Record between Ushant and Ecuador for Thomas Coville

Thomas Coville, who set off from Brest on 6th November 2016 to beat the solo round the world record on his trimaran Sodebo Ultim' has just set a new reference time between Ushant and the Equator.

Chloé Torterat Published on November 12, 2016

The skipper of Sodebo Ultim set off single-handed to beat the Round the World record held until then by Francis Joyon in 57 days 13 hours and 34 minutes. Having set off less than a week ago, Thomas Coville has already set a first record by crossing the Equator this Saturday 12th November at 8 hours 04 minutes French time. The skipper will have taken around 5 days 17 hours and 15 min (awaiting WSSRC validation) to cover the section between Ushant and the Equator.

Sodebo Ultim' is 250 miles ahead of Francis Joyon's 2008 time of 6 days 16 hours and 24 minutes.

This new reference time is more like the one that could be established with a crew, as Thierry Briend, one of the men in Thomas' routing cell explains. "In 2011, our base in Ecuador was seven days. Today, we're on schedule for the record-breaking crewing."

In 2009, the trimaran GROUPAMA 3 with 10 men aboard took 5 days and 15 hours and 23 minutes while in 2011, the maxi trimaran BANQUE POPULAIRE took 5 days and 14 hours and 52 minutes with a crew of 14 men.

With Sodebo Ultim', Thomas Coville today set the fifth fastest passage time between crew and solo sailor and set a new solo speed record between Ushant and the equator.

Sodebo Ultim' is a high-performance trimaran, capable of reaching average speeds higher than the previous generation with a delta of up to 4-5 knots on average. The multihull is 31 meters long and 22 meters wide and belongs to the second generation of multihulls designed to sail around the world.