Coville on standby
Solo round-the-world sailor waits for a weather windowHaving waited for more than a week, solo sailor Thomas Coville is still on standby in Brest.
Coville is attempting to break the record for sailing around the world single handed. Currently his giant 105ft trimaran Sodebo is packed and ready to go with the exception of some fresh food, and Coville is anxiously awaiting a weather window.
This is the fourth attempt by the French skipper to improve the existing record established by Francis Joyon of 57 days, 13 hours and 34 minutes -- a fabulous time to beat probably only achievable in the optimal weather conditions.
Joyon's record was set aboard the 97ft maxi trimaran IDEC.
Having sailed around the world nine times, the Frenchman has a deep desire to return:
"A winter without going to the other side of the planet is a little lost on me," said Coville. "It is magical and this is a real adventure even if my job today is to try to reduce the maximum (time of that) adventure."
Today, the maxi-trimaran Sodebo is in race trim ready to go as soon as a favorable weather window will appears.
"The waiting period is not easy to manage because you have to save money while keeping up your energy and motivation," Coville explained.
"My routers analyse weather files and will alert me when a window appears."
Realistically, Coville can wait until January to leave, but that's certainly not ideal. "We adjust our requirements as time passes knowing that the ideal window is between November 1 and December 15,” he said.
We'll keep you posted as Coville takes off on his record attempt.
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