IDEC maxi tri renamed

Maxi-trimaran now in the hands of China's leading offshore sailor Guo Chuan

Guo Chuan, the Chinese skipper who holds the world record for sailing a Class 40 solo non-stop around the world, and who recently acquired Francis Joyon's IDEC trimaran, today officially renamed the boat Qingdao China, after his birthplace and China's leading sailing city.

Chuan took over the 100ft maxi trimaran two weeks ago in La Trinite-sur-Mer from her former skipper Francis Joyon, who aboard this Irens-Cabaret design still holds four world records including world’s fastest solo non-stop circumnavigation record, which he estabished with a time of 57 days in February 2008.

This will be the third Qingdao yacht that Guo Chuan has skippered. In November 2012 he set sail in his second, an Akilaria Class 40 monohull, non-stop around the world singlehanded, starting and finishing in Qingdao in a time of 138 days.

Guo Chuan’s first Qingdao boat was an Olympic messenger in 2004 to 2005, sailing along the Chinese coast to promote the city’s commissioning as the sailing venue of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Guo Chuan says: “I owe my sailing achievements to the support from Qingdao city and I am proud to name this trimaran after my birthplace. My mission is to achieve a new world record for Qingdao with this trimaran.”

Francis Joyon, who has been training with Guo Chuan over the past three weeks, says: “With the Qingdao boat becoming ever bigger, so is Guo Chuan’s ambition to his next sailing. I am glad to see his skills are quickly growing to match that."

A congratulatory message from the city government of Qingdao, Shandong Province in eastern China, indicates the city’s pride of becoming the country’s leading city of sailing reads: “Qingdao City hosted the sailing events of the 2008 Olympic Games. The naming of China Qingdao is not only a great continuation of the Olympic legacy but also the city’s contribution to China’s sailing adventures.”