Groupama 3 is now on stand-by to attempt the North Atlantic record. Holder of this record since 23 July 2007 – with a time of 4 days, 3 hours and 57 minutes – the maxi trimaran skippered by Franck Cammas has been given until 18 August to find its weather window.

In Gateway Marina, at the entrance to the port of New York, Groupama Team’s shore crew has finished preparing the trimaran. With the engine removed, the racing sails in position and the hull inspected and cleaned, everything is now ready.

“Since 2007 and the five records we’ve broken, the team has become familiar with the complexities of this exercise. We are answerable to the boat and nothing else. You just have to be patient and also very rigorous with the weather analysis as, ultimately, it’s the weather that decides. In 2007, we beat Orange’s record by over four hours and, in so doing, beat the 24-hour distance record with 794 nautical miles at an average of 33.08 knots. We can naturally do better than that. However, even though we know Groupama 3 better than we did two years ago, it’s the weather which will make the difference,” explained Franck Cammas.

The ten crew on Groupama 3:

? Franck Cammas, skipper
? Stève Ravussin, watch leader
? Frédéric Le Peutrec, watch leader
? Loïc Le Mignon, helm
? Lionel Lemonchois, helm
? Bernard Stamm, helm
? Ronan Le Goff, bowman
? Olivier Mainguy, bowman
? Bruno Jeanjean, bowman
? Stan Honey, navigator

Groupama 3’s five records:

? The Discovery Route on 1st May 2007 at an average of 21.7 knots
? Miami New York on 4th June 2007 at an average of 27 knots
? The North Atlantic on 23rd July 2007 at an average of 29.26 knots
? The 24 hour on 20th July 2007 at an average of 33.08 knots
? The Mediterranean Crossing on 16th May 2009 at an average of 26.72 knots