Spindrift 2: Decisions Ahead >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News: Providing sailing news for sailors

(December 4, 2015; Day 13) – After entering the Indian Ocean last night at 04:04 GMT, only 12 minutes after the record holder Banque Populaire V, the 40m maxi-trimaran Spindrift 2, has begun

its first few hours of sailing in the mythical icy seas of the south. The elements are not so bitter for the moment (with the water at 6 degrees Celsius, the outside temperature at 8, and

the wind blowing around 18-20 knots), but the conditions to come promise to be more challenging for the crew and more tricky for the strategy. It will be necessary to refine the trajectory

while also taking into account the presence of icebergs at the latitude of the Kerguelen Islands and the arrival of a tropical depression descending rapidly from Madagascar. The choice of

route will be crucial to maintaining their lead over the record time, that tonight has risen to over 70 miles. So, a bit of breathing space for the sailors, wrapped up from head to foot for

now, who continue to benefit from the low-pressure system that they have been ‘surfing’ from Argentina. AS OF 2100 UTC Distance to finish: 15794.9 nm Distance for 24 hours: 722.0 nm Distance

ahead of record: 193.33 nm [embedded content] _Source: Spindrift 2_ Team website – Tracker – Facebook BACKGROUND: Spindrift 2 is seeking to claim the Jules Verne Trophy, a prize for the

fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, starting and finishing between the Le Créac’h Lighthouse off the tip of Brittany and

the Lizard Point in Cornwall. Yann Guichard (FRA), skippering the 40 VPLP-designed trimaran, crossed the start line on November 22 at 04:01:58 GMT, and his 14-man team must return by

17:43:51 UTC on January 6, 2016 to beat the current record set January 2012 by Loïck Peyron and his crew on Banque Populaire 5 of 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds. Spindrift 2

was originally launched in 2008 as Banque Populaire 5. MORE: Also starting on November 22 (at 02:02:22 GMT) for an attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy was Francis Joyon (FRA), skippering the

31.5m VPLP-designed trimaran IDEC SPORT. The 6-person team must return by 15:44:15 GMT on January 6, 2016 to beat the record. Here’s a tracker showing both teams:

http://volodiaja.net/Tracking/ SPINDRIFT 2 CREW: Yann Guichard, skipper Dona Bertarelli, helmsman-trimmer Sébastien Audigane, helmsman-trimmer Antoine Carraz, helmsman-trimmer Thierry Duprey

du Vorsent, helmsman-trimmer Christophe Espagnon, helmsman-bowman Jacques Guichard, helmsman-trimmer Erwan Israël, navigator Loïc Le Mignon, helmsman-trimmer Sébastien Marsset, bowman

François Morvan, helmsman-trimmer Xavier Revil, helmsman-trimmer Yann Riou, media reporter Thomas Rouxel, helmsman-bowman Jean-Yves Bernot, onshore router