Sailing around the world involves circumnavigating the globe in either direction. Most sailors prefer a west-to-east course, driven by the prevailing winds and currents. This is also the case for the Vendée Globe, the Volvo Ocean Race and the single-handed round-the-world multihull race carried out by the following yachtsmen Thomas Coville in 2016 then François Gabart in 2017 or the Jules Verne Trophy, which passed into the hands of Francis Joyon in early 2017. But sailors can also sail around the world "upside down", i.e. against the prevailing winds and currents.
This record, known as the "Global Challenge", has been held since 2004 by Jean-Luc Van den Heede . It has to be said that very few have attempted this challenge. To date, no crewed record has been ratified, and only 4 have entered the legend by completing their circumnavigation upside down. In 2007, Maud Fontenoy tried her luck on Adrien âeuros, the monohull she bought from VDH after her âeuros upside-down circumnavigation, but her record was invalidated by the WSSRC which certifies sailing records. Setting out from La Réunion, she covered only 12,000 miles instead of the orthodromic minimum distance of 21,600 miles.
The route
The Global Challenge consists of beating the record for a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation, in reverse, i.e. from east to west, covering a minimum of 21,600 miles. Most of the course is sailed against the prevailing winds: down the Atlantic, around Cape Horn, Australia, around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, and back up the Atlantic
The precursor in the 19th century
The first was the American Joshua Slocum, in 1895, who took 3 years, 2 months and 3 days to complete his circumnavigation on his yawl. A record time, thanks to numerous stopovers in Australia and South Africa. Moitessier named his boat Joshua in homage to this "first" ocean racer. In truth, the record is not really homologated, since the reverse round-the-world race is non-stop...
In 1970, and again in 1994, the record fell into British hands. First Chay Blyth in 192 days, then Mike Golding in 161 days.
The French take on the upside-down world tour
In 2000, it was Frenchman Philippe Monnet's turn to tackle this unique round-the-world voyage. Setting out from Brest on January 9, 2000, he reached the tip of Brittany on June 9 after 151 d 19 h 54 min
Jean-Luc Van den Heede, defending champion
In 2004, it was the turn of another Frenchman, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, to win the challenge after a circumnavigation of the globe in 122 d 14 h 3 min 49 s. Setting out from Brest on November 7, 2003 on his monohull Adrien, he returned to Brittany on March 9, 2004, shattering the previous record by 29 days, 05 hours, 50 minutes and 47 seconds.
"Around the world upside down (non-stop) is the most difficult single-handed event. Words cannot express how I feel. My best memory of the course is rounding Cape Horn, which was a dream come true, with 40 knots of downwind wind, a great way to enter the Southern Ocean. The worst moment was the 30 hours spent in the Doldrums to cover 30 miles. We had to steer and steer to get out of it. What about the future? I don't really know. I want to enjoy the boat while I still have it, for a year and a half. I'm going to try for some small records, and I mean small records, not round-the-world records. We'll see, but for the moment, I don't have a program yet he said on his arrival.
This âeuros round-the-world specialist â?" he had 4 of them right where he started, the BOC Challenge in 1986 and 1995, and the Vendée Globe in 1989-1990 and 1992-1993 â?" became the new âeuros and undisputed âeuros title-holder. He has since added the 1st edition of the Golden Globe Race to his list of achievements in 2018 an old-fashioned round-the-world race.
VDH's record is well-deserved after three unsuccessful attempts. The first, in 1999, was interrupted after his Algimouss monohull suffered a leak following a collision with a UFO. The second, in 2001, was halted after the keel of his monohull Adrien broke loose. And finally, in 2003, he dismasted despite being 18 days ahead of the record at the halfway point.
