IDEC on the rocks

Joyon recovered, but a disastrous end for his record breaking trimaran

After passing the Lizard and setting a new record for the solo crossing of the North Atlantic from New York yesterday, Francis Joyon swung the bows of his trimaran towards his homeport of La Trinite-sur-Mer. However as he was two thirds of the way home last night Joyon fell asleep, no doubt exhausted following the intense physical demands and fatigue from his record attempt, and clearly he overslept as some time between midnight and 0100 IDEC sailed on to the rocks off the Pointe de Penmarch near Quimper on Brittany west coast.

Joyon was recovered by a RIB attached to the Fire Brigade in Quimper who then took him directly to hospital for a check-up. Joyon was found to be in good shape, unlike his trimaran which has been dismasted and smashed to pieces against the rocks. Joyon believes she cannot be be recovered.

"The boat is on the rocks and I fear that it is impossible to save it," says Joyon. "We are currently trying, with a motorboat of the SNSM to release it from the rocks, but I fear that it will end up in 1,000 pieces, because of the swell which makes rescuing her very difficult."

This disaster may have been averted had Joyon taken crew on board at the Lizard to help him deliver the boat back to the Lizard, but as one close friend commented: "Of course he is used to doing things by himself. He prepared the boat by himself, he painted the boat by himself, he went to New York by himself, he took the boat to the start line by himself - that is the way he is." However this in no way questions Joyon's seamanship - there was nothing remarkable about Joyon delivering his boat up and down this coast, something he had done on many previous occasions. Only this time he was exceedingly tired as he negotiated a treacherous part of the Breton coast.

Fortunately Joyon is safe and unhurt, but this is a terrible end for a boat that by rights should have been put into a museum for the incredible achievements she had made during her lifetime. 19 years old the IDEC trimaran must have one of the highest mileages of any race boat and was rapidly reaching the end of her life.

A design by Marc van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prevost, she was originally built in 1986 for Olivier de Kersauson who campaigned her on the French circuit in events such as the Round Europe Race and the Route du Rhum. However shortly before the first Vendee Globe, de Kersauson set a new record in her for sailing singlehanded around the world.

During the 1990s the boat was solely used by de Kersauson to make attempts on the fully crewed non-stop around the world record. In 1993 the boat, named Charal and much modified, made it's first attempt alongside ENZA New Zealand and Bruno Peyron's Commodore Explorer. For de Kersauson his voyage was cut short when approaching South Africa Charal hit a growler forcing her to retire.

For the following season the boat was heavily modified - extended to her present length of 27m (89ft) with new floats and a slightly taller mast. For the 1994 attempt the boat was renamed Lyonnaise des Eaux Dumez and this time made it round - but in a slower time than ENZA who set a new record in her. After other attempts on the record, including several aborted ones, it was finally in 1997 that the dogmatic de Kersauson succeeded in setting a new Jules Verne Trophy record time aboard the boat.

This decade and with de Kersauson sailing his latest maxi-trimaran, Geronimo, Joyon acquired the trimaran. After carrying out minor modifications, such as fitting roller furling headsails (as well as painting the boat himself) Joyon set out in November 2003 to break the singlehanded non-stop round the world record. At that point the reference time was Michel Desjoyeaux's 2000-1 Vendee Globe time of 93 days 3 hours and 57 minutes. In an exceptional performance Joyon demolished the time to 72 days 22 hours 54 minutes and 22 seconds, a time only marginally outside of the time de Kersauson had managed fully crewed in the boat seven years previously.

With the long standing solo west to east transatlantic record now added to her impressive CV, it could be argued that IDEC being smashed up against the rocks rather than being mothballed and put in a museum or used for taking tourists out for a spin around a Caribbean island, is a more appropriate end to this great historic boat and her dramatic career.