Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

JEAN MARIE LIOT

F

renchman François Gabart

has set a new solo round

the world record. Gabart

sailed back into France

almost exactly a year on

from fellow French sailor, omas

Coville who set the new solo round

the world record when he nished

his lap on 25 December 2016.

When Coville sailed back into

Ouessant a full eight days ahead of the

previous solo record, which had stood

since 2008, some questioned just how

long this seemingly unbeatable record

might stand. Now we have the answer;

less than a year!

Having set an incredible pace from his

start at the crack of dawn on 4 November

2017, for a time it looked as though

Gabart might even manage to beat the

outright round the world record of 40

days, 23 hours and 30 minutes set by

Francis Joyon and his crew last year.

Ultimately, however, Gabart’s return up

the Atlantic could not keep up with

Joyon’s pace. Nonetheless his new record

time of 42 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes

• shaving over six days o Coville’s
  record time of 2016 – is very impressive.
  roughout the early part of Gabart’s
  lap he was slowly pulling ahead of
  Coville’s reference time (see table), but it
  was not until his crossing of the Pacic
  Ocean, and in particular the later half,
  that Gabart saw his lead increase
  dramatically. As he passed Tasmania

Gabart was 687 miles (or a little over a

day) ahead of Coville’s time, but by the

time he was rounding Cape Horn, this

has bloomed into a full 1,251 mile lead

(a little over two days).

MODERN PACE

To put into context the incredible pace

these soloists are achieving, many will

remember Ellen MacArthur’s incredible

record-setting journey round the planet

in 2005 on board her trimaran, B&Q

Castorama. at record lap prompted Sir

Robin Knox-Johnston to comment:

“When Francis Joyon beat the record [in

2004] he took three weeks o the old

time and that was mammoth. en I

thought that record would stand for

many, many years and now Ellen has

come in and broken it.” Her pace at the

nish was some 71 days – or around 29

days slower than Gabart’s latest record.

Gabart set the record sailing on board

the VPLP designed Ultim, Macif – his

long term sponsor who also backed his

winning Vendée Globe campaign in

2012-13. e 30m long trimaran was

launched in 2015 and with Gabart

aboard, sailing with Pascal Bidégorry,

Completing 27,850 miles in 42 days makes

his average sailed speed some 27.2 knots

10 Yachts & Yachting February 2018 yachtsandyachting.co.uk

Spotlight_TH_GC.indd 10 18/12/2017 15: