Banque Pop back in action

Final preparations underway before Pascal Bidegorry's maxi-tri goes on Jules Verne stand-by

Pascal Bidegorry's maxi-trimaran Banque Populaire V is expected to be relaunched in Lorient today. This follows seven weeks back in her build-shed undergoing a final refit prior to her Jules Verne Trophy attempt over this winter. From now until the beginning of November when they will go on stand-by, Bidegorry's team will undergo final preparations.

Ronan Lucas, Director of the Banque Populaire team, looked back at the work carried out: “The greatest part of the refit was a complete check up of the boat, with a view to optimising her for Trophée Jules Verne. Thus to optimise performance we reduced Banque Populaire V's total weight by 300kg.”

Having sailed two transatlantic passages, including their extraordinary New York to Lizard and 24 hour records, this threw up a number of improvements that could be made to the crew's life on board.

“We realised that there were things we could improve, thus we have changed some small details which will have their importance on the Trophy Jules Verne. We have stuck some foam inside the boat in order to avoid condensation and moisture when the weather is cold. We have also installed tubes to dry boots”.

And so, after barely a year in water, Banque Populaire V is thus to take on her ultimate sailing record: the Trophy Jules Verne. For Pascal Bidégorry, this a long awaited moment: “We dismantled the basic boat in order to ensure the structural reliability of the platform. After one year of sailing, it is good news that we have not detected any problems. These checks represented a major effort and I want to thank Kevin Escoffier, Philibert Chenais and the whole of the Banque Populaire team for their work. Never has the boat been so thoroughly checked. Now I am in a hurry to go sailing again!"