Three men, three races
Thomas Coville is also taking advantage of this excellent weather window to set off from Brest on November 6, 2016, the start day of the Vendée Globe. Unlike Armel le Cléac'h, he has no direct rival since he is fighting against a virtual time, that achieved by Francis Joyon in 2008 in 57 days 13 hours 34 minutes and 6 seconds. On his trimaran Sodebo Ultim', he achieved the feat of going under the 50-day mark for his solo round-the-world race on a multihull! He crossed the finish line in Ushant on December 25, 2016 After an express course of 49 days 3 hours 7 minutes 38 seconds, Francis Joyon's record of 8 days 10 hours, 26 minutes and 28 seconds has been broken!
November 6, 2016, Armel le Cléac'h set off from Les Sables-d'Olonne for a non-stop, non-assisted, single-handed round-the-world race in a monohull, called the Vendée Globe. On his IMOCA monohull Banque Populaire VIII , he completed his circumnavigation in 74 days 3 hours 35 minutes and 46 seconds . He fought against 29 other sailors and particularly against Alex Thomson, to climb on the first step of the podium. By arriving in Les Sables-d'Olonne on January 19, 2017, he beat the reference time achieved by François Gabart in 2012 by 3 days 22 h and 41 min!
Francis Joyon and his five crew members - Clément Surtel, Gwénolé Gahinet, Bernard Stamm, Sébastien Audigane and Alex Pella - will set off from Brest on November 20, 2016 for the Jules Verne Trophy . This record, in the hands of Loïck Peyron since 2012, consists of sailing around the world in a multihull with a crew. This first departure proved unsuccessful and the sailors turned back, before setting off again from Brest on December 16, 2016. On the maxi-trimaran Idec Sport, the crew of six completed its round-the-world voyage on Thursday, January 26, 2017, after 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds ! Francis Joyon pulverizes Loïck Peyron's record by 4 days and 13 hours.
| Thomas Coville | Armel le Cléac'h | Francis Joyon | |
| Boat | Multihull | Monocoque | Multihull |
| Size | 31 m | 18,28 m | 31,50 m |
| Composition | Solitaire | Solitaire | Crew (6 people) |
| Departure date | November 6, 2016 | November 6, 2016 | December 16, 2016 |
| Date of arrival | December 25, 2016 | January 19, 2017 | January 26, 2017 |
| Travel time | 49 d 3 h 7 min 38 sec | 74 d 3 h 35 min 46 sec | 40 d 23 h 30 min and 30 sec |
| Distance traveled | 28,400 miles | 27,455 miles | 26,412 miles |
| Average speed | 24.09 knots (44.6 km/h) | 15.43 knots (28.6 km/) | 26.85 knots (49.8 km/h) |
| Cape of Good Hope Passage | 14 days | 22 days | 12 days |
| Cape Leeuwin Passage | 21 days | 28 days | 17 days |
| Passage Cape Horn | 31 days | 47 days | 26 days |
The course, the same for all
Even if they did not start from the same place: Les Sables-d'Olonne for Armel le Cléac'h and Brest for the two multihull records, they all covered the same course, a world tour through the three capes . They first sailed down the Atlantic, before rounding the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), sailing in the Indian Ocean, rounding Cape Leeuwin (Australia), crossing the Pacific, rounding Cape Horn (South America) and sailing up the Atlantic.
Only Armel le Cléac'h had to respect the exclusion zones defined by the race, and in particular the Antarctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ), which delimits the ice gate.
The boats: one monohull and two multihulls
For his round-the-world race in the Vendée Globe, Armel le Cléac'h was single-handed aboard his IMOCA monohull Banque Populaire VIII a 60-foot (18.28 m) sailboat designed for ocean racing. Discover the anatomy of an IMOCA 60
Thomas Coville and Francis Joyon were both on multihulls, maxi-trimarans of 31 m and 31.50 m respectively. Sodebo Ultim' (Thomas Coville's boat) was driven by a single man, while Idec Sport was led by six men, Francis Joyon and his five crew members. They were 14 in 2012 on Banque-Populaire V, a 40 m trimaran.
