Axel May 11:16 a.m., October 03, 2022
More than a month before the start of the Route du Rhum, Europe 1 embarked on the ultimate SVR Lazartigue, the maxi-trimaran of navigator François Gabart.
Resolutely determined, François Gabart multiplies training and hopes to break speed records hitherto inconceivable for a sailboat.
REPORTAGE
François Gabart will sail with a maxi-trimaran on the Route du Rhum, between Saint-Malo and Guadeloupe, on November 6th.
The Frenchman is one of the favorites in the queen category, that of the ultimate, giants of the seas capable of flying on water.
Near Concarneau, François Gabart's new maxi-trimaran is waiting to be on the waves.
His giant sailboat is able to take off from the water thanks to carbon appendages.
speed records
Europe 1 went to meet the skipper: "Currently, we are at 22 knots, which represents 30 to 40 kilometers per hour. It represents the moment when the boat has enough speed", explains François Gabart at the microphone of Europe 1 .
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The sailboat is as if in levitation about one and a half meters above the sea. Only the rudders, the daggerboard and the leaves touch the water, producing a long whistle.
François Gabart multiplies the training outings: "We must not forget that our boat is quite recent that we still have a lot of work to do. You have to be careful because you have to put pressure on the boat to put it in difficulty, so that 'it's ready for the Route du Rhum. You obviously have to not break it either'.
If the weather is favourable, François Gabart hopes to maintain a cruising speed of around 80 kilometers per hour, a speed which in the recent past seemed inconceivable for a sailboat.