On her second attempt, the Maxi Banque Populaire V has entered the record books by taking the Jules Verne Trophy after 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes and 53 seconds at sea. Skipper Loïck Peyron and his crew have just covered the 29,002 miles of round-the-world sailing at an average speed of 26.51 knots.
The 40-foot trimaran crossed the starting line between Ushant and Lizard Point on 22 November last year, aiming to beat the previous record of 48 days 7 hours 44 minutes and 52 seconds that had stood since March 2010 by Franck Cammas and Groupama 3.
Propelled by a northerly wind of 30 knots from the start, the crew had left the Canary Islands behind after only two days at sea. After passing through the notorious doldrums, Maxi Banque Populaire V entered the southern hemisphere a week after departure and, by the time she passed the Cape of Good Hope, less than twelve days after starting, had a lead of 2364 miles.
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After a month of racing against the clock, the crew rounded Cape Horn on 23 December and sprinted back towards the equator and the northern hemisphere, sailing to the west of Azores before crossing the finish line at 23 :14.53 local time.
Antonio Calce, CEO of Corum, declared, “Well done to Loïck and his team for this great record. I would like to thank them for having taken Corum with them aboard the Maxi BanquePopulaire V for this great human and sporting adventure. It is the first time in the history of the Trophée Jules Verne that a watch brand has partnered a world record attempt and given the result, it was quite a success! We can safely wager that the accompanying horological rhythm helped the team through all their trials during the last 45 days and gave time an even sharper edge.”
In its role as official timekeeper, Corum offered each team member a dedicated watch in the shape of an Admiral’s Cup Seafender 48 Chrono Centro, personalised with their names. The model bears the inscription “2011 Trophée Jules Verne” on its dial, while the back of the piece is engraved with the outline of the route.
Skipper Loïck Peyron said, “It is not only 45 days at sea that we have just done, but decades of work, and years of commitment from Banque Populaire into sailing. We must also pay tribute to Pascal Bidégorry who designed this boat, to Hubert Desjoyeaux who built her and sadly passed away recently, and to the whole team of course. We had this great opportunity to rest on each other. The confidence we had one in the other makes us paradoxically rested. Surprisingly, this race is not the most tiring. All records are made to be broken and this one will be one day. If there is a boat that can beat it, it is this one!”
