After his double record in the summer the Mediterranean Sea then the Channel navigator Yvan Bourgnon has set himself a new objective for the end of 2019: a circumnavigation against winds and currents.
World tours are most often carried out in the direction of the winds, from east to west. One of the major challenges still to be met in a multihull is to circumnavigate in the opposite direction to the winds, from west to east. An attempt to which the navigator Yves le Blévec had tried himself, on the Ultime Actual in November 2017 and which had ended with a capsizing off Cape Horn .
Four successes in monohulls
Four sailors have succeeded in completing a round the world trip in reverse, but still in monohulls. The first was the American Joshua Slocum, in 1895 on his yawl and who completed his journey in 3 years 2 months and 3 days after several stops in Australia and South Africa. In 1970, then in 1994, the record fell twice to the British. First Chay Blyth in 192 days, then Mike Golding in 161 days.
In 2000, it was a Frenchman, Philippe Monnet, who set the record at 151 days, 19 hours and 54 minutes. Finally, the latest to have raced against the wind is sailor Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, current leader of the 2018 Golden Globe Race, in 129 days 5 hours 50 minutes and 47 seconds. A challenge achieved in 2004.
Even if he does not yet have a multihull record, Yvan Bourgnon has set himself a journey time of 100 days. He will sail on the former Trimaran IDEC, launched in 2007 and skippered until 2015 by Francis Joyon. He has an impressive track record and has 9 sailing records, 4 of which are still current.
In 2015, after its acquisition by skipper Guo Chuan, it was renamed Qingdao China. Unfortunately, the Chinese sailor disappeared on board in October 2016 as he tried to break the Pacific crossing sailing record.
