The Idec Sport trimaran, chosen for this event, should be up to the challenge, as it was aboard this same boat that Francis Joyon and his crew set the record in 2017 – still to be broken – of 40 days and 23 hours. This multihull, launched almost 20 years ago, is not a foiler, but she is renowned for her reliability, which is obviously an advantage in the context of this project, which sets the bar extremely high – after all, it involves sailing for 40 days at an average speed of over 23 knots!
Alexia's goal, supported by highly experienced and trained sailors like Dee Cafari, Deborah Blair, Rebecca Gmür Hornell, Annemieke Bes, Stacey Jackson, Molly LaPointe, and Tamara Echegoyen, is first and foremost to be the first all-female crew to set a reference time… but if Francis's record is broken, the story will be all the more remarkable!
The Jules Verne Trophy course starts and finishes between the Créac'h lighthouse on the island of Ouessant, France, and the Lizard Point lighthouse at the southernmost tip of England. The great circle route totals 21,760 nautical miles, passing successively by the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, and finally Cape Horn. In reality, the trimaran is expected to cover closer to 25,000 nautical miles, or even more, taking into account weather conditions and other tacks.
The entire Multihulls World team wishes Alexia and her crew fair winds – see you in 40 days?
