The standby period for the maxi-trimaran Sails of Change has come to an end: Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard will attempt to break the Trophée Jules Verne record by the end of 2022.
On 1 November 2021, Dona Bertarelli, Yann Guichard and the team of the maxi-trimaran Sails of Change started the standby for the fourth attempt to break the record in the Jules Verne Trophy. Since that day, the correct weather window to leave their moorings has never been found. Today, Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard announce the end of the standby period for Spindrift and their plans to attempt the feat again later this year.
Jules Verne Trophy, the strategy to beat the record
The main challenge for the maxi-trimaran is to make the journey from Ushant Island to the Equator within the record time of 4 days 19 hours 57 minutes, set by the same team in 2019. The boat and crew should then be able to round the Cape of Good Hope in less than 12 days to match the previous record time. With this goal in mind, Yann Guichard (skipper), Benjamin Schwartz (navigator) and Jean-Yves Bernot (shore meteorologist) have been carefully studying the weather conditions since 1 November 2021, precisely in an attempt to identify the perfect weather window to meet the two required sequences. Unfortunately, throughout this long period, the ideal weather scenario never presented itself.
In light of this situation, the team decided in early January to extend the standby period until 31 January. During this period, the weather situation remained unchanged and the forecast for the beginning of February is not optimistic.
Jean-Yves Bernot also points out that a delayed entry into the Deep South is not advisable: “The southern summer is gradually coming to an end. The sailing conditions in this area are becoming increasingly complicated with cold weather, gales and very rough seas. These are conditions in which the risk of damage increases, and it is more difficult to maintain the high average speed required to break the record”.
In this context, Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard have decided to cancel the team’s standby for the Jules Verne Trophy record.
The new attempt in winter 2022/2023
Yann Guichard expressed his disappointment, especially in the face of the remarkable work on optimising Sails of Change done by the team over the past two years. “I really appreciate that the whole team has been available and ready over the last three months, especially the sailors, who have kept their motivation high at all times. We are lucky to have a fantastic team and a boat that was designed for the Jules Verne Trophy. That’s why Dona and I are happy to announce that Spindrift will attempt the round-the-world record again at the end of this year,” said the skipper.
Dona Bertarelli added: “We are about to reveal our team’s sporting programme for next year. We want to continue with all our projects to be the flagship of the 30×30 campaign, which aims to protect 30% of our planet by 2030. Our aim is to raise public and institutional awareness of other commitments that governments around the world must make. At the same time, we are expanding our efforts together with students through the Spindrift for Schools programme, which aims to raise awareness among young people.”
(Jules Verne Trophy, Sails of Change will attempt the record again at the end of the year – barchemagazine.com – February 2022)
