Groupama 3 crossed the equator this Wednesday morning at 07h 13mn 33s UTC having considerably improved on her own reference time and, most importantly, with a lead of nearly a day and half over Bruno Peyron's record! After around 5 days and 15 hours and 23 minutes, Franck Cammas and his crew are into the Southern hemisphere.

"Since 0200 UTC, Groupama 3 has extracted herself from the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. Her passage through hasn't been easy as Franck Cammas and his crew encountered a handful of stormy squalls and two zones with very light winds. Despite making headway in fits and starts, Franck Cammas and his crew were still able to maintain average speeds in excess of 15 knots. Although the zone to be traversed was rather extensive (250 miles), the giant trimaran hasn't lost any time in relation to the Jules Verne Trophy reference. Indeed, Groupama 3 escaped the Doldrums with a lead of 670 miles over Orange 2 after initially entering the zone with a 660 mile lead! The credit for this impressive efficiency goes to the crew who were able to get the very best out of the boat in the highly variable winds, both in terms of strength (5 to 35 knots) and direction (every point of sail on port tack). The giant trimaran is now making headway upwind in a steady SE'ly tradewind of 18 to 23 knots" explained Sylvain Mondon from Météo France this morning.

Less than six days... "Crossing the equator early this Wednesday 11th November marks the start of the next section, which consists of negotiating the passage around the Saint Helena high. This phase, which is one of the trickiest along the course, will keep Franck Cammas and his crew busy for the next seven to nine days. The latest objective for Groupama 3 then is to get round the Cape of Good Hope as fast as possible and enter the Indian Ocean in as smooth a manner as possible."

Franck Cammas and his nine crew have been in the Southern hemisphere since 7h 13 ' 33'' UTC. As such they have taken just five days fifteen hours and twenty three minutes to reach the equator, that is sixteen fewer hours than during their previous attempt (6d 6h 24'), and above all nearly a day and a half better than the reference time set by Orange 2 in the Jules Verne Trophy (7d 02h 58')... This is an important lead in psychological terms and heralds a good descent towards the Roaring Forties.

See Groupama 3 images : 

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 November 2009 )