Thomas Coville completes solo round the World record attempt

1:42 PM Sat 17 Jan 2009 GMT

'Thomas Colville crossed the finish line on his solo round the world record attempt aboard multihull Sodeb'O'

Thomas Coville crossed the finish line on his solo round the world record attempt aboard a multihull today, off the Petit Minou light in Brest, Saturday 17 January. Coville completed the circumnavigation of the globe in 59 days, 20 hours, 47 minutes and 43 seconds - the 4th best outright time around the globe.

The sailor and his Maxi Trimaran Sodeb'O thus completed their circumnavigation of the globe in 59 days, 20 hours, 47 minutes and 43 seconds. He is the third sailor after Francis Joyon and Ellen MacArthur to have successfully sailed around the world without stopovers. Each of them have paid tribute to the skipper of Sodeb'O and his performance.

Alone aboard a demanding 32 metre long boat, constantly pushing back the limits of extreme fatigue, Thomas Coville racked up the fourth best outright time around the globe, behind the crews of Bruno Peyron (2005) and Steve Fossett (2004) and the solo sailor Francis Joyon (2008).

Though he was unable to outdo Francis Joyon's performance in terms of speed, during his circumnavigation of the globe, Thomas Coville beat his own 24 hour distance record on 7 December 2008: 628.5 miles (1,164 km) devoured at 26.2 knots (48.5 km/hr)!

Last year Francis sailed 26,400 miles at an average speed of 19.11 knots. Thomas Coville's course was certainly longer (28,125 miles) but it was also faster (19.60 knots)

At the harbour entrance in Brest, the three metre waves of the Iroise left the way clear for a good swell. Under one reef mainsail and solent, downwind in a 15-20 knot SW'ly, the Maxi Trimaran returned to the point she set out from on 18th November 2008. Thomas crossed the finish line standing on the bow of the central hull, his hands in his pockets.

Francis Joyon:

'Bravo Thomas. Although you weren't victorious the record only just escaped you and, most importantly, you managed to overcome all the difficulties and all the risks, which form part of the charm of a solo round the world aboard a multihull. That in itself is a real success: welcome to the non-stop round the world multihull fanatic club to which there are just three members for now with Ellen!

I followed your voyage without ever doubting that you could make up your deficit, because the detour you had to make on the descent of the Atlantic would be compensated by the headwinds that I encountered on the climb up that stretch of ocean. It's exciting to see that on such a long voyage, you can compensate for the favourable moments of weather and things all balance out in the end!'

Ellen MacArthur:

'Only three people in the world know the brutality and stress of a round the world without stopovers aboard a multihull. One of them, a certain Mr Thomas Coville, has just arrived in Brest. For the majority of those who will celebrate his arrival, the feat will inspire admiration and respect, and I shall doubtless be the most devout of these admirers. I've had experience of this event, I've lived it. but Thomas did it so much faster than me, on a more demanding boat, and he was battling against a reference time that was a lot more difficult to reach! Thomas, words cannot express what you've just experienced, but you know. and you know that I know. I have the utmost respect for what you've just achieved. You're a hero.'

by Kate Jennings

Newsfeed supplied by

#News #Sailing #Fanatic

Thomas Coville completes solo round the World record attempt

Sports/News

Weather Forecasts & Live Reports

Buy & Sell/Classifieds