Gabart now halfway to new solo record

Published on November 26th, 2017

(November 26, 2017; Day 23, 20:00 FR) – Having entered the Pacific Ocean yesterday, François Gabart is enjoying a comfortable sea and 20 to 25 knots in his attempt to set a new singlehanded round the world record. The skipper of the 30m MACIF trimaran, who has averaged 27.1 knots since beginning the attempt on November 4, and has now reached the halfway point of the course, is 715.15 nm ahead of the record pace after covering 737.0 nm in the past 24 hours.

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).