Flat seas, sunshine and rising temperatures: such are the sailing conditions aboard Groupama 3; the perfect ambiance for any navigator suffice to say. However, they aren't good enough for the ten sailors, who are tackling their 34th day at sea in their bid to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy. Indeed the crew are dreaming of hearing the hull whistling through the water, the vibrating carbon, the spray slapping against their faces and the miles gained in relation to their virtual rival.

"You've caught us just at the right time as the sailing conditions have dramatically changed this very instant. It's a really interesting phenomenon and one that is well known and great to see. It's an oceanic transition of the marine current, which equates to a temperature change from 6° to 12° within a distance of just 40 or 50 miles. We've also had a very fast variation in wind strength and sea state! The sea is pretty flat, the wind has kicked in again and we're once again making the kind of speeds Groupama 3 is familiar with. This boat is absolutely magical and we have a fantastic early morning light and an extraordinary sunrise! I love moments like these, it's really enjoyable!" confided Thomas Coville during the daily radio link-up with Groupama's Jules Verne HQ. 

Heading up to the NE, the maxi trimaran is nevertheless managing to stave off the effects of a less than favourable forecast thanks to an outstanding human and technical performance. She is performing well technically because Groupama 3 has been designed to be versatile enough to perform well when traversing the Atlantic, as much in downwind conditions as upwind, as well as in light and strong breezes alike. In human terms the crew is performing well because one of the great strengths of this conquest relates to the calibre and complementary nature of the mature, passionate crew.

"Stève and I went into the port float yesterday to inspect the boat and check that her structure was intact. It was and there was no visible damage on the float at all. We were keeping a close eye on her throughout our Pacific crossing. We've got no damage to the boat, the sails are as they were at the start, just a little more worn, but whether we're referring to the appendages, the hull, the mast or the electronics, we've nothing to lament! As such we're constantly able to sail the boat at 100%! That must be satisfying for the shore crew, who spent months and even years making the boat reliable! They can be proud of themselves! The great quality of Franck is that he has succeeded in gathering around him a fantastic crew and has hunted down our navigator, Stan Honey, from the Anglo-Saxon world. I really salute his open-mindedness because he's been extremely visionary!"  

Rounding Cape Horn for the seventh time, both in solo and crewed configuration, Thomas isn't of the view that the most difficult section of the course is in Groupama 3's wake:

"Cape Horn, even for those who are the most blasé about it, is always a very fine and great moment. An important transition above all else, it's also a focal point, especially when it's so long in coming as it was this time! Right now we're entering another process of the course, which is about becoming a race against the clock and carrying this project all the way through to the end and beating the record. I have a very fond memory of my passage last year, but it was very different to this. Here our joy and our emotion stayed onboard, whilst a year ago I shared them with my shore crew. Right now the race against the clock has begun and getting a new record is at the forefront of our minds! We have the humility to tell ourselves that Orange's ascent was pretty good. However Groupama is a fast boat in all conditions and we still hold the right cards to win this Jules Verne. Nevertheless, as time ticks on, the time that goes by, as it does in an hourglass, will become obsessive, and that will be hard to deal with" concludes Thomas.