/ 
A considerable increase in WSSRC's work occurred in 1988 when he took responsibility for records on the high seas and during offshore races. Today, no one can imagine the extraordinary number of distance records that exist today, apart from transatlantic and round the world races, which are tempted everywhere in the world by all kinds of crew and boats.
The Jules Verne Trophy became the most contested race in 1993 and became an icon when a group of French became the first team to circumnavigate the globe in less than 80 days. Bruno Peyron and his men did their circumnavigation in 79 days and 6 hours. The following year, two trimarans - the New Zealander Enza and the Frenchman Lyonnaise des Eaux - fought for the record by 3 days. But the most astonishing remains that of Loïck Peyron - still current - established in 2012 with a crew aboard Banque Populaire V in only 45 days and 13 hours
Credit Jules Verne Trophy 2012 © BPCE
A record in a record
Today, a record is accompanied by qualifiers. Thus, one could say that there are special versions, like"solo","by a woman","monohull","40 feet"... The WSSRC has a complete category list, applicable to all records. However, the board does not recognize human characteristics such as being"the oldest" or"the youngest."
The arrival of electronics
A new category has become popular, motorized navigation systems. Indeed, with the arrival of large racing-cruising yachts sophisticated electronic navigation systems have been developed to be able to sail safely. Some boats also have removable ballasts and keels and it is important for the WSSRC to recognize their best times.
Spindrift 2 crew at Cape Horn © Yann Riou | Spindrift racing
More and more offshore records depend on satellite navigation systems like GPS, which check them. Stan Honey, an offshore navigator and electronics wizard, developed a small portable GPS receiver, placed on board the boat to try a record. It is known as the"Black Box" for the WSSRC and is used to prove where the boat has been during its long navigation.
However, departures and arrivals are still controlled by human eyes, which check the slightest deviation from the rules, as well as the number of people on board.
