Alongside its partners IDEC Group, CIC, Wipro and Richard Mille, the team of The Famous Project launched the Maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT in Vannes in front of the Multiplast shipyard, which constructed the giant trimaran in2006.
After five months of work, the legendary sailboat, triple winner of the Route du Rhum and holder of the Jules Verne Trophy since 2017, returned to its natural element, its mast, and its sails, and has rejoined its home port of La Trinité-sur-Mer. Captain Alexia Barrier, highly active during the work aboard the Mod70, will now be able to gradually take command of the 31.50-meter giant. A busy summer lies ahead, which Alexia and her team will use to fine-tune the boat while continuing the delicate selection of the crew set to attempt the Jules Verne Trophy record in 2025.
Thus, a new chapter begins for Alexia Barrier, who will now physically take the helm of her ultimate dream: an attempt against the Jules Verne Trophy record with an all-female crew. She has chosen the boat that has held the title since 2017, the Maxi trimaran IDECSPORT, which Francis Joyon and only five crew members led to the pinnacle of ocean records, achieving a time that is now legendary: 40 days, 23 hours, and30 minutes to sail around the planet via the three major capes (Good Hope,Leeuwin, and Horn).
The sailboat, launched in June 2006 under the colors of Groupama, greatly deserved a thorough and detailed inspection.
“We stripped the boat completely bare,” explains Alexia. “Hulls, bulkheads, arms and mast were meticulously inspected for the slightest weakness or signs of aging. All hardware, standing and running rigging were disassembled and checked in the finest detail,” adds Eric Lamy, a former member of the Groupama Sailing Team, who knows the ship perfectly and led the work with eight people. “Everything that needed to be changed was replaced within our budget limits,” continues the sailor from Antibes. “With its new design by Jean-Baptiste Epron, the boat seems to have regained a second youth.”
A new era opens for The Famous Project team and Alexia. Taming the giant and discovering its keys and secrets for her female crew will take time and many sails. Finding the right profiles to accompany her is still the subject of a meticulous recruitment campaign that is not yet complete.
“There is no shortage of female talent in sailing,” Alexia insists. “IDEC SPORT is open to the world and to all female sailors who dare to dream. Our project is NO Limit!”
