Ushant: “Closer to Ushant and easier to reach, especially in NW’ly winds, Brest is ideally situated for the Jules Verne Trophy. We were able to witness that last November so we’ll be happy to be back there, especially as we were given a great welcome” says the skipper of Groupama 3.
For the delivery to Brest, the crew of the Jules Verne Trophy will be complete and identical to that of the last attempt, which was cut short in the Southern Atlantic, following damage to the section linking the aft beam and the port float. As such, American Stan Honey will be taking care of the navigation, the watch leaders will be Franck Cammas, Fred Le Peutrec and Stève Ravussin, the helmsmen Lionel Lemonchois, Loïc Le Mignon and Thomas Coville and finally the bowmen Ronan Le Goff, Jacques Caraës and Bruno Jeanjean.
“It’s nice to be back together again. Those who made the return delivery trip from South Africa have had the time to rest and spend some quality time with their families. As far as Groupama 3 is concerned, she’s all ready to go. The food for the round the world is stowed away onboard and all that remains is to load the fresh supplies in Brest at the last minute” continues Franck Cammas.
The only thing missing is the exact timing of when the weather conditions will be favourable to set off: “Obviously we’re studying the weather forecast with Sylvain Mondon. There’s nothing very clear for the time being, but we’re ready to go. For now we’re still on a code red” concludes the skipper of Groupama 3.