Solo round-the-world sailing record smashed

Eighty days around the world was a far-fetched fantasy when Jules Verne wrote the book thus titled in 1873. But what Francois Gabart achieved on Sunday December 17, 2017, was unbelievable by today’s standards.

The 34-year-old Frenchman set a new world solo sailing record around the world of 42 days 16 hours and 40 mins in the high-tech, stripped-out, lightweight foiling trimaran Macif.

Gabart departed the French port of Brest on November 4. When he returned in his distinctive tri, he became a national hero... almost overnight.

Gabart was greeted by a flotilla of boats amid a frenzy of cheers after crossing the virtual finish line off Créac'h lighthouse, in Ushant, and the Lizard Point lighthouse in Cornwall on Sunday December 17.

Beating the record by more than six days set by fellow Frenchman Thomas Coville last year, Gabart sailed his 30m trimaran on the limit, hitting sustained speeds of 30-plus knots, and recorded more than 35 knots top speed.

En route, Gabart set a 24-hour solo sailing record of 851 miles (the distance from Sydney to Adelaide), and completed the fastest navigation of the Pacific en route (7 days, 15 hours and 15 minutes).

The 30m foiling catamaran was designed for solo record-breaking races, reportedly at a cost of $25m Euros over five years, and flies 430sq m of sail upwind and a massive 650sq m downwind.

The outright around-the-world speed record was set on IDEC Sport with Francis Joyon and crew in the Jules Verne Trophy, taking 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds to sail around the world and finish in early 2017.

Meantime, ocean racing is hotting up in Australia, with the Clipper fleet arriving in Sydney, the Volvo Ocean Race fleet approaching Melbourne, and the Sydney-Hobart fleet preparing for the famous race.