Sailing Round World record: In the aftermath of Steve Fossett's record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe, it has emerged that the famous Jules Verne Trophy is unlikely to be awarded to the 59-year-old American skipper. A point of principal lies at the heart of the ruling and Fossett is not for changing his position.
To win the Jules Verne Trophy one has to be a member of the Jules Verne organisation - at a joining fee of approximately €25,000 with an annual fee of €12,000. For Fossett, records, not trophies, drive his agenda.
"Although the Jules Verne has a lot of mystique about it, he won't pay the money," Damian Foxall, one of two Irish crew-members on-board told The Irish Times this week. "With names such as Robin Knox-Johnston and Peter Blake, you're really buying into history.
"But the organisation never anticipated Steve Fossett, who is only interested in the record. The situation is a little like boxing when a split occurs and only rejoins later when one boxer wins both titles," he said.
The 13-strong team on the 125-ft catamaran Cheyenne set a record of 58 days and nine hours.
Still chasing hard, but possibly not hard enough, is the rival trimaran Geronimo. Ironically, this French crew is ahead of the previous record - set in 2002 by Bruno Peyron in his catamaran Orange - by over 600 miles and could pick up the Jules Verne, creating a scenario where the second-fastest boat takes the trophy.
Patience prior to the start proved essential after six weeks on stand-by in Plymouth. Timing for the weather systems was critical, according to Foxall.
"The roughest weather we had in the whole trip was on the way to the start line when we had 70 knots. After that, we routed through the convergence zones in the Southern Ocean depressions, and I don't think we had more than 40 knots. The only bad spot was on the approach to Cape Horn, when we had very confused seas and slowing the boat to avoid damage was tricky."
By contrast, Olivier de Kersauson and his 10-man crew on Geronimo had an appalling Pacific crossing marked by deep and powerful depressions, confused and dangerous seas and whole days of fighting against winds of over 50 knots. Even the final approach to the Horn demanded three days of upwind slog, cutting into earlier gains they had made on the 2002 record.
The tri is now facing a difficult Atlantic homeward stage.
"Geronimo is a very good boat and, as a trimaran, well suited to the task," according to Foxall. "The South Atlantic is not looking good for them right now, though they might beat Orange's time - but that's a moot point right now."
For the Kerryman, the Cheyenne record was a double victory. Apart from setting the record, the ghosts of previous attempts were exorcised.
"Of the four crew who had sailed on board before, we all gave ourselves a 50:50 chance on leaving the dock for the start of actually completing the course - and that didn't change until we were back north of the equator," he said.
Fellow crewman Justin Slattery, from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, expressed his relief that they had finished. "The last few days, it just got harder and harder - getting towards the finish yet knowing that breaking more gear was a real possibility.
"There have been 16 attempts over the last four years and we're the first to break the record since Bruno Peyron - the feeling is awesome."
