Finding the gateway through the Equator

(November 8, 2017; Day 5, 23:30 FR) – The advance held by François Gabart in his bid to set a new single-handed round the world time has slipped further as he is not able to hold a straight course as did record holder Thomas Coville. The skipper of the 30m MACIF trimaran, who is 40.57 nm ahead of the record pace after covering 568.5 nm in the past 24 hours, is dealing with sub 10 knot easterly winds while 430 nm to the north of the Equator.

Only three sailors to date (Francis Joyon, Ellen MacArthur, Thomas Coville) have ever held the record. After his start on November 4, to beat the record of 49 days, 3 hours, 4 minutes and 28 seconds held by Coville since December 25, 2016, Gabart will need to cross the finishing line (between Créac’h lighthouse, in Ouessant (Ushant), and the Lizard Point lighthouse in Cornwall, England) before 13.09 on December 23 (French time, UTC+1).

Team details – Tracker – Facebook