Moored at the Port du Chateau in Brest since October 20, the Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire is ready for his big rendezvous: the Jules Verne Trophy.. As of the 1st November, Pascal Bidegorry and his Team have officially entered the stand-by period, during which weather data will be scrutinized very closely to undertake and beat the referenced time of this circumnavigation around the globe.
All set for departure
The Banque Populaire Team is all set. Strong of their experience and victories on the North-Atlantic crossing, the 24 hours record and lately the trans-Mediterranean record, Pascal Bidegorry, the fourteen men on board and the onshore router, Marcel van Triest, peacefully deal with the beginning of the stand-by period : “We are fully prepared since the Maxi Banque Populaire is moored in Brest. We have now been focusing on the weather and stand ready to seize the slightest opportunity. Marcel van Triest and Juan Villa, our embarked navigator, work together regularly as new weather data fall every six hours. For my part, I make two daily meetings with them in order to get a more accurate visibility. To preserve myself, I however try to be more detached from the presence requirement involved by the stand-by period. Jeremie Beyou is thus in charge of taking over the crew. We adapt the organization based on lessons learned from our previous records. ”
Forced to delay their attempt last year due to the absence of a satisfactory weather window, the skipper concedes that: “Ideally I would like it not to last! I was at the start of the Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo last weekend and I can admit that I felt a bit envious. First the show was beautiful and I really enjoyed seeing all those multihulls sailing, but also because they knew they were leaving at 13h02 on Sunday! The issue with records is that you never know when one leaves. We have a vision for a few days only. The objective for us is to try to live this period the best possible way and to have a simple life outside the stand-by, for those working on land and for our families. ”
The international view
Brian Thompson, who won the Jules Verne Trophy abord Cheyenne in 2004, does not hide neither his willingness to depart. “I am really looking forward to it. To me, the Maxi Banque Populaire is clearly the greatest ocean racing multihull ever built. Because it’s the latest, the biggest one and because it has proved itself by getting the transatlantic and the 24 hour records, which are the benchmark for speed !”
However, based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, the logistic is not the same for the British sailor. “The plan is that 24 hours before a possible departure, the crew is asked to come to Lorient. Then we monitor the weather, prepare everything and then move to Brest before departure. I think we will be going quite soon, but if there is a possibility that we are not going for a long time, then the Team will regularly gather and spend some time together training in Lorient.”
It can be felt that, while it is now time to wait for a favorable weather system, there is a fierce desire to go from the whole Banque Populaire team. Systems and their evolutions will be thoroughly analyzed to give Pascal and his men the opportunity to depart and beat the referenced time established last winter by Franck Cammas and his crew in 48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes and 52 seconds