Jules Verne Trophy


The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew provided the vessel has registered with the organization and paid an entry fee. A vessel holding the Jules Verne trophy will not necessarily hold the absolute round the world record. The trophy was first awarded to the first yacht which sailed around the world in less than 80 days. The name of the award is a reference to the Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days in which Phileas Fogg traverses the planet in 80 days. The current holder is IDEC Sport skippered by Francis Joyon in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds.

Route

The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the challenger who breaks the previous Jules Verne record of the round the world voyage under sail. The winner holds the trophy until such time as his/her record has been bettered. The boats must solely be propelled by natural forces of the wind and of the crew, but the trophy is open to any type of boat with no restrictions. Crew size is not restricted either.
The circumnavigation must be completed non-stop and with no physical outside assistance, although on-shore weather routing is allowed. The challengers must respect certain safety rules.

History

The original idea for this competition has been attributed to Yves Le Cornec in 1985. The rules were defined in 1990. A committee was put in place to guarantee respect of the rules and fairplay. This committee included Peter Blake, Florence Arthaud, Jean François Coste, Yvon Fauconnier, Gabrie Guilly, Robin Knox-Johnston, Titouan Lamazou, Yves Le Cornec, Bruno Peyron, Olivier de Kersauson, and Didier Ragot.
While the current holder of the trophy, Francis Joyon, also holds the around the world sailing record, this has not always been the case. In 2004 Steve Fossett broke the world record with the catamaran Cheyenne but was not awarded the trophy. According to reports, the trophy organizers requested a higher entrance fee from Fossett than from the other competitors, the difference which he refused to pay. The winner of the trophy that year was Olivier de Kersauson on Geronimo, with a time which was five days slower than Fossett's world record.

Records

YearSkipperYachtTypeTime
2017 Francis JoyonIDEC SportTrimaran40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds
2012 Loïck PeyronBanque Populaire VTrimaran45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds
2010 Franck CammasGroupama 3Trimaran48 days 7 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds
2005 Bruno PeyronOrange IICatamaran50 days 16 hours 20 minutes 4 seconds
2004 Olivier de KersausonGeronimoTrimaran63 days 13 hours 59 minutes 46 seconds
2002 Bruno PeyronOrangeCatamaran64 days 8 hours 37 minutes 24 seconds
1997 Olivier de KersausonSport ElecTrimaran71 days 14 hours 22 minutes 8 seconds
1994 Robin Knox-Johnston
Peter Blake
ENZA New ZealandCatamaran74 days 22 hours 17 minutes 22 seconds
1993 Bruno PeyronExplorerCatamaran79 days 6 hours 15 minutes 56 seconds

SkipperDateEquatorGood
Hope
Cape
Agulhas
Cape
Leeuwin
TasmaniaAnti
méridian
Cape HornEquator
return
Ushant
Francis Joyon20165 j 18 h 59 min12 j 19 h 28 min12 j 21 h 22 min17 j 06 h 59 min R18 j 18 h 31 min R20 j 07 h 04 min R26 j 15 h 45 min R35 j 04 h 09 min R40 j 23 h 30 min R
Loïck Peyron20115 j 14 h 55 min11 j 21 h 48 min R11 j 23 h 49 min R17 j 23 h 57 min20 j 07 h 11 min22 j 11 h 34 min30 j 22 h 19 min38 j 02 h 46 min45 j 13 h 42 min
Yann Guichard20154 j 21 h 29 min R11 j 22 h 04 min12 j 00 h 02 min18 j 11 h 25 min20 j 04 h 37 min22 j 07 h 43 min30 j 04 h 07 min39 j 13 h 31 min47 j 10 h 59 min
Francis Joyon20155 j 05 h 01 min13 j 05 h 11 min13 j 09 h 15 min18 j 20 h 37 min20 j 08 h 18 min22 j 09 h 48 min31 j 01 h 47 min40 j 14 h 53 min47 j 14 h 47 min
Franck Cammas20095 j 15 h 23 min14 j 13 h 31 min14 j 15 h 48 min21 j 14 h 22 min22 j 20 h 27 min25 j 07 h 36 min32 j 04 h 34 min41 j 21 h 09 min48 j 07 h 44 min
Bruno Peyron20057 j 02 h 56 min14 j 05 h 21 min14 j 08 h 19 min21 j 13 h23 j 19 h 23 min25 j 21 h 33 min32 j 13 h 29 min40 j 19 h 05 min50 j 16 h 20 min
O. de Kersauson20036 j 11 h 26 min16 j 14 h 35 min26 j 04 h 53 min31 j 22 h 53 min41 j 16 h 27 min53 j 09 h 37 min68 j 01 h 58 min
Bruno Peyron20027 j 22 h18 j 18 h 40 min29 j 07 h 22 min34 j 09 h 20 min42 j 02 h 52 min53 j 04 h 49 min64 j 08 h 37 min

SkipperDateUshantEquator
Good Hope
Good Hope
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Equator
Equator
Ushant
Francis Joyon20165 j 18 h 59 min7 j 00 h 29 min4 j 11 h 31 min9 j 08 h 46 min8 j 12 h 24 min5 j 19 h 21 min
Loïck Peyron20115 j 14 h 55 min6 j 06 h 53 min6 j 02 h 09 min12 j 22 h 22 min7 j 04 h 27 min7 j 10 h 58 min
Yann Guichard20154 j 21 h 29 min7 j 00 h 35 min6 j 13 h 21 min12 j 06 h 03 min9 j 09 h 24 min7 j 21 h 28 min
Francis Joyon20155 j 05 h 01 min8 j 04 h 10 min5 j 15 h 26 min12 j 05 h 10 min9 j 13 h 06 min6 j 23 h 56 min
Franck Cammas20095 j 15 h 23 min7 j 02 h 23 min7 j 00 h 51 min10 j 14 h 12 min9 j 16 h 35 min6 j 10 h 44 min
Bruno Peyron20057 j 02 h 56 min7 j 05 h 23 min7 j 07 h 39 min12 j 00 h 29 min8 j 05 h 36 min9 j 21 h 15 min
O. de Kersauson20036 j 11 h 26 min
Bruno Peyron20027 j 22 h 00 min11 j 01 h 57 min11 j 03 h 48 min

SkipperDateGood Hope
Cape Horn
Equator
Equator
Equator
Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Ushant
Indian Ocean
WSSRC
Pacific Ocean
WSSRC
Francis Joyon201613 j 20 h 13 min29 j 09 h 10 min20 j 20 h 46 min14 j 07 h 45 min5 j 21 h 09 min7 j 21 h 14 min
Loïck Peyron201119 j 00 h 31 min32 j 11 h 51 min25 j 07 h 23 min14 j 15 h 25 min8 j 07 h 23 min10 j 15 h 07 min
Yann Guichard201518 j 06 h 03 min34 j 08 h 02 min25 j 06 h 38 min17 j 06 h 54 min8 j 04 h 459 j 23 h 30 min
Francis Joyon201517 j 20 h 36 min35 j 13 h 52 min26 j 00 h 46 min16 j 13 h 02 min7 j 00 h 0010 j 23 h 10 min
Franck Cammas200917 j 15 h 03 min36 j 02 h 03 min26 j 09 h 27 min16 j 03 h 19 min8 j 17 h 39 min8 j 18 h 41 min
Bruno Peyron200518 j 08 h 08 min33 j 16 h 06 min25 j 10 h 33 min18 j 02 h 39 min9 j 11 h 04 min8 j 18 h 08 min
O. de Kersauson200325 j 01 h 52 min
Bruno Peyron200223 j 08 h 12 min22 j 05 h 45 min

Failed record attempts

YearSkipperYachtTypeNotes
2019 :fr:Yann Guichard|Yann GuichardSpindrift 2
formerly Banque Populaire V
TrimaranRudder problem, about 50 miles West of Porto, Portugal on December 4, 2019 after 23 hours from departure.
2019 :fr:Yann Guichard|Yann GuichardSpindrift 2
formerly Banque Populaire V
TrimaranBroken starboard rudder, Southwest of Cape Leewin on February 1, 2019.
2016 Francis JoyonIDEC 3
formerly Banque Populaire VII and Groupama 3
TrimaranTurned around after one week due to weather window did not evolve as forecasted
2015 Francis JoyonIDEC 3
formerly Banque Populaire VII and Groupama 3
Trimaran47 days 14 hours 47 minutes, record not broken, crossed the finish line on January 8, 2016
2015 :fr:Yann Guichard|Yann Guichard
Dona Bertarelli
Spindrift 2
formerly Banque Populaire V
Trimaran47 days 10 hours 59 minutes, record not broken, crossed the finish line on January 8, 2016
2011 Pascal BidégorryBanque Populaire VTrimaranDamaged centerboard, west of the Cape of Good Hope
2009 Franck CammasGroupama 3Trimaran
Broken aft beam bulkhead, South Africa
2008 Franck CammasGroupama 3TrimaranLoss of leeward float leading to capsize, New Zealand
2004 Bruno PeyronOrange IICatamaranDamaged starboard hull, Cap Verde islands
2004 Bruno PeyronOrange IICatamaranDamaged starboard crashbox, Spain
2004 Olivier de KersausonGeronimoTrimaranDamaged gennaker, North Atlantic
2003 Olivier de KersausonGeronimoTrimaranCircumnavigation achieved, record not broken
2003 Ellen MacArthurKingfisher 2
CatamaranBroken mast, South-East Kerguelen Islands
2002 Olivier de KersausonGeronimoTrimaranDamaged rudder, Brasil
2002 Bruno PeyronOrange
CatamaranDamaged mast, Ouessant
1998 Tracy EdwardsRoyal et SunAlliance
CatamaranBroken mast, Southern seas
1996 Olivier de KersausonSport-ElecTrimaranExcessive delay
1995 Olivier de KersausonSport-Elec
TrimaranExtreme weather
1994 Olivier de KersausonLyonnaise des Eaux
TrimaranCircumnavigation achieved, record not broken
1993 Peter Blake
Robin Knox-Johnston
ENZA New ZealandCatamaranDamaged hull, Indian Ocean
1993 Olivier de KersausonCharalTrimaranDamaged outrigger hull, South of Cape Town

The Trophy

The "Trophy Jules Verne" was the subject of a public order of the visual arts delegation with the American artist Tom Shannon and is patroned by the French Ministry of Culture.
The work is a floating hull on a magnetic field, much as an anchorage for a ship. All dimensions have rigorous symbolic meaning. The midship beam of the hull corresponds to the diameter of the Earth, the ray of each end is proportional to that of the moon and the radius of the curvature of the frames is that of the sun. The competitors of the Trophy Jules Verne race around the Earth against time, with only the sun and the moon as companions and time keepers.
The sculpture is placed on a cast aluminium base, on which the names of the sailors having won the Trophy are engraved. The Musée national de la Marine in Paris hosts and maintains the Trophy. Each winner receives a miniature of the Trophy, magnetized like the original one.
When a record is broken, an official ceremony is held for the previous record holders to hand over the trophy to the new record holders, who are given the hull and must place it in its magnetic field mooring.