Jules Verne Trophy

The Trophy, displayed at the National Maritime Museum, Paris.

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 organisation 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.

Rules

Foreword

• 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.
• 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.

Route

• The Jules Verne Trophy's starting point is defined by an imaginary line between the Créac'h lighthouse on Ouessant (Ushant) Island, France, and the Lizard Lighthouse, UK. Circumnavigate the world leaving the capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn to port. Cross the starting line in the opposite direction.
• The starting line is open as of the official ratification of the trophy's rules by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

Rules

• Propulsion of the boat must solely be by natural forces of the wind and of the crew.
• The Jules Verne trophy is open to any type of boat with no restrictions.
• The circumnavigation must be completed non-stop and with no physical outside assistance.

History

Current holder

Record progression

Year	Sailor	Nationality	Yacht	Time
Current record
2005	Bruno Peyron	France	Orange II	50 days 16 hours 20 minutes and 4 seconds[1]
Previous records
2004	Steve Fossett	United States	Cheyenne	58 days 9 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds[2]
2004	Olivier de Kersauson	France	Geronimo	63 days and 14 hours.
2002	Bruno Peyron	France	Orange	64 days 8 hours 37 minutes 24 seconds.
1997	Olivier de Kersauson	France	Sport Elec	71 days 14 hours 22 minutes 8 seconds.
1995	Robin Knox-Johnston Peter Blake	United Kingdom  New Zealand	Enza New Zealand	74 days 22 hours 17 minutes 22 seconds.
1994	Bruno Peyron	France	Explorer	79 days 6 hours 15 minutes 56 seconds.

Failed attempts

All boats were catamarans apart from Sport-Elec, ex-Lyonnaise des Eaux, ex-Charal, Groupama 3 and Geronimo, which were trimarans.

See also

• The Race (yachting race)

References