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French
sailor François Gabart smashed six days and 10 hours off sailing’s around the
world record on Sunday producing what many pundits felt was a previously
unthinkable time of 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds.
Huge crowds of well-wishers were on
hand to welcome the sailor into the port of Brest, accompanied by hundreds of
small craft as he burned flares at the helm and was carried aloft to shore by
his ground crew where he popped a bottle of champagne.
“I’m aching all over and it’s been
like that for weeks, weeks since a proper sleep, I can hardly go on,” an exhausted Gabart told the press on his ecstatic arrival
in port.
“It was hard and I was on the very
edge of things the whole time.”
The 34-year-old sailor crossed a
virtual finish line between the island of Ushant off France’s northwest tip and
Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT, ripping to shreds the previous
record set by compatriot Thomas Coville last year by a massive six days and 10 hours.
Moments before crossing the finish
line Gabart, a father of two and engineer by trade, sent out an emotional video
showing his boat’s progress on a computer monitor.
“The little blue is us, the red line
is the finish. We should cut it soon, the computer says 30 seconds,” he said, wiping his eyes.
The race time was announced by an
observer from the World Sailing Speed Council but will be subject to checks of
the boat’s black box and its GPS data before final confirmation.
“I’m happy and proud to have made
this lovely voyage around the world,”
he said in the video.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet but I know
it’s a great time. I have cargo ships and fishing boats around me in the dark
here and it all seems strange and extraordinary.”
Gabart becomes just the fourth title-holder
for a world record of sailing the globe solo without stopping.
Huge leaps have been made in that
time — since the record was first set in 2004, nearly 30 days have been shaved
off.
The debut record holder was
Frenchman Francis Joyon who completed the odyssey in 72 days and 22 hours.
British female sailor Ellen MacArthur took to the seas a year later, racing against the clock to break that record by just a day and a half (71 days, 14 hours).
She remained undefeated until 2016 when Coville set a new record of 49 days and three hours which many predicted would be difficult to topple.
Gabart, who embarked on November 4, was on a two-year-old state of the art 30 metre (98 foot) long new generation MACIF maxi-trimaran comfortably carved its way through the waves and into the record books.
Helped by good weather throughout much of the voyage, particularly during the long and arduous Pacific section, it clocked up jaw-dropping speeds of up to 35 knots (65 kilometres an hour).
He set a number of new solo race records along the way, including the fastest navigation of the Pacific (7 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes) and the longest distance covered in 24 hours (851 miles or 1,576 kilometres).
Gabart first circumnavigated the world during the 2013 Vendee Globe race — which he won. He immediately set his sights on breaking the solo non-stop record.
Coville congratulated his record vanquisher.
“He’s an incredible strategist. He already showed that during the Vendee Globe,” he told AFP.
Of the four solo record holders, Gabart is the only won to have also won a competitive round the world race.
Another illustrious sailor Michel Desjoyeaux said there was no surprise in the feat.
“The one thing we can be sure of is that Francois has a faster boat than Thomas,” he told AFP by telephone.
“And he has spent a great deal of time on a multi-hull and is completely unafraid of high speeds, he’s fundamentally at ease in that environment.
Coville’s boat was a ten-year-old craft that had been reconditioned rather than built to purpose.
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Does that last bit sound just a little like "sour grapes" - or is it me? Regardless, it is still a mind-blowing accomplishment and we offer congratulations to M. Gabart on his feat!
That's it for this subject - we'll let Francois get some rest and in our next issue, we'll take a look at some less current!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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