Records

The incredible story of a unique round-the-world trip

It took a huge dose of courage and a touch of madness to aspire to cross the world's oceans aboard a multihull, defying the pressure of time. The feat of sailing around the world was initially reserved for monohulls. After the Second World War, the Argentinian Vito Dumas made history by completing the crossing in 272 days in 1943, followed by Sir Francis Chichester, who in 1967 won the first round-the-world race (Golden Globe Race) in 226 days.
Then came a new era with the advent of multihulls.

1973: adventure aboard a single-handed multihull

After discovering the sea at the age of 22 and training alongside Eric Tabarly, Alain Colas made history by completing a round-the-world voyage in 169 days. When he bought Pen Duick IV, he wanted to be the first sailor to complete a round-the-world voyage in a multihull. He set off at the same time as the competitors in the first Whitbread (crewed round the world race in a monohull). During his crossing, the sailor encountered various technical problems, suffered from carbon dioxide poisoning, stopped for a month in Sydney and crossed the South Seas. Despite all this, he made history by reaching Saint-Malo in 169 days.

13 years later: a new record?

In 1986, Philippe Monnet set off first, setting a new record by sailing around the world in 129 days, despite two stopovers. Three years later, in 1989, Olivier de Kersauson followed, also making two stops and getting stuck in the Doldrums. He finally completed the circumnavigation in 125 days, shaving 4 days off the record.

The record-breakers of the new century

The turn of the 21st century

We had to wait until the 21st century to witness an impressive turning point in this field. For the first time, a man managed to circumnavigate the globe non-stop, and this feat was achieved by Francis Joyon in 2004. Using a boat that had already completed a crewed circumnavigation in 71 days a few years earlier, Joyon accomplished the feat in 72 days. A year later, Lady Ellen MacArthur, a daring Englishwoman, set off on a ship specially designed for a solo circumnavigation and beat the record by completing it in 71 days. In 2008, Joyon, in turn, took up the challenge with a new boat (IDEC II), without a generator, averaging 19 knots, and set a new record at 57 days.

Then it was Thomas Coville's turn, with five attempts, two of which were completed without beating the record (2009, 2011) before the consecration: 49 days in 2016 and the impression that "ten years of work had come to fruition". The 34-year-old skipper is equally delighted. In 2017, François Gabart was the last to set the record in 42 days. Like him, all those who made it to the finish had to draw on their resources, resist fatigue, damage, gnawing doubts and the distribution of effort.

Like them, the six competitors in the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest are preparing to give it their all and leave nothing to chance.