François Gabart smashes the single-handed round the world record
by Trimaran MACIF 17 Dec 2017 14:46 UTC
17 December 2017
First images of the trimaran MACIF and Francois Gabart as they arrive in Brest after the record time for a solo circumnavigation © Jean-Marie Liot
François Gabart, who left Ouessant on 4 November 10:05 (UTC+1), crossed the finishing line of his solo round the world, located between Lizard Point and Ouessant, at 02:45 (French time, UTC+1) this 17 December.
For his first attempt, the MACIF trimaran skipper establishes a new single-handed round the world record of 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds, improving the time taken by Thomas Coville on 25 December 2016 (49 days, three hours, four minutes and 28 seconds) by six days, 10 hours, 23 minutes and 53 seconds. His time is the second time outright in a round the world, crewed and single-handed combined.
Only IDEC Sport (Francis Joyon) succeeded in achieving a better time in the Jules Verne Trophy (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds). The MACIF trimaran will have covered a true distance of 27,859.7 miles, with a true average over this course of 27.2 knots.
During the round the world, François Gabart left a lasting impression on everyone by beating the reference times one by one on his way. The most significant ones were the distance sailed single-handed in 24 hours (851 miles between 13 and 14 November, against 784 miles, which was his own personal best), but also with crew and single-handed combined, on the Ouessant-Cape of Good Hope section (12 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes, the Pacific Ocean crossing (Tasmania to Cape Horn in 7 days, 15 hours and 15 minutes) and Cape Horn-equator (6 days, 22 hours and 15 minutes).
BBC Interview with Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor, Mark Jardine:
Questioned on Friday, François Gabart told us, when talking about the record he was about beat, "I never dreamed of a time like this. On paper, with the weather and with what I am capable of doing with this boat, it was possible to beat the record, but in the best scenarios only by one or two days. It's quite extraordinary." The new holder of the round the world record is expected this morning in Brest. The MACIF trimaran will be moored at the Malbert quay.
* subject to confirmation by the WSSRC