Yvan Bourgnon and his son Mathis set off this Monday 9 July 2018 around Marseille (start line in front of the Friuli islands) for the Mediterranean Record. They have to reach Carthage (Tunisia) from the south of France - a distance of 460 miles - in less than 42 hours, the current reference time.
The last hours were devoted to preparing the boat - a Nacra F20: assembling the last elements of the rig and securing the equipment on board.
Even if a weather window appeared today, the record will be at stake over the first 20 miles of the record with uncertain weather. Indeed, if the two men should benefit from 15 to 20 knots of wind throughout the crossing, the start of the record will be with 8 knots of wind, which should last for the first 4 to 5 hours of the course. A devente that will force Yvan and his son to opt for a south-west route - as he confided before the start - far from the shortest trajectory, but which will allow them to touch the wind. And indeed, at 1642 hours, their speed was 2.1 knots!
Over the 458 miles of the crossing, which is equivalent to Lorient-Marseille as the crow flies (848Km), their objective is to be on an average speed of the boat around 14-15 knots.
To win this record, the duo will have to rally Tunisia in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday (between 10 and 11 July). You can follow the navigation via the dedicated map, to be found on Yvan Bourgnon's website or on the link at the bottom of the page.
