A French crew, lead by skipper Thomas Coville set a new round-the-world sailing record on Sunday, beating Francis Joyon's 2017 time by half a day. The trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3 made the circumnavigation in at 40 days, 10 hours and 45 minutes.
Arriving at the port of Brest, the dishevelled and dazed 57-year-old skipper Thomas Coville said he found the result "almost hard to believe".
Setting sail on 15 December off the coast of Ouessant, Coville and his six crew members beat the Jules Verne Trophy record, created in 1993 in reference to the famous novel Around the World in 80 Days and its hero Phileas Fogg, by 12 hours and 44 minutes.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch them come ashore early Sunday morning.
Among the crowd were many relatives of the sailors, as well as some famous names from the world of sailing: Titouan Lamazou, Olivier de Kersauson, Armel Le Cléac'h and others.
"With the sea conditions over the last few days, it was horrible, incredibly stressful (...) You had to have nerves of steel," said de Kersauson, who took Coville on board as a ship's boy in 1997 on his first Jules Verne Trophy attempt.
On social media platform X, French President Emmanuel Macron described the feat achieved by the Sodebo crew as an "exceptional achievement".
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Their boat covered 52,440 kilometres at an average speed of 29.17 knots (54 km/h). Coville, Benjamin Schwartz, Léonard Legrand, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Guillaume Pirouelle and Nicolas Troussel are the tenth holders of one of the most challenging offshore sailing titles.
"I knew that these six boys had the potential to be the best sailors in the world. They understood that out there. By rounding Cape Horn," Coville told French news agency AFP.
It took him four attempts to succeed Francis Joyon, who in 2017, aboard Idec Sport, set a stratospheric time of 40 days and 23 hours, which many sailors have struggled to beat.
Strength in tenacity
"We have finally achieved the goal we have been dreaming of for so many years. This is the first time a flying boat has circumnavigated the globe non-stop, and to do it in 40 days is absolutely incredible," said Coville.
Despite a flying start to the round-the-world trip, marked by a record-breaking time for the passage between Ushant and the Cape of Good Hope in 10 days and 23 hours, the suspense lasted until the very end as the crew faced storm Ingrid with winds of 100 kilometres and hour.
For Coville, this is "the culmination of a career", a goal he's been chasing for years.
"The joy of crossing the finish line is quite fleeting. It's not the deepest feeling. The real joy comes when you're reunited with everyone, when you feel that it's all been fully achieved," he said.
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An experienced sailor, he won his third Jules Verne Trophy after helping to conquer it as a crew member for De Kersauson and then Franck Cammas in 2010.
Coville has made several attempts to win the prize in recent years, but these have been abandoned each time due to damage, the last two in December 2024 and January 2025.
"My strength is my tenacity. I don't give up. I'm used to seeing things through to the end. Today, I feel like it proved me right," Colville said.
With this victory, he completes his tenth round-the-world voyage, undoubtedly one of his finest after his historic solo record at the end of 2016 (49 days and 3 hours), since beaten by François Gabart.
(with AFP)
