The Mauritian solo sailor
Francis Joyon will start in October 2019 with "La Mauricienne", the famous spice route linking Port-Louis (in Brittany) to Port-Louis (Mauritius). He will try to beat his own record achieved 10 years ago on 10,300 theoretical miles at an average speed of 16.40 knots, on a route with various complex weather systems. He will go alone on this "difficult road", as he explains.
"I really like the crewed sailing I recently discovered during my Jules Verne Trophies, but I had set a time of 26 days, 4 hours and 13 minutes solo and I still like the idea of improving the reference times established over a given distance. Sailing alone on board always brings me as much pleasure and satisfaction. This journey is motivating. It is the one of a world tour to the tip of South Africa. The rise of the Indian Ocean is more unknown to modern sailors. I experienced it 10 years ago, and I had bavé?! Fortunately, my crew will join me in Mauritius for the second part of the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR."
Two new records
Francis Joyon will be joined by a small crew in Mauritius to tackle two new records, towards Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), then Shenzhen in China. Bertrand Delesne, boat Captain, will be accompanied by the préparateurs Corentin Joyon, Antoine Blouet, but also by the faithful Christophe Houdet, and Bernard Stamm, if he can. Finally, Arnaud Boissières could join the crew.
The Tea Route
The skipper of the maxi trimaran Ide Sport will try to improve the Tea Route record, held since February 2018 by Giovanni Soldini. He covered the 13,000 miles between Hong Kong and London in 36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes, at an average speed of 17 knots, aboard a Multi 70, a 21.33 metre trimaran.
"Giovanni made a remarkable performance against Lionel's time on a 33 metre catamaran. 36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes to reach the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Londres?! The bar is haute?!" concludes Francis.
The same configuration as the Route du Rhum 2018
The team removed the bins and replaced the famous bicycle coupled to the winches.
"We keep looking for simplicity and lightness in the systems over and over again. The devil is in the details, and we are looking for the strongest and lightest materials possible, especially in the running rigging. We have above all sought reliability, given the immense distances to be covered."
The 4 Records at the IDEC SPORT ASIAN TOUR 2019-2020 Program:
ACT 1: La Mauricienne: Port Louis (Brittany) - Port Louis (Mauritius) Record to beat: 26 days, 4 hours and 13 mn
ACT 2: Mauritius - Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam): first reference time to be established with crew
ACT 3: Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) - Shenzhen (China): first reference time to be established with crew
ACT 4: The Tea Route: Hong Kong - London: Record to beat: 36 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes.
