Crew of the French trimaran sets off on a battle for the Jules Verne Trophy
The Jules Verne Trophy is one of the most famous and prestigious yachting competitions in the world. In 1992, the Tour du Monde en 80 Jours association that summoned the top sailors of that time was founded. The name of the award is a reference to the novel of the famous writer Around the World in Eighty Days in which the hero traverses the planet in 80 days. The Jules Verne Trophy was the subject of a public order of the visual arts delegation with the American artist Tom Shannon.
The Trophy is the prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization. The Trophy’s starting point is defined by an imaginary line between the lighthouse on Ouessant Island, France, and the Lizard Lighthouse, UK. The boats for the Jules Verne Trophy have to circumnavigate the world leaving the capes of Good Hope and Horn to port and cross the starting line in the opposite direction.
While the trophy is open to any type of boat with no restrictions and crew size is not restricted either, the boats must solely be propelled by natural forces of the wind and of the crew.
The current record holder is skipper Francis Joyon who took 40 days 23 hours and 30 minutes to sail round the world in 2017.
Yesterday, on January 10, the crew of the trimaran called the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and designed by the French naval architect Guillaume Verdier, set off on a battle to beat the world record set by Joyon.
The crew is comprised of experienced yachtsmen – Franck Cammas, who called by French journalists “Mozart of sailing races”, and Charles Caudrelier, the yacht skipper known for his perfection to squeeze out the best of the boat’s and team’s abilities.
To win the trophy, the trimaran must be back to the start line by February 20 at 2.00 am.
In Turkmenistan, the fans of sailing can show their skills on the Caspian Sea in the Avaza resort zone. In June 2013, the country’s first yacht club “Yelken” was opened there. There is also a sailing school at the club, which is aimed to train successful young Turkmen sailing masters.
