Free Republic

On rounding Cape Horn at 1830 UTC this Thursday 4th March, Franck Cammas and his men have retained a lead of 175 miles over the reference time, which equates to 8 hours 55 minutes. However, the beginning of this final stage of the round the world will be complicated for the giant trimaran to negotiate, at least for the first few hours of this Atlantic ascent.

The maxi trimaran has snatched its first record during the Jules Verne Trophy. Taking just 8 days 17 hours and 39 minutes to traverse the Indian Ocean, the maxi trimaran Groupama 3, skippered by Franck Cammas, has taken the record held by Orange 2 since 2005.

Groupama 3 continues its race in the middle of Indian Ocean. The trimaran is no more than 200 miles behind the reference time of the Jules Verne Trophy.