Thomas Coville aborts record attempt

Published on January 30th, 2014

(January 30, 2014; Day 13) – French skipper Thomas Coville and the 101-foot trimaran Sodebo have aborted the pursuit to beat the solo around the world record set of Francis Joyon (FRA) with IDEC of 57d 13h 34m 6s in January 2008. After slowed by the St. Helena High in the South Atlantic, Coville was concerned that weather conditions ahead would direct his routing to 60 degrees south, which is about 300 miles north of Antarctica.

“I have a great boat, but the files confirm that even sailing deep into the South Indian Ocean, we are slower than Francis (Joyon),” explained Coville. “We would have needed to go beyond the limits we set for ourselves in terms of safety. The routing needed me to slalom between the ice south of Kerguelen Islands, which would risk putting myself in danger and also involve other people in case something goes wrong.”

The maxi-trimaran will return to its home port of La Trinité-sur-Mer, France. Team website.