At sea (AFP)
Thomas Coville and his seven crew members (Sodebo Ultim 3) crossed the equator on Monday 9 hours ahead of the record of 40 days and 23 hours set in January 2017 by Francis Joyon, during the Jules Verne trophy, the crewed round-the-world record attempt.
The boat, a 32 m long maxi-multihull that can fly over water, entered the southern hemisphere after 5 days 9 hours and 50 minutes of racing when Joyon and his 5 crew (Idec Sport) had put 5 days 18 hours and 59 minutes.
Before arriving in Ecuador, Coville had to negotiate a difficult Doldrums (inter-tropical convergence zone) before picking up a little speed at the exit and posting a small lead over the reference time.
The sailboat is now heading for Brazil.
"This will be the part which, I think, is going to be the easiest of this round the world trip. It will be the time to recover and to prepare well for the Deep South", warned Coville.
"We are all super happy to be there, the atmosphere is very good, we absolutely want to keep it. We are in this state of mind to do well and it shows in the performance. And the boat is 100% of its potential, nothing has been damaged or touched, "he continued.
Thomas Coville and 7 men (François Duguet, Sam Goodchild, Corentin Horeau, Martin Keruzoré, François Morvan, Thomas Rouxel and Matthieu Vandame) set off on November 25 off Ouessant (Finistère) in search of the crewed round-the-world record .
To win the legendary trophy, they must cross the line in Ouessant before Tuesday January 5 at 2h25min (French time).
© 2020 AFP