23rd March 2010
Groupama 3 wins Jules Verne Trophy
48 days 07 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds!
Sponsored by leading European insurance and financial services group, Groupama since 1997, the giant trimaran, Groupama 3, skippered by Franck Cammas and his crew have won the highly coveted Jules Verne Trophy. The ten men sailed around the globe at an average of 18.76 knots along the optimum course (24.6 knots in relation to the route they actually took), beating the reference time set by Orange 2 in 2005 by 2 days 08 hours 35 minutes.
Franck Cammas and his crew-members crossed the finish line off the Créac'h lighthouse at Ushant (Finistère) at 21h40'45" UTC Saturday 20th March. The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht and there are no restrictions on the size of the crew. The award is a tribute to the famous Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.
Franck Cammas and the Groupama team broke 4 consecutive World records in 2007 and have now achieved the round the world record under sail via the three Capes.
In its 48 days 07 hours 44 minutes at sea, Groupama 3 certainly had her highs and lows, as she wasn't always ahead of the reference time set by Bruno Peyron and his crew in 2005.
The giant trimaran had a deficit of just over 500 miles in relation to Orange 2 and was only able to beat the Jules Verne Trophy record thanks to a dazzling final sprint from the Equator. At that stage they had a deficit of one day and two hours, but by devouring the North Atlantic in 6 days 10 h 35', Groupama 3 smashed the reference time over this section of the course.
Commenting today François-Xavier Boisseau, CEO at Groupama’s UK subsidiary, Groupama Insurances commented: "To win the Jules Verne Trophy in such an impressive manner is the icing on the cake for Franck and his team – and is extremely well deserved. Groupama Group has supported Franck and the team for over 12 years and we have built this success together. We wish them many congratulations on this fantastic achievement and hopefully many more records in the future."
Notes to editors
Established over 100 years ago in the French farming community, Groupama is now a major European insurance and banking group with over 39,000 employees worldwide, serving over 16 million customers in 14 countries.
Here in the UK, Groupama Insurances is a highly respected general insurer, offering motor, home and health insurance and an innovative range of commercial products for small to medium sized businesses.
The company employs almost 800 staff in 6 centres and is an accredited 'Investor in People' Gold Standard.
Award winning
Groupama Insurances' specialist UK subsidiary, won the Best for Customer Service Award in the Health Insurance Awards and Best Group PMI Provider in the Cover Excellence Awards in 2010 and 2009.
Groupama's Broker Trading Team won the Manchester CII Underwriting Initiative of the Year Award in 2008. Groupama Insurances was also winner of the 'Claims Initiative of the Year' Award in the 2007 British Insurance Awards.
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