2006-2014 Groupama 3
Groupama 3 was launched on 7 June 2006. She was the transatlantic record holder between 2007 and 2009.
During a first attempt for the Jules Verne Trophy (circumnavigation of the world) in 2008, Groupama 3 capsized off the coast of New-Zealand.
She was repaired in France and went for another attempt in 2009. Damage to the port hull led to the attempt being called off after 11 days, and the boat limped into Cape Town for repairs. She then returned to France
Groupama 3 began her third attempt and on 31 January 2010. On 20 March 2010, she became the fastest boat to sail around the world and set a record of 48 days, 7 hours 44 minutes and 52 seconds, improving on Orange II's performance from 2005 by more than 2 days. [6] She lost the record on 7 January 2012, to Banque Populaire V , a larger trimaran. [7]
In 2010, she was retrofitted for single-handed racing to take part of the transatlantic race Route du Rhum. In November 2010, Groupama 3 won the French single-handed transatlantic race Route du Rhum (between Brittany and Guadeloupe), with Frank Cammas at the helm, in 9 days and 14 hours, averaging 16.14 knots.
2015 – present IDEC Sport
In 2015, French yachtsman Francis Joyon's sponsor IDEC announced that they now financed the boat. [8] Under this new sponsorship the boat was leased for six months to Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of Lending Club. The boat was restored from her shortened-mast single-handed configuration to a full crew configuration and named Lending Club 2. [9] Lending Club 2 set a new cross Channel record and a new trans-Pacific record. [10]
In September 2015 the boat's sponsorship changed to the IDEC Sport. The team set a new circumnavigation record in 2017 and won back the Jules Verne Trophy with a time of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds. [11]
2016 Jules Verne record
Francis Joyon takes possession of the former Groupama 3 on 2 October 2015, after three weeks of work at Multiplast, in Vannes. [12] He chooses an intermediate configuration between the initial power and a reduced rigging for solo races. Closer to the lightness and ergonomics sought alone, less versatile in particular in light winds, Joyon's choices will pay off during his two passages in the southern seas at the end of 2015 then at the end of 2016, with numerous records. With a crew reduced to six people, IDEC Sport presents itself as a challenger to beat the Jules-Verne Trophy, [13] owned by Loïck Peyron since 2011 in 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.
After an attempt in November 2016, with unfavorable weather in the doldrums and the South Atlantic, and a shock that slightly damaged her fin, Joyon set out again on 16 December 2016 to conquer the trophy. He arrived on 26 January 2017 with a new Around the world sailing record in 40 days 23 h 30 min 30 s. [14] During their 2016 attempt for the Jules-Verne Trophy, Francis Joyon and his crew [15] break numerous intermediate records: four have been formalized and are the subject of records duly certified by the WSSRC. [16]
They make a very fast crossing of the southern seas starting with the Indian Ocean, [15] covering 8091,73 miles in 10 days, maintaining an average of 809 miles per day. This episode began ahead of the front of a depression which moved at a speed corresponding to the boat's potential from South America to the Pacific Ocean. During 12 days, the wind remains port tack, blowing constantly at over 30 knots, an ideal configuration for speed records. Top speeds vary between 38 and 44 knots depending on the state of the sea. Due to bad seas, their speed dropped temporarily (29 knots and 700 miles / 24 h) before a new acceleration, pushing them back above the bar of 800 miles traveled daily.
After passing New Zealand and the Antimeridian, sailing port tack 205 degrees longitude (25 degrees West to Antimeridian) in the southern seas, Francis Joyon and his crew ended up jibing in the transition between two depressions, and manage to catch up with the weather system in front of them over the Pacific Ocean, setting off again at more than 30 knots daily average towards Cape Horn.
Francis Joyon rounds Cape Horn, 16 days after the beginning of this ride off of South America, and after a course of nearly 12,000 miles above 30 knots average (730,16 miles / 24 hours over 16 days). He then signs a performance increase of 30 to 40% compared to Loïck Peyron's record 5 years earlier. Leaving the southern seas with a lead of 4 days 06 hours 35 min over Loïck Peyron's previous record, Francis Joyon and his crew regained the equivalent of 2,800 miles on the record during this episode.
The weather conditions around the world allowed them to optimize the course: 26,412 miles covered on the ground, at an average of 26.85 knots, for a theoretical course of 22,461 miles. Banque Populaire V had to cover almost 2600 more miles in 2015 ( 29,002 miles)
