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.In 2004 Steve Fossett sailing the catamaran Cheyenne set a circumnavigation record of 58 days 9 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds. Although Fossett sailed a similar course leaving and arriving at Brest (his starting line was the Stiff lighthouse not Créac'h), France, he did not pay the fee to qualify for the Jules Verne Trophy. However, he did try to pay the fee to be awarded the Trophy a week before arriving which was declined by the organizer as against the spirit of the race, and thus was not awarded the prize. Fossett's record was acknowledged by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, while the Jules Verne trophy was awarded to Geronimo for its five-days slower time. 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 (albeit by railroad and steamboat) in 80 days. The current holder is Groupama 3 skippered by Franck Cammas in 48 days 7 hours and 45 minutes.

Foreword

• The original idea for this competition has been......
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