The 2006 VPLP maxi-trimaran that won the Jules Verne Trophy twice
IDEC Sport was launched on June 7, 2006 under the name of Groupama 3, a 31.50 m maxi-trimaran designed by VPLP (Marc Van Peteghem, Vincent Lauriot-Prévost) and built by Multiplast in Vannes. The boat won the Jules Verne Trophy in 2010 with Franck Cammas, then again in 2017 with Francis Joyon — two victories with two different skippers, twenty years after its launch.
Design and construction
- LOA: 31.50 m
- Beam: 22.50 m
- Displacement: 18 t
- Crew: up to 10
- Designers: VPLP Design
- Builder: Multiplast, Vannes — carbon/epoxy/honeycomb composite
VPLP carried over Groupama 3’s design choices from the ORMA 60 Groupama 2: three rudders, daggerboards, a wide and open cockpit, and a sail plan deliberately moderate for the boat’s size — a trimaran designed to be handled by ten crew, not a giant in length. The boat later received several configurations depending on use: shortened mast at 33 m and pedal-operated winches for Cammas’ solo in 2010, then restored to full crew configuration under Lending Club 2 (2015), followed by an intermediate lightened setup for Joyon’s campaigns.
Five lives, five sponsors
- 2006–2013: Groupama 3 (Franck Cammas)
- 2013–2014: Banque Populaire VII (Loïck Peyron)
- 2015: Lending Club 2 (Renaud Laplanche, briefly)
- 2015–2023: IDEC Sport (Francis Joyon)
- 2023–: The Famous Project CIC (Alexia Barrier)
Boat achievements
- Jules Verne Trophy 2010: winner with Cammas and his crew in 48 days 07 hours 44 minutes 52 seconds — first sub-50-day passage in the trophy’s history.
- Route du Rhum 2010: winner in Ultime class with Cammas (solo) in 9 days 14 hours.
- Route du Rhum 2014: winner with Loïck Peyron under Banque Populaire VII in 7 days 15 hours 08 minutes 32 seconds — course record.
- Jules Verne Trophy 2017: winner with Joyon and a crew of six (Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Sébastien Audigane) in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds, averaging 26.85 knots over 26,412 nautical miles. More than 4 days 14 hours under the previous record held by Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire V (Maxi Banque Pop V, 2012). Best day: 894 nautical miles on December 29, 2016.
- Route du Rhum 2018: winner in Ultime class with Joyon in 7 days 14 hours 21 minutes 47 seconds, beating François Gabart (Macif) by 7 minutes 8 seconds at the finish — Macif being a 2015-generation Ultim. New course record.
- Route du Thé 2020: Hong Kong–London crewed with Joyon in 31 days 23 hours 36 minutes 46 seconds, ahead of Giovanni Soldini on Maserati.
- Jules Verne Trophy 2025–2026: finish on January 26, 2026 under The Famous Project CIC (Alexia Barrier, crew of eight) in 57 days 22 hours 20 minutes — first non-stop circumnavigation by an all-female crew, 6th fastest time in the trophy’s history on a twenty-year-old boat.
