A maxi-trimaran with multiple lives
IDEC Sport is one of the most decorated maxi-trimarans in the history of offshore sailing.Groupama 3 It later sailed under the colors of Banque Populaire VII, then Lending Club 2, before Francis Joyon acquired it in 2015 and renamed it IDEC Sport.
Designed by VPLP Design in collaboration with Nigel Irens and Benoît Cabaret, built by Multiplast in Vannes, this 29.70 m × 16.50 m trimaran weighs only 11 tonnes thanks to its carbon/Nomex structure. Successive modifications (reinforced helm stations, optimized rudders, increased sail area) kept it at the top for nearly 20 years.
The 2017 Jules Verne Trophy record
On January 26, 2017, after departing Ushant on December 16, 2016, Francis Joyon and his crew — Bernard Stamm, Alex Pella, Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Sébastien Audigane — crossed the finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds. That was more than 4 days under the previous record set in 2012 by Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire V. Fun fact: this same boat (as Banque Populaire VII in 2012) had already helped break the previous record. The crossing was marked by relentless pace: Canary Islands in 48 hours, Equator in 5 days 18 hours, Cape of Good Hope on December 29 with a best day of 872 nautical miles.
2018 Route du Rhum: a duel decided by 7 minutes
In November 2018, Francis Joyon completed the Route du Rhum solo in 7 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds, winning by 7 minutes and 8 seconds over François Gabart on Macif (2015 generation — 9 years newer than IDEC Sport). This epic duel between two generations of trimarans entered the legend of offshore racing.
Why IDEC Sport remained competitive
On a 2006 design, achieving averages above 30 knots over thousands of miles is due to several architectural choices pushed to the limit:
- Asymmetric hull optimized for downwind sailing
- Retractable foils (before the era of full T-foils)
- Oversized sail plan compared to contemporaries
- Continuous refit under IDEC’s sponsorship: structure, appendages, rigging, and interior
Onboard electronics
Skysat equipped IDEC Sport with NKE navigation systems and high-definition satellite imagery from Squid. The latter allows the crew to analyze in real time cloud formations, storms and wind conditions to optimize routing, especially in tricky zones like the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
A new era: The Famous Project
In April 2023, after twenty years of partnership, the Joyon-IDEC collaboration ended (Francis Joyon was 66). In June 2023, the trimaran was entrusted to Alexia Barrier, who launched The Famous Project, an ambitious project aiming for the Jules Verne Trophy with a 100% female crew. The boat relaunched under the name The Famous Project CIC.
In January 2026, The Famous Project CIC completed the crossing: this 20-year-old trimaran remains at the top of the ULTIM class thanks to continuous optimizations. A rare example of longevity in a discipline where equipment is typically obsolete in 5–7 years.
