[Garnalennet] finale sprint naar Brest ingezet, in 60 dagen alleen rond de wereld haalbaar!

[niels tempel]

Brons: Scuttlebutte Europe

JOYON HEADING TOWARDS BREST
The route to Brest now appears to be open. Feeling rather less worried, 
Francis is going to be concentrating now on the only job that really 
matters for him - his route strategy between the Azores high and the 
deep North Atlantic low. This is crucial in order to reach the finishing 
line for his single-handed round the world record attempt as quickly as 
possible with the element of caution built in.

Taking advantage of a (relative) calm in the weather and a cleaner 
swell, yesterday Francis went back up the 32-metre mast of his 
maxi-trimaran, IDEC, for the fourth time in five days. After an hour and 
a half of work balanced at the top in his climbing harness, he came back 
down, visibly pleased with the state of what he saw and the repair that 
was carried out on the weakened anchor point for his starboard shroud.

Right in the middle of the transition zone on the edge of the Azores 
high, Francis has continued with the inspection of everything on board 
his trimaran, which he himself said was beginning to look a bit tired. 
Under gennaker and mainsail permanently with one reef, IDEC is playing 
her final hand before the final run towards Brest. At the beginning of 
the afternoon, Joyon gybed to the west, in order to avoid an area of 
calms. On the port tack, he is looking for some stronger winds before 
hoisting more sail on the starboard tack for the final sprint towards 
Brest. A new area of deep low pressure is currently located to his north 
west. By hopping on to its southern edge, IDEC will pick up some strong 
SW'lies, which will be favourable in his home run to reach the tip of 
Brittany. "They are forecasting 50-knot winds for the worst of the low," 
explained an unperturbed Francis Joyon. "I will need to get in the right 
place to avoid the worst of the blo! w. It's clear I'm going to get 
30-35 knot winds in any case." No regrets therefore about losing the 
first reef. Sailing downwind with the swell in the right direction, IDEC 
could well offer us a final run in line with the performance already 
achieved since the start in Brest just 54 days ago...

Niels Tempel