Setting out single-handed from New York on Idec Sport on 6th July at 2330 hours, after a second place on The Bridge, Francis Joyon had no real objective other than to cross the Atlantic single-handed on his trimaran. However, little by little during the course of the crossing, the idea of beating his previous solo North Atlantic record came to him. A record he had held since June 2013, at the helm of the former trimaran IDEC in 5 days 2 hours 56 minutes and 10 seconds.
Passing the longitude of Cape Lizard, which marks the finish line of the record for the North Atlantic crossing from Ambrose Lighthouse in New York at 03 hours, 37 minutes and 02 seconds (French time) on July 12, he beat his own record by 49 minutes.
"I was happy to arrive, because the last 24 hours have been very trying. With my autopilots malfunctioning, I've had to steer all the time over the last 24 hours, while manoeuvring a lot in the many squalls, on a boat that had been hitting the sea a lot" said the sailor when he arrived.
As he was carrying out his first solo sail aboard his trimaran Idec, he set himself the goal of beating the transatlantic liner Queen Mary 2, which is due to arrive in Southampton on Thursday morning. And this without any prior preparation.
"I left New York in a hurry." he points out. " I didn't even have time to do the bunkering. I was just able to buy some eggs and bananas. As for the food on board, the guys had eaten it all while crossing the 2017 Bridge."
The same goes for the weather, since he didn't wait for an ideal window to jump out, as he explains. " The weather wasn't great and the whole first day I was sailing downwind. But the next day, a system was set up. That's when I saw the Queen Mary 2 sailing back to Europe. I said to myself that since we couldn't beat her on the outward journey from Saint-Nazaire, I might be able to get to Brittany before she reaches Southampton. (Where he is expected tomorrow Thursday NDLR). I got caught up in the game and I attacked. I spent two days at over 30 knots all the time. I was afraid of arriving in Europe because the wind was blowing from the north-east. But the Azores High had the good idea to come up a little bit and allow me to land in the English Channel with south-westerly winds."
" I made a few mistakes when sending out the gennaker in particular, as I'd got used to relying on some great sailors during the Jules Verne Trophy. In fact, it's like going back to school to relearn the boat's B A-ba. Fortunately, she's very forgiving, even at 30 knots..." explains the sailor about her single-handed sailing.
