Damage halts Jules Verne Trophy effort

(January 6, 2025) – After just over 16 days at sea, the crew of Sodebo Ultim 3 ended their attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy today in the Indian Ocean. While sailing between the Kerguelen and Cape Leeuwin, at more than 30 knots, Thomas Coville and his six teammates lost their central rudder.

This was the team’s second attempt this season at setting the fastest time around the world, with this effort beginning December 20.

“There was no shock but we lost the rudder,” noted Coville. “With the crew, we are very transparent and everything is fine for us. We can’t continue in record mode, and we don’t think we should engage in the southern seas without central saffron.”

The record set by Francis Joyon in 2017 was remarkable due to the direct routing through the southern latitudes. Coville was ahead of record time until Kerguelen, but slipped behind Joyon’s pace due to offwind gybing before the rudder breakage.

“We’re at 25 knots and headed all the way north to try and escape a depression. We are heading to a technical stopover in Australia for a replacement. Engaging a world tour in record mode with less principal rudder, is sadly not reasonable.

“The boat is in good overall condition and we managed to handle that well. We built something amazing. The boat was steady and tight We were happy with what we achieved despite the state of the sea that was difficult in the last 24 hours.

“This abandonment is of course a disappointment to all. But he will also train and learn for the future of our team in order to face our upcoming challenges.”

Team updates – Tracker – Boat details

The rules for the Jules Verne Trophy are simple – it is for the fastest time around the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing from the exact line between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and the Lizard Point in Cornwall. It was first won in 1993, with all nine winners as either catamarans or trimarans. The current challenge is to beat the record time of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds set by Francis Joyon and crew on the 31.5m IDEC Sport in 2017.

Record Facts
• Start and finish: a line between Créac’h lighthouse (Isle of Ushant) and Lizard Point (England)
• Course: non-stop around-the-world tour racing without outside assistance via the three Capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn)
• Minimum distance: 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 kilometres)
• Ratification: World Sailing Speed Record Council, www.sailspeedrecords.com
• Time to beat: 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds
• Average speed: 21.96 knots
• Date of current record: January 2017
• Holder: IDEC SPORT, Francis Joyon and a 5-man crew

Split Time References – Full Crew:
Ushant-Equator: 4d 20h 07 ‘(Spindrift 2 in 2019)
Equator-Cape Aiguilles: 6d 08h 55 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Cape Aiguilles-Cape Leeuwin: 4d 09h 32 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Leuuwin-Cape Horn: 9d 08h 46 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)
Cape Horn-Equator: 7d 04h 27 ‘(Banque Populaire V in 2012)
Equator-Ushant: 5d 19h 21 ‘(IDEC Sport in 2017)

Here are the nine that have held the trophy:
2017 – Francis Joyon / IDEC SPORT (31.5m) – 40:23:30:30
2012 – Loïck Peyron / Banque Populaire V (40m) – 45:13:42:53
2010 – Franck Cammas / Groupama 3 (31.5m) – 48:07:44:52
2005 – Bruno Peyron / Orange II (36.8m) – 50:16:20:04
2004 – Olivier De Kersauson / Geronimo (33.8m) – 63:13:59:46
2002 – Bruno Peyron / Orange (32.8m) – 64:08:37:24
1997 – Olivier De Kersauson / Sport-Elec (27.3m) – 71:14:22:08
1994 – Peter Blake, Robin Knox-Johnston / Enza New Zealand (28m) – 74:22:17:22
1993 – Bruno Peyron / Commodore Explorer (28m) – 79:06:15:56