More than two months after its capsize off New Zealand, the maxi trimaran Groupama 3 is back in the yard in which it was created, after being transported by cargo ship across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as far as Lorient. On the programme, no less than six months work in order to be ready to make another attempt at the Jules Verne Trophy.

Unloaded on Saturday in the commercial port of Lorient, Groupama 3 was immediately towed by an SNSM (French lifeboat service) launch, Sieur Champlain, bound for Vannes and the Multiplast yard. Directed by team manager Stephane Guilbaud and Yann Merour, the five hour trip went smoothly, as did her lift onto the hard this Monday morning.

With its port float amputated, the maxi trimaran thus begins a long session of reconstruction work: “Our objective is to be ready to attack the Jules Verne Trophy at the end of the year. Determining a specific date is difficult today as we don’t yet have all the necessary pieces of the jigsaw for reconstruction. The architects, Groupama’s design office and the engineers working on her are gathering this information together as we speak, but nothing is yet set in stone” said Franck Cammas.

On the programme at the yard: construction of a new port float, repair of the starboard float with an extra foam reinforcement between the two cross beams, grafting of those same beams and final repair of the damaged zones on the deck and the beams.

At the same time the Lorima yard will be manufacturing a new mast, identical to the previous one, and the Incidences sail loft in La Rochelle will be cutting her a new set of sails.

The team are aiming to have another go at the Jules Verne record later this year.

Keep up with the progress here