Groupama 3 due to finish Transatlantic crossing

8:44 AM Sun 2 Aug 2009 GMT

'Groupama 3 crew on their way out of New York harbour' Groupama 3 - Franck Cammas &copy

Groupama 3 is set to cross the finish line of her transatlantic record attempt at around 1400 UT this Sunday: Lizard Point was just 225 miles away at 0600 UT and the fifteen knots or so of SW'ly breeze is likely to stay with them into the English Channel.

As such the Transatlantic reference time (4d 03h 57' 54') is set to be considerably improved upon this Sunday by Franck Cammas and his nine crew. However, it is likely that the new record will be awarded to Banque Populaire V which could cross the finish line around an hour before Groupama 3. Indeed, positioned directly behind her rival, the current record holder no longer holds a solution to make up her deficit.

Naturally this takes nothing away from the incredible performance by Franck Cammas and his crew, who have achieved some exceptional average speeds over this course spanning close to 2,880 miles; a distance which will ultimately be devoured in under four days! Covering 857.5 miles in 24 hours amounts to an average speed bordering on 32 knots for this Transatlantic, which has given the crew a chance to get to know their steed inside out and certainly augurs well for Groupama 3's Jules Verne record attempt this winter.

On this single tack from New York to Lizard Point, Groupama 3 has shown herself to be extremely quick but less powerful than her rival, which is nine metres longer. This crossing will have also enabled the optimisation work on the boat to be validated, as well as being a chance to push the trimaran to the limit. On crossing the finish line at around 1400 UT, Franck Cammas and his nine crew will have gained nearly ten hours on the record, which they have been the holder of since July 2007!

Franck Cammas/Groupama website: click here

by Cammas-Groupama 3 media

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Groupama 3 due to finish Transatlantic crossing

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