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. On 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, 3 hours, 4 minutes and 28 seconds) by 6 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.
Download the video of MACIF crossing the line
During the round the world, 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).
Questioned on Friday, François Gabart told us, when talking about the record he was about to 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)
The key news of the round the world record
Date of departure: Saturday 4 November, at 10:05 (French time, UTC+1)
Ouessant-Equator passage time: 05 d 20 h 45 min
Ouessant-Good Hope passage time: 11 d 20 h 10 min (new reference time outright)
Ouessant-Cape Agulhas passage time: 11 d 22 h 20 min (new reference time outright)
Ouessant-Cape Leeuwin passage time: 19 d 14 h 10 min (new reference time outright)
Ouessant-Cape Horn passage time: 29 d 03 h 15 min (new reference time outright)
Ouessant-Equator return: 36 d 01 h and 30 min (new reference time outright)
Equator-Equator passage time: 30 d 04 h and 45 min (new single-handed record)
Cape Horn-Equator passage time: 06 d 22 h and 15 min (new reference time outright)
24-hour distance record: 851 miles (14/11/2017)
