Groupama 3 prepare for the Transmed

Franck Cammas' crew about to tackle one of the fastest passages in the record book

With a small break next week when he will be competing at the iShares Cup event in Venice, Franck Cammas' and the crew of his maxi-trimaran Groupama 3 are to go on standby from 6 May until 2 May in Marseille ready to have a crack at breaking the TransMed record to Carthage (Hannibal, etc) in Tunisia.

The time to beat for the 458 mile course is 17 hours 56 minutes 33 seconds, the present record set by skipper Bruno Peyron aboard his maxi-catamaran Orange II on 25 September 2004 at an average speed of 25.53 knots.

The team are at present on stand-by awaiting an appropriate weather window - ideally a well-established Mistral that extends beyond the southern tip of Sardinia. The northerly Mistral can bring violent, gusty winds in excess of 40 knots. While they can be assured of a fast start, crossing the Med to Tunisia can mean that the weather is uncertain for the latter part of the course between Sardinia and the north African coast. For example it is possible that they could be becalmed over the last 30 miles between Cape Blanc and Cape Carthage.

"Since we left Lorient on 17 March, we've sailed nearly 8,000 miles aboard Groupama 3," commented Cammas. "But the crew knows the best well and we are ready. To be as fast as possible, we will sail with seven on board instead of the usual ten. It only remains for us to hope for a good Mistral. This is a really nice record and is where I started sailing more than 20 years ago!"

The starting line for the TransMed record is abeam of the Pomégues lighthouse (43° 15.7N 005° 17.4'E), on the Friuli islands close to the entrance to Marseilles harbour. The shortest route to the Gulf of Tunis is leaving Corsica and Sardinia to starboard.

The finish line is by the lighthouse through the Ras Quartajamah on Cape Carthage, near Sidi Bou Said (36° 52.3N 10° 20.9'E).

Boat manager Fréd Le Peutrec, describes the present state of the boat: "The trimaran is now in record configuration, with the maximum amount of superfluous weight removed: engine, some sails, cooking gear, etc ... It is docked at the port of Estaque to the west of Marseille.

"As for the crew of Groupama 3, we are all waiting at home. The only important thing is to remain contactable by email or mobile phone to be warned of the current code for our departure! Code green - everyone should be in the area, ready to go. In fact, the most active in this period of waiting is Sylvain Mondon from Météo France, who consult the weather files for the best window to leave in! "

The crew of Groupama 3 for the TransMed
1 - Franck Cammas (Skipper)
2 - Frédéric Le Peutrec (Helmsman)
3 - Stève Ravussin (Helmsman)
or Lionel Lemonchois (Helmsman)
4 - Loïc Le Mignon (Helmsman)
5 - Ronan Le Goff (No. 1)
6 - Jacques Caraës (No. 1)
7 - Bruno Jeanjean (No. 1)
Ashore: Sylvain Mondon (Router)

Founded by the Phoenicians in 814 BC, Carthage was for nearly four centuries, the dominant power in the Mediterranean waters, particularly in the west from Gibraltar to Sicily. But confrontation with the Romans in the three Punic wars ultimately resulted in the destruction of the city in 146BC after four years of siege. On its ruins, Julius Caesar rebuilt a city that became the capital of Africa, before being conquered by the Vandals (in 439 AD), and then taken over by the Byzantines (533), then by the Arabs (698).

A record was born:

This is to celebrate the trading route between Europe and Africa this sailing record was born, originally inaugurated by François Boucher on the maxi-catamaran Saab Turboin 1987. Then the crew of Serge Madec tackled this new course two years later on the formidable Jet Services V, when for the first time the record fell below 24 hours. After their experiences on the 1990 Route du Rhum, Laurent Bourgnon and Florence Arthaud made near simultaneous attempts on the record in 1991 aboard their ORMA 60 trimarans: Bourgnon's RMO made itin 22 hours, but Arthaud's Route du Rhum winner, Pierre 1er, beat their time by just 45 seconds!

The record then stood for the next 11 years until the advent of the G-Class maxi-multihulls. And so it was that American, the late Steve Fossett and his maxi-catamaran PlayStation reduced the record down to 18 hours 46 minutes 48 seconds ... Finally Orange II will further improve the time by 50 minutes. Orange 2's average speed for the passage was 25.53 knots, making it one of the fastest averages for any passage record - after the Atlantic record ( Groupama 3 - 29.26 knots), Miami-New York ( Groupama 3 - 27 knots) and Cowes-Dinard ( Maiden 2 - 25.6 knots)