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TO THE START LINE - EPISODE ONE
Getting to the start line of a project like this is a victory within itself” - Alexia Barrier
There are only six boats in the world that fall under the same category as IDEC SPORT, the 100-foot maxi trimaran that holds the current world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the planet - also known as the iconic Jules Verne Trophy.
The Jules Verne Trophy was created in the early 1990s with the original record dating back to 1993 of 79 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes and 56 seconds set by French sailor Bruno Peyron* onboard his catamaran Commodore Explorer - which was at the time, the biggest of its generation.
Fast forward two decades and the current record stands at 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds and was established in 2017 by another French sailor, Francis Joyon, and his crew onboard IDEC SPORT. In the eight years that have since past, many great sailors and teams have tried and failed to beat it.
That’s 40 days, sailing 26,412 nautical miles around the world at an average speed of 26.9 knots. No stopping, no assistance, just one small crew and one massive trimaran.
Getting to the start line of the Jules Verne Trophy is, as Alexia Barrier will tell you: “a victory within itself”. Once the mission has been established, there’s the small matter of the multi-million pound budget needed, acquiring one of the only six maxi trimarans that exist in the world, the precise crew selection and many, many miles of training.
It’s no small feat.
‘The Famous Project’ (as it was originally named) was created back in 2022 with the ambition of becoming the first female team to successfully sail around the world non-stop and unassisted in a Jules Verne Trophy record attempt, onboard the record-holding 100-foot maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT in the winter of 2025 with an all-female crew. This will be the first all-female record attempt in 27 years, since Tracy Edwards MBE in 1998 with her catamaran Royal & Sun Alliance.
In the summer of 2024, due to what can only be described as unforeseen shifts at a corporate level for partners, the original sponsorship structure for the project collapsed. Just months after a very public launch, the project was in a precarious position with an unstable future and Alexia faced a big decision. Pause the project and fund it herself to keep the dream alive but lose valuable, potentially critical training time… or shut it down - which she will also tell you “was never an option”.
It’s actually not uncommon in professional offshore sailing to bet your life savings against a campaign, but to any normal person it might seem almost… well - insane. Such is the grip of this sport and the mentality of those who participate.
“I emptied my bank account, all my savings, I took out loans, financially it was a dire situation,” Alexia explains to the camera as she records the introduction for her new YouTube series To the start line. “The pressure was immense, I couldn’t pay my staff, I couldn’t pay my bills. But let me tell you - the idea of giving up hurt a lot more than the idea of going bankrupt. At one point I even had bailiffs at the door demanding payments - to give you an idea of how tight things really were.”
So what did this mean for the team’s Jules Verne Trophy record attempt?
The reduced budget meant the project was alive, but everything was paused. With limited public presence the team worked hard behind the scenes to bring it together. In the months following the sudden commercial changes, Alexia and the remaining team partners regrouped. There was no silver bullet as such, just a shared belief in the vision of making history and a focus on finding solutions. Conversations were reopened, plans were reworked, and every possible avenue was explored.
After months of work, ‘The Famous Project’ has become The Famous Project CIC, after the French bank stepped up to become title partner, European technology company Sopra Steria has come onboard as a major partner - and so, piece by piece the project has come back to life.
“I know many fans and followers of the project want to know why we’ve been quiet and I want to be honest about how getting to the start line of something this big is a victory within itself, especially when it’s something that so few women have done before. It has taken belief and support from all our brilliant partners - especially CIC, IDEC SPORT, Sopra Steria and Richard Mille, and my team who stuck by me when things were hard - for that I’m grateful. Now it’s time for the next phase of this journey.”
As we write this, the team is completing their first training onboard the maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT in Brest, Brittany, The Famous Project CIC‘s new base… A critical milestone as preparations ramp up for the Jules Verne Trophy attempt in the winter of 2025.
Alexia and the team’s journey is documented in the new immersive documentary series To the start line. The trailer is available to watch now.
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*Peyron went on to break his own record a second and third time in 2002 and 2005 respectively.