November 30, 2019
Zhuillon and not seen this
The record attempt by the famous French skipper Francis Gouillon and four crew members is about to set the IDEC SPORT max trimaran a world record in the distance from the town of Port Louis on the island of Mauritius to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
To the finish in the largest Vietnamese city, the IDEC SPORT team left (at 12.00 Moscow time on Saturday) 806 nautical miles. In the first half of this journey, Zhuillon and Co. once managed to cover almost the same number – 745 miles (an average of 31.5 knots per hour) in one day! But now the situation is different: over the past 24 hours the team has covered only 179 miles (7.5 knots).
The crew, of course, hopes that it will be possible to increase speed, but it is clear that record-breaking indicators can no longer be expected. Therefore, the 63-year-old Zhuillon, being safe, predicts that IDEC SPORT will finish in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday, December 3. Well, that is unlikely. In fact – of course, earlier.
But even if the trimaran arrives at the finish line on Tuesday, it will still be much faster than planned (16 or 16 and a half days were allotted according to the plan). And now only the 10th day has begun since the start in Port Louis.
A few hours ago, IDEC SPORT passed the Sound of the Sound between the islands of Java and Sumatra and entered the wide Strait of Karimat between the islands of Belitung and Kalimantan. The conditions are still the same: the oncoming current of 2–3 knots, the wind is very weak, and also the oncoming and terrible heat. Add to this a smog hanging over the sea: a forest burns on islands and islets, of which there are many in the strait.
But Zhuillon and not seen that. In general, the flight is normal.
Race Tracker at –
https://trimaran-idec.geovoile.com/portlouis_hochiminh/2019/tracker/?lg=en
169 November 30, 2019 # 9723
Chief Editor
