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Groupama 3 Rollin’ On

At the halfway mark, Groupama 3 is rolling along in the Southern Ocean, reeling off 700-mile days and slowly increasing their lead against the Jules Verne Trophy reference time. After 25 days at sea, skipper Franck Cammas and his nine-man crew — which includes the Bay Area’s Stan Honey at the nav station — have, as of this writing, built up a 371-mile lead over the ’05 progress of current record holder, Bruno Peyron’s Orange 2. Cammas’ 105-ft trimamaran is holding up well, and things are looking good as they start their transit of the Pacific Ocean.

"Bruno had a great run on Orange in the Pacific," Honey relayed via email Wednesday afternoon. "Our hope is to maintain the modest lead that we earned in the Indian Ocean and try to preserve it across the Pacific. The weather looks good for us for the first couple of days with nice reaching, then okay for a couple of days gybing downwind. I’m not sure about the last couple of days. It could get complicated and windy for us, depending on the timing of the movements of a Southern Ocean Low."

It wasn’t far from this point when the boat suffered a broken float that caused it to capsize in its first Jules Verne attempt in ’08. But since being reworked and strengthened, it’s been smooth sailing according to Honey.

"Groupama 3 is doing great," Honey wrote. "Everything is perfect. She is a delightful boat to sail. I am writing this on a rare fine day in the Southern Ocean. It is brisk in a southwesterly with blue sky and puffy clouds just after a clearing cold front. We are sailing along at 30- to 35-knots. As with most passages in the Southern Ocean, days like this are the exception. Most of the sailing is done in overcast, grey, northwesterlies."

After a rip-roaring trip to the equator, Groupama 3 was mired in a massive super-high formed when the St. Helena High merged with another, blanketing practically the entire ocean, which kept Honey glued to the nav station.

Although he normally spends more time at the nav station, the Stan Honey got some nice flat-water helm time while transiting the South Atlantic.

Groupama 3
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"I have had some tough spells to find time to sleep," he wrote. "The South Atlantic was a nightmare — not even sleeping, losing one thousand miles to Orange in light air. It was also tricky at the beginning of the Indian Ocean finding a way to catch our front. The Horn always keeps your attention, not only the approach and rounding but also the transition into the northbound strategy for the South Atlantic."

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